Student Pickering Highschool Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Background: As 25% of Canadian high school students get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night and one in five experience mental illness, the study questions the relation (CIHI). This is significant as the development of anxiety and depression lead to the decline in cognitive function and mental health.
Objective: The purpose of study is to investigate the relationship of declining sleep levels to anxiety and depression.
Design/Methods: A sample of 211 grade 11 and 12 students at my highschool completed a survey. The data was collected using a Google form distributed to the participants. In the form respondents were asked to:
Indicate their average amount of sleep over the past two weeks (0 to 2 hours, 3-4 hours, 5-6 hours, 7-8 hours, or more than 9 hours) Complete Generalized Anxiety Questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire
Generalized Anxiety Questionnaire: Seven-question instrument assessing the severity of generalized anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks.
Patient Health Questionnaire: Nine-question instrument assessing the respondents' severity of depression over the past two weeks. Each answer is added to a total.
Results: Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire Comparison The results of both questionnaires indicated a very weak negative correlation (Figures 2 and 3). However, evident clusters on scatter plots increase for both surveys; the score increases as sleep decreases There is no significant change in scores associated with an increase in sleep depravity Gender-Based Comparison Analysis made due to the hormonal and neurological differences between males and females Woman displayed a weak correlation between the scores on the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to sleep level Woman showed a greater correlation than men Results for male responses indicated a negligible correlation;
Conclusion(s): Women may be more sensitive to sleep changes than men. Factors: Women tend to have more activity in the amygdala than men that are involved in emotion regulation (Andreano et al., 2013). Hormonal changes may be causing sleep disruptions and an increase of cortisol (Woods et al., 2009). Societal expectations, lack of coping mechanisms creating stress and pressures
As women are more at risk to face anxiety and depression, increased support and recognition should be emphasized in schools for female students.
Limitations: Does not fully consider the long-term effects of sleep deprivation as the study examined the participants past two weeks. . Short-term sleep deprivation may lead to body adaptability temporarily; the body adjusting to sleep levels (Bach et al., 2019).
