Sleep is an essential and integral part of human life, as this process affects health, immunity, and behavior. In the absence of other influential problems, unhealthy sleep specifically interferes with mental and physical activity. In their article “Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep of a collegiate student-athlete population,” Mah et al. (2018) investigate the problem of sleep among student-athletes. Despite the importance of the topic under study and the conclusions reached, the work raised additional questions and had some limitations.
Students experience severe stress and the lack of sleep every day. At the same time, athletes at colleges and universities, being full-time students, devote additional time to training and competitions. Six hundred twenty-eight athletes from twenty-nine varsity teams at Stanford University took part in a study by Mah et al. (2018). The authors’ purpose was to investigate their sleep quality, duration and sleepiness during the day since athletes risk not only failing in classes but also get injured during sports. The article may be interesting to such an audience as coaches and administration at universities to draw their attention to the problem. Furthermore, the source may be useful to sleep problem researchers to identify further study directions.
To achieve the stated purpose of the article, the authors chose to conduct a questionnaire among students. They answered questions about the “sleep quality via a modified Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)” (Mah et al., 2018, p. 251). As a result, athletic students were found to typically lack quality sleep. This problem’s consequences are reflected in their daily routine in the form of frequent or even constant fatigue and sleepiness. Moreover, the authors presented a crucial finding that sleep is better during travel for competitions than while staying at home or campus.
Three authors of the group, Cheri Mah, Eric Kezirian, and William Dement, have a Doctorate of Medicine degree, and Brandon Marcello is a Ph.D. of the Department of Athletics. Their high academic achievements must attest to the reliability and value of the source. However, studying the article leaves many questions open, making it not convincing enough. For example, one of the aspects that attracted attention is the publication date. Particularly, the survey was held in 2011, and the article was published in 2018 (Mah et al., 2018). Such a long period could negatively affect both the relevance of the data and its quality. The choice of questionnaire as the only research method is quite unusual since it is more suitable for determining attitude or opinion. Nevertheless, PSQI is a useful tool for assessing sleep, and therefore, the findings should be correct.
The inconclusiveness of the findings is more likely justified by the absence of a control group of non-athletes. On the one hand, sleep deprivation are not uncommon among students of different departments. On the other hand, exercise should contribute to better quality and sleep duration (National Sleep Foundation, n.d.). For these reasons, a study of other students’ sleep patterns would help determine which aspects significantly impact the quality of rest. In this regard, one can formulate the first question generated from the article: Is the low quality of student-athletes’ sleep due to additional physical activity or student life’s specifics?
There is no exact answer to the formulated question in this work. However, when reviewing the finding that at home, the quality of sleep is lower than at away competitions, one can find some clues. For example, noise, lighting, and uncomfortable temperatures hinder better sleep on campus. These aspects cannot affect only athletes, thus being relevant to all students. Moreover, during travel competitions, the class load decreases, which also has an impact on sleep.
The source is organized carefully, has the necessary for the scientific article components, and tables supporting the text. However, many limitations, which the authors themselves recognize, indicate the need for additional content. For example, this study would be more substantial not as a separate work but as part of studying the problem of students’ lack of sleep. In that case, it would be appropriate to add a section on future research directions. Another aspect that remained under-stated is the relevance and uniqueness of the study. Specifically, it does not provide information on what other scientists have already said about the problem, or how common it is at universities other than Stanford. These limitations generate another question: Does the quality of sleep differ among student-athletes at other educational institutions, or does the problem present only at Stanford?
In conclusion, the reviewed study conducted by Mah et al. (2018) was formally written and organized in accordance with the main requirements for scientific articles. It raises an important issue that needs to be addressed. However, its uniqueness and relevance are not evident enough, and the conclusions are not convincing. Such deficiencies are due to severe research limitations and make this article less valuable. First, the study of only student-athletes without comparison with ordinary students does not reveal all aspects of the problem. Therefore, the article cannot provide solutions other than a general recommendation to revise the schedule. Second, the survey was conducted at only one university, and it is not clear whether the problem is valid for all institutions or only for one. Thus, the topic either requires further development into a large detailed study or it may be irrelevant at all.
References
Mah, C. D., Kezirian, E. J., Marcello, B. M., & Dement, W. C. (2018). Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep of a collegiate student-athlete population. Sleep Health, 4(3), 251-257. Web.
National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). How exercise affects sleep. Web.