Physiological and Psychological Factors Associated with Sleep Deprivation among High School Students

Abstract

Sleep deprivation is increasingly common among high school students in grades 10–12
due to academic pressure, social factors, and lifestyle changes. Although adolescents
need 8–10 hours of sleep, most do not achieve this. Lack of sleep negatively impacts
their physical health (metabolism, immunity) and psychological well-being (mood,
thinking ability), and long-term deprivation can lead to depression, anxiety, obesity,
and poor academic performance. Understanding these physiological and psychological
factors is crucial for improving students’ overall health and school outcomes. The
objectives of this study are to identify the main sociodemographic characteristics of
high school students, to determine the physiological and psychological factors
associated with sleep deprivation, and to assess the association between selected
sociodemographic characteristics and the identified physiological and psychological
factors among the study sample. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted
from November 2024 to May 2025 to assess the prevalence and factors associated with
sleep deprivation among high school adolescents in Ranya City. A representative
sample was drawn from five randomly selected public schools using stratified random
sampling. Data were collected through a constructed questionnaire based on relevant
literature and standardized tools, validated by 19 experts, and shown to have a
reliability coefficient of r = 0.736. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic
information, academic performance, screen time, physical activity, caffeine intake, and
sleep patterns. Out of 327 participating students, 229 who reported sleep deprivation were included in the analysis of physiological
and psychological factors. Among them, 76.9% sometimes experienced physiological disruptions such as caffeine use, physical
discomfort, and hunger before sleep, while 54.6% reported psychological discomfort related to schoolwork, personal matters, and
emotional stress. Psychological factors showed significant associations with gender, grade level, parents’ occupations, and
economic status, whereas physiological factors were not significantly related to any sociodemographic characteristics. The
findings show that psychological factors contributing to sleep deprivation are closely tied to gender, grade level, parental
employment, and socioeconomic status, while physiological factors are shaped more by individual habits than by background
characteristics. Overall, the results highlight the need to prioritize psychological stressors when promoting better sleep health
among adolescents.