BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.16, No.1, 2024, BECE 1829 

 

 

 

 

Effects of Sleep Quality on Academic Performance of 

Children Aged 10 to 12: The Mediating Role of  

Updating Ability 

By Fang, H., Zhu, X., & Zhao, X. 
Correspondence to: Xin Zhao, Northwest Normal University, China. E-mail: 

psyzhaoxin@nwnu.edu.cn  

ESEARCH has shown that sleep quality can positively predict academic 

performance of the student. Previous studies have focused on examining 

the correlation in secondary and tertiary education students, with little atten-

tion paid to that among primary school students. A recent cross-sectional 

study demonstrated that primary school students had higher risk of low sleep 

quality than other groups. Through a mediation model, this study investigat-

ed the relation between sleep quality and academic achievement in primary 

school students and the mediating effect of updating ability on this relation-

ship. 

Research findings include: 

• Sleep quality was positively correlated with academic performance and 

updating ability of primary school students; student updating ability was 

positively related to their academic achievement. That means the higher 

their sleep quality, the better their updating ability and academic results. 

High sleep quality is beneficial for the neurodevelopment, a key factor in 

cognitive maturation and academic success. 

• Updating ability played a complete mediation role in the relation between 

sleep quality and academic performance in primary school students. De-

sirable academic achievement is the result of the development of cogni-

tive competences (such as attention, information process, and memory) 

and positive behavioral tendencies (concentration and impulsion suppres-

sion); Good sleep is the precondition for sustaining updating ability of the 

individual. 

The article also set forth the limitations of this study: Other key fac-

tors influencing student academic performance should have been controlled; 

the association between sleep quality and student academic achievement 

and the mechanism of impact were not fully confirmed; more paths affect-

ing the relation between sleep quality and academic results need to be ex-

plored; aside from updating, the explanatory power of other executive 

functions for the relation in question also deserves investigation. 

 
Source: Journal of Psychological Science, 2023; 46(5):1090-1097. 

R 

mailto:psyzhaoxin@nwnu.edu.cn