BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.18, No.2, 2024, BECE 1913 

 

 

 

 

Can Adequate Sleep Promote Non-Cognitive Devel-

opment in Primary and Secondary School Students? 

An Empirical Analysis Based on a Survey of 153,901 

Students 

By Ge, D., Yao, J., & Zhou, S. 
Correspondence to: Jijun Yao, Nanjing Normal University, China. E-mail: 

yaojijun_njnu@163.com  

LEEP, one of the most fundamental physiological activities of human 

beings, is crucial for physical and mental health of the individual. Ade-

quate sleep is even more important for adolescents, who are in a critical stage 

of physical and intellectual growth, than adults. According to existing re-

search, sleep deprivation is pervasive among Chinese teenagers and shows a 

tendency of further exacerbation. This study is an empirical analysis of the 

effects of sleep duration on the non-cognitive ability in teenagers with a large 

sample of 153,901 primary and secondary school students, using the ego de-

pletion model, multiple linear regression, and propensity score matching. 

Research Findings: 

• Sleep duration had a positive correlation with non-cognitive ability 

in primary and secondary students. Primary school students with at 

least 10 hours of sleep every day and secondary school students 

with no less than nine hours of sleep scored higher in the five do-

mains of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, 

and neuroticism, which were used as indicators of their non-

cognitive ability. 

• The average sizes of experimental effects among primary school 

students with at least 10 hours of sleep are 0.140-0.177 for open-

ness, 0.167-0.201 for conscientiousness, 0.160-0.196 for extraver-

sion, 0.110-0.138 for agreeableness, and 0.154-0.192 for neuroti-

cism. With secondary school students with no less than nine hours 

of sleep, these figures are 0.274-0.315, 0.195-0.228, 0.330-0.382, 

and 0.273-0.338. 

The research findings of the study indicate that A Circular on Improv-

ing Sleep Management in Primary and Secondary School Students, released 

by the Ministry of Education of China, proposes scientific sleep durations for 

the two groups. Legitimate sleep durations (10 hours for primary school stu-

dents and nine hours for their secondary counterparts) are beneficial for their 

S 

mailto:yaojijun_njnu@163.com


 

Vol.18, No.2, 2024, BECE 1914 

non-cognitive development. Adequate sleep is essential for the all-round de-

velopment of teenagers. 

 
Source: Educational Science Research, 2024; 2024(5):35-43.