In this group project my group focused on the relationship between sleep, productivity, stress, and academics. We gathered our results for the experiments by posting the google form on the social media page to CCNY students only. From our results, we tried to search for scientific journal articles related to our findings. This part of the group helped me practice using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects. We used google scholars engine and CCNY library database to search for our article. From the database I was able to the scientific article “Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance” by Giuseppe Curcio, Michele Ferrara, Luigi De Gennaro.While using evidence from the article we were able to strengthen our source by practicing how to evaluate, integrate, quote, paraphrase, summarize, synthesize, analyze, and cite sources. One example is “The prime result of this examination was the relationship was found between the quality and quantity of students sleeping habits and their academic performance.” (Curcio et al., 2016). Since this was a group project, my group members and I had to develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of the writing processes. Another this group project helped me is by allowing to express my view by formulating and articulating a stance through and in my writing. In addition my group mates and I were able to inform the class about our project by doing a presentation. This presentation allowed my group to explain all the thought process from the beginning to the end of our project.

How Measures of Sleep, Stress, Productivity and Involvement in Extracurricular Activities are Correlated Among City College Students
Authors: Searra Mascaro, Ryan Rahman, and Stephanie Salazar
Abstract
The purpose is of this experiment is to determine how levels of sleep affect levels of stress and productivity in City College students. Via a survey, one hundred students provided information regarding their experiences with sleep, stress, productivity, and extracurricular involvement. After the data was collected, all submissions were then analyzed to find potential correlations within the survey’s elements. Surprisingly, a negative correlation between lack of sleep and decreased productivity was discovered. There was also a large, positive correlation between excessive hours of extracurricular activities and decreased productivity, indicating that extracurriculars may be a prominent factor in City College students’ academic behavior. Additional outcomes include a positive correlation found between lack of sleep and increased stress while a greater, positive correlation was found between excessive hours of extracurricular activities and increased stress.
Intro
College students all over the world are known to experience large amounts of stress. According to Cindy Liu, a psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the alarming levels of stress in students should stand out as a red flag for parents. This concern echoes across the scientific community. Jerilyn Ross, president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), reported a rise in students’ reliance on mental health services (Gardner). In a study of over 67,000 students from over 100 different colleges, on average, 1 in 10 admitted to having suicidal thoughts (Brown, 2018). This begs researchers to ask the question: why are students experiencing such high levels of stress and how does it affect their academic lives? College students, like all human beings, are complex and possess multiple responsibilities; work, internships, family duties, rigorous assignments, exams, and clubs are merely a small fraction of the obligations students may attend to. According to “Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance” by Giuseppe Curcio, Michele Ferrara, Luigi De Gennaro, an examination of students’ lack of sleep and academic behavior was carried out. The prime result of this examination was the relationship was found between the quality and quantity of students sleeping habits and their academic performance (Curcio et al., 2016). This finding lead researchers within our study to develop one central question: how does lack of sleep affect City College students’ levels of stress and productivity? By conducting a campus wide survey, they were able to examine students’ levels of stress, productivity, and participation in extracurriculars to test their hypothesis – that a lack of sleep in City College students leads to increased levels of stress and decreased levels of productivity.
Methods
In order to examine the hypothesis, a series of questions were created to measure levels of sleep deprivation, stress, and productivity. The examined data was then analyzed and attributed to correlations that would either support or disprove whether or not a lack of sleep contributes to increased stress and decreased productivity in City College students. In addition to questions related to sleep deprivation, other questions that probe students’ involvement in extracurricular activities were included to see whether or not additional correlations could be established. There were also questions related to City College demographics (including race/ethnicity, age, gender, major, and academic year) included to examine the diversity and balance of the sample size. After all questions were created, they were organized into an online survey via Google Forms. The survey was then sent out to students in person and online. After one hundred City College students took the survey, data collection ceased and the results of the survey were laid out to be analyzed. Analyzing the data involved questions being divided into sections in order to make correlations; students who stated they got 3-5 hours of sleep a night on average and students who stated they got 6-8 hours of sleep a night on average were evaluated as two separate groups. City College students who worked over 10-15 hours a week and and those who worked 10-15 hours a week and less were also divided into two separate groups; questions that related to stress levels and productivity were applied to both divisions (hours of sleep and hours involved in extracurriculars); responses in each division were tallied by means of how many negative, positive, and neutral responses were collected. For example: if one participant answered a stress-related question more negatively, they would be marked as having a negative answer for that question. All tallies were then used to calculate percentages and correlations. This continued until all responses were evaluated and until a stance on the hypothesis was developed.
Results

For Figure 1, the average negative score for productivity-based questions regarding students working over 10-15 hours a week was 62.00% while the average negative score for productivity-based questions regarding students working 10-15 hours and below was 32.28%. For Figure 2, the average negative score for productivity-based questions regarding students who get 3-5 hours of sleep was 44.45% while the average negative score for productivity-based questions regarding students who get 6-8 hours of sleep was 45.92%.

For Figure 3, the average negative score for stress-based questions regarding students who get 3-5 hours of sleep was 41.68% while the average negative score for stress-based questions regarding students who got 6-8 hours of sleep was 33.60%.
For Figure 4, the average negative score for stress-based questions regarding students who work over 10-15 hours a week was 50.00% while the the average negative score for stress-based questions regarding students who work 10-15 hours and less was 35.60%.
Discussion
After an analyzation of all data, the hypothesis was disproved as there is not enough information to support it. For the data displayed in Figure 2, the discrepancy between students who work above 10-15 hours a week and those who work 10-15 hours and less (29.72%) is positive as well as more statistically significant than the discrepancy between students who get 3-5 hours of sleep and 6-8 hours of sleep a night (-1.47%). The negative correlation established for lack of sleep and decreased productivity proves that the researchers’ theory regarding lack of sleep and productivity is wrong. Additional correlations – such as correlations for the data displayed in Figure 3 – exhibit a discrepancy of 8.08% between students who experience 3-5 hours of sleep and students who experience 6-8 hours of sleep. This indicates a positive correlation between lack of sleep in City College students and stress levels, yet does not support the full hypothesis. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the discrepancy between students who work over 10-15 hours a week and students who work 10-15 hours and less (14.40%) implies a greater, positive correlation compared with what was calculated for lack of sleep in City College students and stress levels. This concludes that the researchers’ findings regarding lack of sleep and stress are not significant enough to make a definitive interpretation.
Limitations that may have affected the researchers’ results include the timing of their survey as well as aspects of the participant sample size. Not only was the survey sent out during midterms (a time of high stress among most students), but numbers involving race, major, and academic year were skewed. 52% of the sample size are college freshmen, 65% of the sample size are Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino(a), and 47% of the sample size are STEM majors (of which are predominantly biology majors and/or those on a pre-med track). The discrepancies among race, academic year, and major possess the capability of creating false patterns within the data (Wolfson et al., 2016). In future studies, a potential change could be to incorporate a more balanced sample size. An additional improvement to the study could be to target more students with mental illness to observe if it has a significant effect on the results – this may already play a large role in the researchers’ results unknowingly due to the fact that no questions tested levels of mental illness among participants.
Other possibilities for further research regarding lack of sleep and its relation to stress and productivity levels are highlighted in an additional study. It has been shown that quality of sleep can also negatively impact academic performance and cognitive ability; individuals who experience erratic and irregular sleep display significantly lower levels of academic performance (Wolfson et al., 2016). Probing City College students’ levels of sleep quality in addition to hours of sleep may give insight into this correlation. The researchers involved in this study may want to examine further options for the benefit of those on their campus as well as themselves.

References
Brown IM. 3 out of 4 college students say they’re stressed, many report suicidal thoughts. 2018 Sep 6 [accessed 2019 Mar 28]. https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/college-students-stressed-report-suicidal-thoughts-study-57646236
Curcio G, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L. Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. 2016;10(5):323–337.
Gardner A. Anxiety Rises on U.S. College Campuses. [accessed 2019 Mar 28]. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4506352&page=1
Trockel MT, Barnes MD, Egget DL. Health-Related Variables and Academic Performance Among First-Year College Students: Implications for Sleep and Other Behaviors. 2010;49(3):125–131.
Wolfson AR, Carskadon MA. Curcio G, Ferrara M, De Gennaro L. Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. 2013;10(5):323–337. 2013;7(6):491–506.