Gu Linni, Zhu Rui, Tian Donghua
Health Management School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhehaote City, China.
China Academy of Social Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 5;20(6):e0323969. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323969. eCollection 2025.
Academic performance serves as a crucial indicator for evaluating adolescents' educational outcomes in China, which prompting parents and schools to place significant emphasis on students' academic achievements. However, the pursuit of excellent academic performance often leads to inadequate sleep duration, while the body mass index (BMI) is also disregarded when prioritizing academic achievement. This study aims to examine the association between sleep duration and academic performance and to explore the mediating role of body mass index (BMI) among adolescent students in rural and urban areas of China.
The study utilized baseline (2013-2014 academic year) and follow-up survey data (2014-2015 academic year) from the China Education Panel Study (CEPS). A total of 7,218 adolescent subjects aged between 12 and 14 were recruited using multi-stage random probability proportional to size sample (PPS) sampling, providing demographic, sleep duration, and body mass index (BMI) information. Descriptive analysis, Ordinary Least Square (OLS), and Product of Coefficients Approach were used to estimate the association and mediating role between sleep duration, BMI and academic performance.
The sleep duration has significantly influenced the academic performance of adolescent students, (p < 0.01). A 10-minute increase in sleep duration was associated with a 6.3% decrease in academic performance for rural-urban students (β = -0.063, p < 0.01). Subgroup analyses further demonstrated that a 10-minute increase in sleep duration led to an 8.5% decrease in academic performance for rural adolescent students (β = -0.085, p < 0.01), while urban students experienced a 6.7% decrease under similar circumstances (β = -0.067, p < 0.05). Body mass index (BMI) negatively influenced students' academic performance (β = -0.071, p < 0.01) and mediates the relationship between sleep duration and academic performance (β = 0.112, p < 0.001).
The sleep duration has negatively influenced rural-urban adolescent students' academic performance in China, however, this influence was indirect when added the variable BMI into the model. The BMI played a mediating role in the relationship between sleep duration and academic performance.
学业成绩是评估中国青少年教育成果的关键指标，这促使家长和学校高度重视学生的学业成绩。然而，追求优异的学业成绩往往导致睡眠时间不足，而在优先考虑学业成绩时，身体质量指数（BMI）也被忽视。本研究旨在探讨睡眠时间与学业成绩之间的关联，并探究身体质量指数（BMI）在中国城乡青少年学生中的中介作用。
本研究利用了中国教育面板调查（CEPS）的基线（2013 - 2014学年）和随访调查数据（2014 - 2015学年）。采用多阶段随机概率规模成比例抽样（PPS）方法，共招募了7218名年龄在12至14岁之间的青少年受试者，他们提供了人口统计学、睡眠时间和身体质量指数（BMI）信息。使用描述性分析、普通最小二乘法（OLS）和系数乘积法来估计睡眠时间、BMI与学业成绩之间的关联及中介作用。
睡眠时间对青少年学生的学业成绩有显著影响（p < 0.01）。睡眠时间每增加10分钟，城乡学生的学业成绩下降6.3%（β = -0.063，p < 0.01）。亚组分析进一步表明，睡眠时间每增加10分钟，农村青少年学生的学业成绩下降8.5%（β = -0.085，p < 0.01），而城市学生在类似情况下下降6.7%（β = -0.067，p < 0.05）。身体质量指数（BMI）对学生的学业成绩有负面影响（β = -0.071，p < 0.01），并在睡眠时间与学业成绩之间的关系中起中介作用（β = 0.112，p < 0.001）。
睡眠时间对中国城乡青少年学生的学业成绩有负面影响，然而，当将BMI变量纳入模型时，这种影响是间接的。BMI在睡眠时间与学业成绩之间的关系中起中介作用。
