Adolescent sleep and fluid intelligence performance

Fluid intelligence involves novel problem-solving and may be susceptible to poor sleep. This study examined relationships between adolescent sleep, fluid intelligence, and academic achievement. Participants were 217 adolescents (42% male) aged 13 to 18 years (mean age, 14.9 years; SD = 1.0) in grades 9–11. Fluid intelligence was predicted to mediate the relationship between adolescent sleep and academic achievement. Students completed online questionnaires of self-reported sleep, fluid intelligence (Letter Sets and Number Series), and self-reported grades. Total sleep time was not significantly related to fluid intelligence nor academic achievement (both P > 0.05); however, sleep difficulty (e.g. difficulty initiating sleep, unrefreshing sleep) was related to both (P < 0.05). The strength of the relationship between sleep difficulty and grades was reduced when fluid intelligence was introduced into the model; however, the z-score was not significant to confirm mediation. Nevertheless, fluid intelligence is a cognitive ability integral in academic achievement, and in this study has been shown it to be susceptible to sleep impairments (but not duration) in adolescents.