Brenna Brooks

Brenna Brooks

A front-facing portrait of a young woman with fair skin, long straight dark hair parted down the middle, and bright red lipstick. She wears a black collared shirt and looks directly at the camera with a soft expression. The background is a plain, light-colored curtain.

My name is Brenna Brooks. I am a fourth-year professional communications student studying at Ryerson University. The topic I selected for my research study is one that is close to my heart. During a reflection of my post-secondary career, it became apparent that the way I approached my studies had, for the most part, changed every semester in terms of time spent preparing for exams and other schoolwork deliverables. Although there were many improvements made, there was still one factor that remained constant: my sleeping patterns. I noticed that I tend to find comfort in getting minimal hours of sleep when preparing for schoolwork deliverables. Perhaps it's a façade or a placebo effect of some sort; however, it's something that became comfortable for me, especially in a post-secondary environment, and I became curious to know if others found the same comfort that I did. My study, To Sleep or Not To Sleep, seeks to address this curiosity by examining the extent to which sleep deprivation is romanticized in post-secondary populations.

Research

To Sleep or Not To Sleep is a quantitative research study which seeks to discover the extent to which sleep deprivation is romanticized as a factor of success in post-secondary populations. The survey responses of 25 Ryerson students were collected as a primary means of research collection to determine whether a correlation between negative sleeping patterns and students perception of their academic success exists.

A dark blue infographic with a starry night sky background and a prominent yellow crescent moon in the top left. The main title reads 'TO SLEEP OR NOT TO SLEEP... SHOULD THAT BE A QUESTION?' and a subtitle states 'A RESEARCH STUDY CONDUCTED BY BRENNA BROOKS'. On the left, a detailed white line drawing depicts a male student, appearing determined or stressed, holding a book, with faint internal organs visible. On the right, five circular icons each introduce a question or statistic: 1. A scale balancing a clock and a money bag asks: 'TO WHAT EXTENT IS SLEEP DEPRIVATION ROMANTICIZED AS A FACTOR OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN POST-SECONDARY POPULATIONS?' 2. A graduation cap and diploma highlight: '60% THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO BELIEVE THAT SLEEP DEPRIVATION IS ROMANTICIZED AS A FACTOR OF SUCCESS IN POST-SECONDARY POPULATIONS'. 3. A paper with an A+ grade asks: 'IS SLEEP DEPRIVATION A REQUIREMENT OR A CHOICE AT POST-SECONDARY STUDENTS?' 4. An icon of two heads with dollar signs and up/down arrows states: '44% THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO BELIEVE THAT THE AMOUNT OF SLEEP YOU GET BEFORE AN EXAM OR ASSIGNMENT DEADLINE DETERMINES THE OUTCOME'. 5. A person sleeping in a bed asks: 'DO STUDENTS EVER FEEL GUILTY FOR GETTING A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP BEFORE A SCHOOLWORK DELIVERABLE?'
Project Webpage

Project Tags

Sleep Deprivation, Academic Success, Post-Secondary School, Health, Education
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