Abstract

Sleep disturbances are central to students’ experience of academic stress, yet their involvement in differentiated emotional, cognitive, and physical responses to academic demands requires further specification. This study tested a statistical mediation model in which sleep disturbances were specified as the statistical mediator between perceived academic stressors and irritability, negative thoughts, and physical exhaustion. Using a non-experimental cross-sectional design, data were collected from 1014 undergraduates at the University of Extremadura (Mage = 20.56, SD = 3.50), who completed the Academic Stressors Scale (E-CEA) and Academic Stress Responses Scale (R-CEA). Three mediation models were estimated with PROCESS Model 4, adjusting for gender, year of study, and field of study. Academic stressors were positively associated with sleep disturbances (β = 0.52, p < 0.001), which were positively associated with the three stress responses (β = 0.30–0.41, all p < 0.001). Academic stressors remained directly associated with these outcomes after accounting for sleep disturbances (β = 0.32–0.48, all p < 0.001). Indirect associations through sleep disturbances were observed for irritability (β = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.23]), negative thoughts (β = 0.16, 95% CI [0.12, 0.20]), and physical exhaustion (β = 0.21, 95% CI [0.17, 0.25]). Findings indicate partial cross-sectional statistical mediation and suggest that sleep-focused prevention may complement efforts to manage academic demands and student well-being.

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