Stress and Sleep Disturbance as Correlates of Cognitive and Somatic Difficulties in Students

Abstract

Adolescent stress and sleep disruption may affect cognitive and physical functioning. This cross-sectional survey examined stress, sleep disturbance, cognitive difficulty, and somatic symptoms in high school students. After quality screening, 36 of 38 responses were analyzed using composite scales, correlation tests, and multiple regression. All domains correlated positively, and sleep was most strongly related to somatic symptoms (r = .761). Stress and sleep were independently associated with cognitive difficulty, whereas only sleep remained associated with somatic symptoms after controlling for stress. Demographic and workload variables showed no reliable associations after multiple-testing correction. Despite the small self-report sample, the findings identify sleep as a useful component of student well-being assessment and support longitudinal studies using objective measures.