TITLE:
The Impacts of Sleep Deprivation on Adolescent Decisions Involving Risk Taking
AUTHORS:
Minxi Qu, Kimberly Rose Clark
KEYWORDS:
Risk-Taking, Delay Discounting, Adolescent Brain, Sleep Deprivation, Brain Activity, Impulsivity, Neuroscience, Risk-Taking
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.11,
November
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationships among sleep behavior, self-regulation, and academic decision-making in a sample of 89 male adolescents (ages 14 - 18) recruited through online networks of former classmates from a single-gender elementary school in China. The survey included items designed to assess key constructs such as academic risk-taking, overconfidence, and self-regulation, adapted from validated behavioral frameworks. Measures included sleep habits, use of social media, study timing, confidence in academic performance, and impulsivity in decision-making. Multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which sleep behavior predicted decision-making and delayed discounting outcomes. Although not statistically significant, students who reported more average sleep per night tended to prefer larger, delayed rewards. A greater number of siblings was significantly associated with a preference for smaller, immediate rewards, suggesting potential environmental influences on impulsivity, t(28.3) = –22.2, p = .034, η2 = .565. Interestingly, students who preferred immediate rewards were not necessarily overconfident in their academic abilities compared with peers who slept more, indicating that consistent sleep may support self-regulation despite sleep deprivation. The sleep variable was dichotomized at 6.5 hours, chosen based on prior adolescent sleep research identifying Weaver et al., 2018). Age differences also emerged, with younger students more likely to feel well-rested only some of the time, while older students showed more balanced perceptions of restfulness, suggesting increased self-awareness with age. All procedures followed ethical guidelines; participation was anonymous, voluntary, and approved by a school administrator.