Night-rest patterns, extracurricular sports activities and academic achievement in primary education students

The aim of this paper was to study the connection between students' rest patterns (appropriate and inappropriate), accumulated hours of extracurricular physical and sports activities, and the academic results of primary school students. The sample includes 573 primary school students from Barcelona and the Balearic Islands (54.62% boys and 45.38% girls). An ad hoc questionnaire gathering both quantitative and qualitative data regarding sociodemographic and psychoeducational questions concerning rest patterns and extracurricular activities was completed by the parents. The study shows that the best academic marks were found as a result of both proper rest patterns and moderate after school exercise (2 to 5 hours a week). The study further reveals that the worst school grades were obtained in cases of inadequate rest patterns combined with a high number of hours of extracurricular sports activities (more than 5 hours a week).