The relationship between circadian cycles and working memory in high school students

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between circadian cycles and working memory of students.

The research was done using the correlation method. The statistical population consisted of the female students of the 11th grade in the central part of the Khodabandeh county,  from whom, 40 students were selected from two classes by random cluster sampling . They were tested for two weeks in two turns in the morning (at 8, 9.30, 11) and in the afternoon (at 13, 14.30, 16.15). The Horn and Stoberg (1976) questionnaire was used to assess the chronotype, and tests of equivalent forms of verbal memory assessment was used to measure the working memory. The mixed analysis of variance was used to analyze the data.

there was a significant difference between the efficiency of students' working memory at different hours of the day (f =2/82, p = 0/017) as well as the different days of the week (f =16/8, p < 0/0005). Differences in the efficiency of working memory were not significant among the chronotypes of morning, afternoon, and evening (f =0/301, p = 0/742). The efficiency of students' working memory was different according to the cronotype in different hours of the day (f =3/06, p = 0/001).

It is essential to pay attention to the circadian and weekly cycles in student education.