The Relationship Between Sleep Quality Working Memory and Procedural Memory Age and Personality as Moderators

Author

Kazi S. Salsabil, University of Central FloridaFollow

Keywords

Sleep quality, Working memory, Procedural memory, Age, Personality

Abstract

Sleep is essential for memory functions, as it consolidates memories (Yale School of Medicine, 2022). Sleep deprivation can significantly impair various types of memory, including working memory (WM) and procedural memory (PM) (Peng et al., 2020; Pasula et al., 2018). While sleep deprivation is linked to sleep quality, it's still unclear whether sleep quality also affects WM and PM. Few studies have explored the relationship between sleep quality and WM, yielding inconclusive results (Merz, 2017; Xie et al., 2019). Research on sleep quality and its effects on PM is also limited and often focuses on specialized groups (Zinke et al., 2021), which reduces generalizability. Therefore, the current study investigated whether sleep quality is associated with WM and PM. It also examined whether age and personality traits modulate these relationships. The n-back task was used to measure working memory, the serial reaction time task was used to assess procedural memory, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire was used to evaluate sleep quality. The Big Five Inventory was used to assess personality traits, and participants self-reported their age. Poor sleep quality was expected to negatively impact both WM and PM. Age and personality traits were anticipated to modulate these effects (Pasula et al., 2018; Peng et al., 2020). The findings indicated that sleep quality is significantly associated with working memory accuracy. Additionally, the relationship is moderated by age and personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness. However, no significant relationship was found between sleep quality and procedural memory. Moreover, age and personality did not significantly moderate this relationship.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Summer

Thesis Chair

Parra-Tatge, Marisol

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Thesis Discipline

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Campus Access

Length of Campus Access

5 years

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

STARS Citation

Salsabil, Kazi S., "The Relationship Between Sleep Quality Working Memory and Procedural Memory Age and Personality as Moderators" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 389.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/389