This summary article presents the main findings of a study aimed at documenting the relationship between cegep students’ lifestyles and their influence on academic success and perseverance. The study was conducted in two phases. In the fall of 2023, more than 2,000 first-year students completed a questionnaire on physical activity, diet, sleep, screen use, substance use, and stress management. The following year, the researchers gave the same questionnaire to 500 second-year students from the same cohort to observe changes in their lifestyle habits between the start of college and the following year. The results show that:
Of all the lifestyle habits studied, stress management stood out as being most significantly associated with academic perseverance one year later,” explains Rachel Surprenant. Students who use strategies to reduce stress, such as “thought control, logical analysis, and techniques to slow the heart rate (Jacobson’s method, abdominal breathing, yoga, visualization, daily planning),” are more likely to persevere.
(Traduction libre)
Nutrition, particularly eating breakfast regularly, is the lifestyle habit most significantly associated with academic success, while frequent vaping is a factor that negatively influences both perseverance and academic success.
Research report
Surprenant, R., et Cabot, I. (2025). Relation entre les habitudes de vie des personnes étudiantes au collégial et leurs persévérance et réussite scolaires. Rapport de recherche PAREA . Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, 136 p.
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