7.8 Sleep and Academic Performance

Good sleep optimizes brain function. Consider all of the stimuli and noise we take in each day through all of our senses; we cannot possibly store all of that information. Unneeded memories must be pruned during sleep so that the brain can remember the important information (de Vivo et al., 2017). Poor sleep is associated with poor concentration, difficulty learning and processing information, and decreased ability to make decisions. Being well-rested helps promote learning, memory, and creativity (Rasch & Born, 2013; Walker & Stickgold, 2006; Cai et al., 2009). During sleep, waste product left by the brain is removed, which means sleeping is also essential in cleaning out the brain between times of wakefulness (Xie et al., 2013).

Many studies have shown that sleep difficulties can significantly impair academic performance among college students. For example, later bedtimes and wake times, short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness have been linked to lower GPAs (Howell et al., 2004). Students with the highest level of academic performance tend to go to bed and get up earlier than their low-performing peers (Eliasson & Lettieri, 2010). In a study investigating the effect of sleep loss on next day effort, researchers found that students who were asked to stay up all night performed more poorly on a variety of tasks as compared to their non-sleep-deprived counterparts. They read less and reported shorter attention spans, and, given the opportunity to choose tasks and problems, they selected less difficult, low priority tasks, spent less time on tasks, and left more problems unsolved. When the two groups of students were asked to rate their individual performance, the sleep-deprived students rated their performance higher than their non-sleep-deprived counterparts rated their performance, even though the sleep-deprived students performed significantly worse than the students who had an adequate night’s sleep (Engle-Friedman et al., 2003). Thus, the sleep-deprived students didn’t realize the impact their lack of sleep had on their performance.

Sleep has been shown to be correlated with exam scores, as well. One study found that for every point increase students scored on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index—on which a higher score indicates poorer sleep with a maximum score of 21—their economics or accounting exam scores decreased by about five percentage points (Baert et al., 2015). Inadequate sleep can have impacts beyond just academic performance and grades. In a large study involving over 5,000 medical residents, researchers found that, overall, compared to residents who worked less than 80 hours per week, residents who worked more than 80 hours per week were 50 percent more likely to report making a significant medical error that led to an adverse patient outcome (Baldwin & Daugherty, 2004). Keep in mind these are just self-reported errors; and the count of errors that actually occurred may be even higher!

Video: Hacking your memory — with sleep

When choosing between studying all night or sleeping before an exam, choose sleep! REM is essential in the assimilation of new information with existing knowledge (Cai et al., 2009); getting enough good sleep will help you retain the information you study. If recalling information, mastering skills, and working efficiently are primary objectives of yours, then we suggest getting good sleep as a priority.