Do sleep schedules have a big impact on college grades?

All you college students, it's time to stop pulling those all-nighters because a new study has found that sleep schedules can directly affect your grades. “Someone who is routinely well rested has a 0.14 GPA advantage over someone perpetually sleepy,” said study co-author J. Roxanne Prichard. “When you’re approaching school work well rested, you can accomplish work and complex problem solving much more efficiently,” Prichard added. “Complicating this, is that when you’re sleep deprived, you’re more likely to experience feelings of anxiety, depression, as well as physical illness, all of which can impair your effectiveness as a student.”



“Sleep and sleep complaints are notably idiosyncratic as are learning styles, and occasional nights of poor sleep can be considered normal for any group,” Pagel, who wasn’t involved in the study, said. “But overall this study strongly suggests that individuals with sleep complaints in college may have more difficulty in sustaining higher levels of academic performance.” “Too little sleep and poor quality sleep may impact attention and memory, which are both very important to perform academically,” said one researcher. “Sleep disturbances may also both be a consequence and contribute to depressed mood and increased worrying, and this again may impact the academic performance.” Stay tuned for more updates.