Jane E. Brody: Sign Up For NYT Parenting

An Underappreciated Key to
College Success: Sleep

By Jane E. Brody Aug. 13, 2018
Attention all you happy high school graduates about to go off to college, as
well as the many others returning for another year of higher education.
Grandsons Stefan and Tomas, that includes you.
Whatever you may think can get in the way of a successful college experience,
chances are you won’t think of one of the most important factors: how long
and how well you sleep. And not just on weekends, but every day, Monday
through Sunday.
Studies have shown that sleep quantity and sleep quality equal or outrank
such popular campus concerns as alcohol and drug use in predicting student
grades and a student’s chances of graduating.
Although in one survey 60 percent of students said they wanted information

from their colleges on how to manage sleep problems, few institutions of
higher learning do anything to counter the devastating effects of sleep
deprivation on academic success and physical and emotional well-being.
Some, in fact, do just the opposite, for example, providing 24-hour library
hours that encourage students to pull all-nighters.
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(I did that only once, to study for an exam in freshman year, and fell asleep in
the middle of the test. Lesson well learned!)
An all-nighter may help if all you have to do is memorize a list, but if you have
to do something complex with the information, you’ll do worse by staying up
all night, J. Roxanne Prichard, an expert on college sleep issues, told me.
After being awake 16 hours in a row, brain function starts to decline, and after
20 hours awake, you perform as if legally drunk, she said.
Many college-bound kids start out with dreadful sleep habits that are likely to
get worse once the rigorous demands of college courses and competing social
and athletic activities kick in.
I’ve yet to meet a parent whose teenage child, especially if male, doesn’t sleep
until 11 a.m. or later on weekends, throwing their circadian clock out of whack
in a perpetual struggle to make up for a serious midweek sleep debt. It’s as if
they travel across three or more time zones every weekend, then spend
Monday through Friday recovering from performance-robbing jet lag.
In the process, they knock out of whack one in 20 genes governed by a

circadian rhythm. The substances produced by those genes are not released at
the right times and the body fails to perform at its best. Both cognitive and
physical abilities are likely to suffer. In a study at Stanford University, when
men’s varsity basketball players got an optimal amount of sleep, their free-
throw and three-point field goal percentages increased significantly.
College students who fail to adopt more wholesome sleep habits are more
likely to find themselves unable to handle their chosen course load and less
likely to reach their academic potential, according to a national study of more
than 55,000 college students.
The study, by Monica E. Hartmann and Dr. Prichard of the University of St.
Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., found that for each additional day of sleep
disturbance a college student experienced each week, the likelihood of
dropping a course rose by 10 percent and grade point average fell by 0.02,
even when most other factors known to influence academic success were
taken into account.
“One in every three or four students nationally fails to graduate,” Dr. Prichard
said in an interview. “If their sleep were improved, their likelihood of
graduating would too. Nothing gets worse with better sleep, and a lot of
things get better.”
Dr. Prichard, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and scientific

director of the university’s Center for College Sleep, said the sleep habits of
college students represent “a major public health crisis” that institutions of
higher learning pay little attention to. Of 26 risks to well-being that colleges
consider important to inform students about, sleep ranks second to last, just
above internet addiction, she said.
“There’s definitely room for improvement in educating students about sleep,”

Dr. Prichard said in an interview. “If all you do is ask students how they’re
sleeping, chances are they’ll say ‘great’ because they’re so chronically sleep-
deprived, they can fall asleep anywhere!”
When Dr. Prichard, who had been studying rats, began teaching college full
time, she said she witnessed firsthand the “delirium and exhaustion of
students struggling to stay awake” and switched her research attention to
college students, looking to identify the factors that most influenced their lack
of good quality sleep.
“I was surprised to discover that feeling stressed was the main reason for
poor student sleep, while consumption of alcohol and caffeine were not
significant predictors of sleep quality,” she said based on a study of 1,125
college students she and co-authors published in 2010 in the Journal of
Adolescent Health. “Lots of students are suffering from depression, anxiety
and A.D.H.D., all of which can be symptoms of sleep deprivation or worsened
by it.”
Knowing this prompted her to find ways to help students better manage their
stress and anxiety. Working with the St. Thomas Student Wellness Center,
she organized a freshman morning get-together with a healthy breakfast and
conversation about issues that were causing student stress, testing this
intervention against emailed information. Those who attended the morning
sessions reported feeling much less stressed and got more sleep and were less
sleep-deprived at finals time, Dr. Prichard said.
Also critically important, Dr. Prichard said, is practicing good “sleep hygiene”
— the behavioral measures that can help to assure a full and restful night’s
sleep. She and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine offer these
suggestions:
• Go to bed and get up every day at approximately the same time, weekends
included.
• Create a relaxing bedroom setting and follow a consistent bedtime routine.
• Avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine and any medication with
stimulant effects at least three hours before bedtime.
• Don’t stay up late to cram for an exam or finish homework. If your outside
activities are too time-consuming, try to cut back on those that are
expendable.
• If possible, keep all electronics — computer, TV, cellphone, etc. — outside

the bedroom, and avoid using them just before bedtime.
• Don’t go to bed hungry, but avoid eating a big meal before bed.
• Avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime. Instead, do a calming activity like

light reading or meditation.
• Keep the bedroom quiet, dark and cool for sleeping. If outside light or noise
is disturbing, consider using light-blocking shades or a white noise machine.
How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep
How do you become a more successful sleeper? Grab a pillow, curl up and
keep reading to find out.

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An Underappreciated Key to

College Success: Sleep

Although in one survey 60 percent of students said they wanted information

Sign Up for NYT Parenting

In the process, they knock out of whack one in 20 genes governed by a

Dr. Prichard, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and scientific

“There’s definitely room for improvement in educating students about sleep,”

• Create a relaxing bedroom setting and follow a consistent bedtime routine.

• If possible, keep all electronics — computer, TV, cellphone, etc. — outside

• Avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime. Instead, do a calming activity like

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