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Sleep is essential for students’ health and academic success, influencing everything from memory and cognitive function to emotional well-being and physical health. During Student Sleep Health Week, the Bureau of Indian Education highlights the importance of adequate sleep, which, according to the CDC and NIH, is key to preventing issues such as poor academic performance, increased illness, and mental health challenges. Licensed Professional Counselor and Program Specialist with the BIE’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, Leslie L. Crow, emphasizes that healthy sleep habits can significantly improve both mental and physical health.

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The Effect of Sleep Quality on Students’ Academic Achievement

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Sleep is an inseparable part of human health and life, which is crucial in learning, practice, as well as physical and mental health. It affects the capacity of individual learning, academic performance, and neural-behavioral functions. This study…

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Why do people sleep?

Modern medicine's understanding of sleep is like a partially assembled jigsaw puzzle. Experts can identify some of the pieces and have an idea of what the big picture looks like, but they haven't figured out how everything fits together.

Your body cycles between being awake and asleep throughout each day, with certain processes only happening when you're asleep. When you're asleep, your body "powers down" and most body systems - including your brain - become less active.

Some of the key things that happen while you're asleep include:

Energy conservation and storage. During the day, cells throughout your body use stockpiled resources to keep doing their jobs. While you're asleep, your body uses less energy. That lets those cells resupply and stock up for the next day.

Self-repair and recovery. Being less active makes it easier for your body to heal injuries and repair issues that happened while you were awake. That's also why being sick makes you feel more tired and need more rest.

Brain maintenance. While you're asleep, your brain reorganizes and catalogs memories and learned information. This is like a librarian sorting and shelving books at the end of the day. It makes accessing and using things you learn and remember easier and more efficient.

How much sleep do I need?

Sleep is variable from person to person. The way that people sleep and how much they need can vary widely. The number of hours of sleep that are good for your health can also change during your lifetime.

In general, recommended sleep amounts by age are:

These sleep amounts apply to most people, but they aren't universal. Some people need more sleep, and others need less. Variations in how much sleep you need may even be genetic. For example, some people can inherit the trait of being a "short sleeper" from a parent.

Personal circumstances and your health status can also affect how much sleep you need. People who are sick or recovering from an injury or medical procedure may need to sleep more. Pregnant people often need more sleep during the first trimester, too.

If you have questions about how much sleep you need, especially if it's different from the amount recommended for your age group, talk to a primary care provider. They can help you understand when that difference might mean there's a medical issue that needs exploring.

Do I have to get all my sleep at once?

No, getting all of your sleep at once isn't a hard-and-fast rule. In fact, sleep customs commonly vary by culture and time period. Historically, some cultures embraced splitting nighttime sleep into two periods. Throughout the world, many cultures still embrace the habit of napping. Many have their own word for it (like "siesta" in Spanish-speaking countries or the "inemuri," a short workplace nap that's practiced in Japan).

But like too much of anything, napping comes with a drawback. Napping for too long can affect sleep quality overnight. There's also an increased risk for certain health problems. Talk to your healthcare provider if you often nap or want to try it. That can allow you to get the most benefit from naps without the drawbacks.

What are the stages of sleep?

Sleeping doesn't mean your brain is totally inactive. While you're less aware of the world around you, you still have plenty of detectable brain activity. That brain activity has predictable patterns. Experts organized those patterns into stages. The stages fall broadly into two categories: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep.

There are three NREM stages. When you fall asleep, you typically enter NREM stage 1 and then cycle between NREM stages 2 and 3. After that, you go into REM sleep and start dreaming. After the first REM cycle, you start a new sleep cycle and go back into stage 1 or 2, and the cycle starts over.

One cycle normally takes about 90 to 120 minutes before another begins. Most people go through four or five cycles per night (assuming they get a full eight hours of sleep).

What is stage 1 NREM sleep?

Stage 1 NREM sleep is the lightest stage of sleep. You enter stage 1 right after you fall asleep. This stage usually lasts only a few minutes, making up about 5% of your sleep time. After that, your sleep gets deeper, and you move into stage 2 NREM sleep.

What is stage 2 NREM sleep?

Stage 2 is still light sleep, but deeper than stage 1. During this stage, your brain waves slow down and have noticeable pauses between short, powerful bursts of electrical activity. Experts think those bursts are your brain organizing memories and information from the time you spent awake.

Stage 2 NREM sleep accounts for about 45% of your time asleep (the most of any stage). You'll go through multiple rounds of stage 2 NREM sleep, and usually, each one is longer than the last. After stage 2, you move deeper into stage 3 NREM sleep or enter REM sleep.

What is stage 3 NREM sleep?

The deepest stage of NREM sleep is stage 3. It makes up about 25% of your total sleep time in adults. But babies and children need more stage 3 sleep, and the older you get, the less you need.

In stage 3, your brain waves are slow but strong. Your body takes advantage of this very deep sleep stage to repair injuries and reinforce your immune system. The same bursts of brain activity that happen in stage 2 can also happen in stage 3, and brain waves specific to stage 3 help regulate those bursts.

You need stage 3 NREM sleep to wake up feeling rested. Without enough stage 3 sleep, you feel tired and drained even if you slept for a long time. That's why your body automatically tries to get as much stage 3 sleep into your sleeping period as early as possible. After stage 3 NREM sleep, your body moves into stage 2 NREM, which is the gatekeeper of REM sleep.

Because stage 3 NREM sleep is so deep, it's hard to wake someone up from it. If they do wake up, they'll probably have "sleep inertia," a state of confusion or "mental fog." Sleep inertia lasts about 30 minutes.

What is REM sleep?

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage of sleep where most dreams happen. Its name comes from how your eyes move behind your eyelids while you're dreaming. During REM sleep, your brain activity looks very similar to brain activity while you're awake.

REM sleep makes up about 25% of your total time asleep. Your first REM cycle of a sleep period is typically the shortest, around 10 minutes. Each one that follows is longer than the last, up to an hour.

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Sleep is a body process that allows your body to rest, repair and restore itself. You need sleep to function properly. Lack of sleep has links to many health issues.

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Abstract

Although numerous survey studies have reported connections between sleep and cognitive function, there remains a lack of quantitative data using objective measures to directly assess the association between sleep and academic performance. In this study, wearable activity trackers were distributed to 100 students in an introductory college chemistry class (88 of whom completed the study), allowing for multiple sleep measures to be correlated with in-class performance on quizzes and midterm examinations. Overall, better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep correlated with better grades. However, there was no relation between sleep measures on the single night before a test and test performance; instead, sleep duration and quality for the month and the week before a test correlated with better grades. Sleep measures accounted for nearly 25% of the variance in academic performance. These findings provide quantitative, objective evidence that better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep are strongly associated with better academic performance in college. Gender differences are discussed.

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Introduction

The relationship between sleep and cognitive function has been a topic of interest for over a century. Well-controlled sleep studies conducted with healthy adults have shown that better sleep is associated with a myriad of superior cognitive functions,1,2,3,4,5,6 including better learning and memory.7,8 These effects have been found to extend beyond the laboratory setting such that self-reported sleep measures from students in the comfort of their own homes have also been found to be associated with academic performance.9,10,11,12,13

Sleep is thought to play a crucial and specific role in memory consolidation. Although the exact mechanisms behind the relationship between sleep, memory, and neuro-plasticity are yet unknown, the general understanding is that specific synaptic connections that were active during awake-periods are strengthened during sleep, allowing for the consolidation of memory, and synaptic connections that were inactive are weakened.5,14,15 Thus, sleep provides an essential function for memory consolidation (allowing us to remember what has been studied), which in turn is critical for successful academic performance.

Beyond the effects of sleep on memory consolidation, lack of sleep has been linked to poor attention and cognition. Well-controlled sleep deprivation studies have shown that lack of sleep not only increases fatigue and sleepiness but also worsens cognitive performance.2,3,16,17 In fact, the cognitive performance of an individual who has been awake for 17 h is equivalent to that exhibited by one who has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%.1 Outside of a laboratory setting, studies examining sleep in the comfort of peoples' own homes via self-report surveys have found that persistently poor sleepers experience significantly more daytime difficulties in regards to fatigue, sleepiness, and poor cognition compared with persistently good sleepers.18

Generally, sleep is associated with academic performance in school. Sleep deficit has been associated with lack of concentration and attention during class.19 While a few studies report null effects,20,21 most studies looking at the effects of sleep quality and duration on academic performance have linked longer and better-quality sleep with better academic performance such as school grades and study effort.4,6,9,10,11,12,13,22,23,24,25,26,27 Similarly, sleep inconsistency plays a part in academic performance. Sleep inconsistency (sometimes called "social jet lag") is defined by inconsistency in sleep schedule and/or duration from day to day. It is typically seen in the form of sleep debt during weekdays followed by oversleep on weekends. Sleep inconsistency tends to be greatest in adolescents and young adults who stay up late but are constrained by strict morning schedules. Adolescents who experience greater sleep inconsistency perform worse in school.28,29,30,31

Although numerous studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and students' academic performance, these studies utilized subjective measures of sleep duration and/or quality, typically in the form of self-report surveys; very few to date have used objective measures to quantify sleep duration and quality in students. One exception is a pair of linked studies that examined short-term benefits of sleep on academic performance in college. Students were incentivized with offers of extra credit if they averaged eight or more hours of sleep during final exams week in a psychology class32 or five days leading up to the completion of a graphics studio final assignment.33 Students who averaged eight or more hours of sleep, as measured by a wearable activity tracker, performed significantly better on their final psychology exams than students who chose not to participate or who slept less than eight hours. In contrast, for the graphics studio final assignments no difference was found in performance between students who averaged eight or more hours of sleep and those who did not get as much sleep, although sleep consistency in that case was found to be a factor.

Our aim in this study was to explore how sleep affects university students' academic performance by objectively and ecologically tracking their sleep throughout an entire semester using Fitbit-a wearable activity tracker. Fitbit uses a combination of the wearer's movement and heart-rate patterns to estimate the duration and quality of sleep. For instance, to determine sleep duration, the device measures the time in which the wearer has not moved, in combination with signature sleep movements such as rolling over. To determine sleep quality, the Fitbit device measures the wearer's heart-rate variability which fluctuates during transitions between different stages of sleep. Although the specific algorithms that calculate these values are proprietary to Fitbit, they have been found to accurately estimate sleep duration and quality in normal adult sleepers without the use of research-grade sleep staging equipment.34 By collecting quantitative sleep data over the course of the semester on nearly 100 students, we aimed to relate objective measures of sleep duration, quality, and consistency to academic performance from test to test and overall in the context of a real, large university college course.

A secondary aim was to understand gender differences in sleep and academic performance. Women outperform men in collegiate academic performance in most subjects35,36,37,38 and even in online college courses.39 Most of the research conducted to understand this female advantage in school grades has examined gender differences in self-discipline,40,41,42 and none to date have considered gender differences in sleep as a mediating factor on school grades. There are inconsistencies in the literature on gender differences in sleep in young adults. While some studies report that females get more quantity43 but worse quality sleep compared with males,43,44 other studies report that females get better quality sleep.45,46 In the current study, we aim to see whether we would observe a female advantage in grades and clarify how sleep contributes to gender differences.

Results

Bedtime and wake-up times

On average, students went to bed at 1:54 a.m. (Median = 1:47 a.m., Standard Deviation (SD) of all bedtime samples = 2 h 11 min, SD of mean bedtime per participant = 1 h) and woke up at 9:17 a.m. (Median = 9:12 a.m., SD of all wake-up time samples = 2 h 2 min; SD of mean wake-up time per participant = 54 min). The data were confirmed to have Gaussian distribution using the Shapiro-Wilks normality test. We conducted an ANOVA with the overall score (sum of all grade-relevant quizzes and exams-see "Procedure") as the dependent variable and bedtime (before or after median) and wake-up time (before or after median) as the independent variables. We found a main effect of bedtime ( F (1, 82) = 6.45, p = 0.01), such that participants who went to bed before median bedtime had significantly higher overall score ( X = 77.25%, SD = 13.71%) compared with participants who went to bed after median bedtime ( X = 70.68%, SD = 11.01%). We also found a main effect of wake-up time ( F (1, 82) = 6.43, p = 0.01), such that participants who woke up before median wake-up time had significantly higher overall score ( X = 78.28%, SD = 9.33%) compared with participants who woke up after median wake-up time ( X = 69.63%, SD = 14.38%), but found no interaction between bedtime and wake-up time ( F (1, 82) = 0.66, p  = 0.42).

A Pearson's product-moment correlation between average bedtime and overall score revealed a significant and negative correlation ( r (86) = −0.45, p < 0.0001), such that earlier average bedtime was associated with a higher overall score. There was a significant and negative correlation between average wake-up time and overall score ( r (86) = −0.35, p < 0.001), such that earlier average wake-up time was associated with a higher overall score. There was also a significant and positive correlation between average bedtime and average wake-up time (r (86) = 0.68, p  < 0.0001), such that students who went to bed earlier tended to also wake up earlier.

Sleep duration, quality, and consistency in relation to academic performance

Overall, the mean duration of sleep for participants throughout the entire semester was 7 h 8 min (SD of all sleep samples = 1 h 48 min, SD of mean sleep duration per participant = 41 min). There was a significant positive correlation between mean sleep duration throughout the semester (sleep duration) and overall score ( r (86) = 0.38, p < 0.0005), indicating that a greater amount of sleep was associated with a higher overall score (Fig. 1a). Similarly, there was a significant positive correlation between mean sleep quality throughout the semester (Sleep Quality) and Overall Score ( r (86) = 0.44, p < 0.00005). Sleep inconsistency was defined for each participant as the standard deviation of the participant's daily sleep duration in minutes so that a larger standard deviation indicated greater sleep inconsistency. There was a significant negative correlation between sleep inconsistency and overall score ( r (86) = −0.36, p < 0.001), indicating that the greater inconsistency in sleep duration was associated with a lower overall score (Fig. 1b).

Correlations between sleep measures and overall score. a Average daily hours slept (sleep duration) vs. overall score for the semester. b Standard deviation of average daily hours of sleep (sleep inconsistency) vs. overall score in class

Timing of sleep and its relation to academic performance

To understand sleep and its potential role in memory consolidation, we examined the timing of sleep as it related to specific assessments. All Pearson correlations with three or more comparisons were corrected for multiple comparisons using false discovery rate.47

Night before assessments

We conducted a correlation between sleep quality the night before a midterm and respective midterm scores as well as sleep duration the night before a midterm and respective scores. There were no significant correlations with sleep duration or sleep quality for all three midterms (all rs < 0.20, all ps > 0.05). Similar analyses for sleep duration and sleep quality the night before respective quizzes revealed no correlations ( rs from 0.01 to 0.26, all p s > 0.05).

Week and month leading up to assessments

To understand the effect of sleep across the time period while course content was learned for an assessment, we examined average sleep measures during the 1 month leading up to the midterms. We found a significant positive correlation between average sleep duration over the month leading up to scores on each midterm ( rs from 0.25 to 0.34, all ps < 0.02). Similar analyses for average sleep duration over one week leading up to respective quizzes were largely consistent with those of midterms, with significant correlations on 3 of 8 quizzes (rs from 0.3 to 0.4, all ps < 0.05) and marginal correlations on an additional 3 quizzes (rs from 0.25 to 0.27, all p s < 0.08).

There was a significant and positive correlation between sleep quality scores averaged over the month leading up to each midterm for all three midterms ( rs from 0.21 to 0.38, all ps < 0.05). Similar analyses for average Sleep Quality over one week leading up to respective quizzes revealed a significant correlation on 1 of 8 quizzes ( r (86) = 0.42, p < 0.005) and marginal correlations on 3 quizzes ( rs from 0.25 to 0.27, all p s < 0.08).

Variance of assessment performance accounted for by sleep measures

In order to calculate how much of the variance on assessment performance was accounted for by the sleep measures, we conducted a stepwise regression on overall score using three regressors: sleep duration, sleep quality, and sleep inconsistency. The relative importance of each variable was calculated using the relaimpo package in R 48 to understand individual regressor's contribution to the model, which is not always clear from the breakdown of model R ² when regressors are correlated. We found a significant regression ( F (3,84) = 8.95, p = .00003), with an R ² of 0.24. Students' predicted overall score was equal to 77.48 + 0.21 (sleep duration) + 19.59 (Sleep Quality) - 0.45 (sleep inconsistency). While sleep inconsistency was the only significant individual predictor of overall score ( p  = 0.03) in this analysis, we found that 24.44% of variance was explained by the three regressors. The relative importance of these metrics were 7.16% sleep duration, 9.68% sleep quality, and 7.6% sleep inconsistency.

Gender differences

Females had better Sleep Quality ( t (88) = 2.63, p = 0.01), and less sleep inconsistency ( t (88) = 2.18, p = 0.03) throughout the semester compared with males, but the two groups experienced no significant difference in sleep duration ( t (88) = 1.03, p = 0.3). Sleep duration and sleep quality were significantly correlated in both males ( r (41) = 0.85, p < 0.00001) and females ( r (43) = 0.64, p < 0.00001), but this correlation was stronger in males ( Z = −2.25, p = 0.02) suggesting that it may be more important for males to get a long-duration sleep in order to get good quality sleep. In addition, sleep inconsistency and sleep quality were significantly negatively correlated in males ( r (41) = −0.51, p = 0.0005) but not in females ( r (43) = 0.29, p  > 0.05), suggesting that it may be more important for males to stick to a regular daily sleep schedule in order to get good quality sleep.

Females scored higher on overall score compared with males ( t (88) = −2.48, p = 0.01), but a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that females and males did not perform significantly different on overall score when controlling for Sleep Quality, F (1, 85) = 2.22, p = 0.14. Sleep inconsistency and overall score were negatively correlated in males ( r (41) = −0.44, p = 0.003) but not in females ( r (43) = −0.13, p  = 0.39), suggesting that it is important for males to stick to a regular sleep schedule in order to perform well in academic performance but less so for females. No other gender differences were detected between other sleep measures and overall score.

Discussion

This study found that longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, and greater sleep consistency were associated with better academic performance. A multiple linear regression revealed that these three sleep measures accounted for 24.44% of the variance in overall grade performance. Thus, there was a substantial association between sleep and academic performance. The present results correlating overall sleep quality and duration with academic performance are well aligned with previous studies6,11,12,24,25 on the role of sleep on cognitive performance. Similarly, this study compliments the two linked studies that found longer sleep duration during the week before final exams47 and consistent sleep duration five days prior to a final assignment48 enhanced students' performance. The present study, however, significantly extends our understanding of the relation between sleep and academic performance by use of multiple objective measures of sleep throughout an entire semester and academic assessments completed along the way.

The present study also provides new insights about the timing of the relation between sleep and academic performance. Unlike a prior study,23 we did not find that sleep duration the night before an exam was associated with better test performance. Instead we found that both longer sleep duration and better sleep quality over the full month before a midterm were more associated with better test performance. Rather than the night before a quiz or exam, it may be more important to sleep well for the duration of the time when the topics tested were taught. The implications of these findings are that, at least in the context of an academic assessment, the role of sleep is crucial during the time the content itself is learned, and simply getting good sleep the night before may not be as helpful. The outcome that better "content-relevant sleep" leads to improved performance is supported by previous controlled studies on the role of sleep in memory consolidation.14,15

Consistent with some previous research45,46 female students tended to experience better quality sleep and with more consistency than male students. In addition, we found that males required a longer and more regular daily sleep schedule in order to get good quality sleep. This female advantage in academic performance was eliminated once sleep patterns were statistically equated, suggesting that it may be especially important to encourage better sleep habits in male students (although such habits may be helpful for all students).

Several limitations of the present study may be noted. First, the sleep quality measures were made with proprietary algorithms. There is an evidence that the use of cardiac, respiratory, and movement information from Fitbit devices can accurately estimate sleep stages,32 but there is no published evidence that Fitbit's 1~10 sleep quality scores represent a valid assessment of sleep quality. Second, the relation between sleep and academic performance may be moderated by factors that can affect sleep, such as stress, anxiety, motivation, personality traits, and gender roles. Establishing a causal relation between sleep and academic performance will require experimental manipulations in randomized controlled trials, but these will be challenging to conduct in the context of real education in which students care about their grades. Third, these findings occurred for a particular student population at MIT enrolled in a particular course, and future studies will need to examine the generalizability of these findings to other types of student populations and other kinds of classes.

In sum, this study provides evidence for a strong relation between sleep and academic performance using a quantifiable and objective measures of sleep quality, duration, and consistency in the ecological context of a live classroom. Sleep quality, duration, and consistency together accounted for a substantial amount (about a quarter) of the overall variance in academic performance.

Methods

Participants

One hundred volunteers (47 females) were selected from a subset of students who volunteered among 370 students enrolled in Introduction to Solid State Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to participate in the study. Participants were informed of the study and gave written consent obtained in accordance with the guidelines of and approved by the MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects. Due to limitations in funding, we only had access to 100 Fitbit devices and could not enroll all students who volunteered; consequently, the first 100 participants to volunteer were selected. All participants were gifted a wearable activity tracker at the completion of the study in exchange for their participation. Seven participants were excluded from analysis because they failed to wear their activity tracker for more than 80% of the semester, three participants were excluded because they lost their wearable activity tracker, and another two participants were excluded because they completed less than 75% of the assessments in the class. Of the 88 participants who completed the study (45 females), 85 were freshmen, one was a junior and two were seniors (mean age = 18.19 years).

The Solid State Chemistry class is a single-semester class offered in the fall semester and geared toward freshmen students to satisfy MIT's general chemistry requirement. The class consisted of weekly lectures by the professor and two weekly recitations led by 12 different teaching assistants (TAs). Each student was assigned to a specific recitation section that fit their schedule and was not allowed to attend other sections; therefore, each student had the same TA throughout the semester. Students took (1) weekly quizzes that tested knowledge on the content covered the week leading up to the quiz date, (2) three midterms that tested knowledge on the content covered in the 3-4 weeks leading up to the exam date, and (3) a final exam that tested content covered throughout the semester. Based on a one-way between subjects' analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effect of teaching assistants (TAs) on overall grade, we found no significant differences in overall grade across the TAs (F (10, 77) = 1.82, p  = 0.07. (One TA was removed from the analysis because he only had one student who was participating in this study).

Procedure

Participants were asked to wear an activity tracker for the entire duration of the semester without going below 80% usage each week. If 80% or more usage was not maintained, warning emails were sent at the end of that respective week. Participants were asked to return the device if they dipped below 80% usage more than three out of the 14 weeks of the semester. The average usage rate at the end of the semester for the 88 participants who completed the study was 89.4% (SD = 5.5%). The missing data appeared to be at random and were deleted prior to data analysis. As part of a separate research question, 22 of the 88 participants joined an intense cardiovascular exercise class for which they received separate physical education credit. These students performed similarly to the other 67 participants in terms of final class grade ( t (88) = 1.57, p = 0.12), exercise amount (total amount of moderately and very active minutes on the wearable device) (t (88) = 0.59, p = 0.56), sleep amount ( t (88) = 0.3, p = 0.77), and sleep quality ( t (88) = 0.14, p  = 0.9), so they were included in all of the analyses.

Materials

Participants' activities were tracked using a Fitbit Charge HR. Data from the device were recorded as follows: heart rate every 5 min; steps taken, distance traveled, floors climbed, calories burned and activity level measurements every 15 min; resting heart rate daily; and sleep duration and quality for every instance of sleep throughout the day. Sleep quality was determined using Fitbit's proprietary algorithm that produces a value from 0 (poor quality) to 10 (good quality).

Assessments

Nine quizzes, three midterm examinations, and one final examination were administered throughout the 14-week class to assess the students' academic achievement. The students' cumulative class grade was made up of 25% for all nine quizzes (lowest quiz grade was dropped from the average), 15% for each midterm exam, and 30% for the final exam for a total of 100%.

At MIT, freshmen are graded on a Pass or No Record basis in all classes taken during their first semester. Therefore, all freshmen in this class needed a C- level or better (≥50%, no grading on a curve) to pass the class. A failing grade (a D or F grade) did not go on their academic record. All upperclassmen were given letter grades; A (≥85%), B (70-84%), C (50-69%), D (45-49%), F (≤44%). Because a large portion of the class had already effectively "passed" the class before taking Quiz 9 and the final exam, we excluded these two assessments from our analyses due to concerns about students' motivation to perform their best. We calculated for each student an overall score defined as the sum of the eight quizzes and three midterms to summarize academic performance in the course.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Horace A. Lubin Fund in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering to J.C.G. and funding from MIT Integrated Learning Initiative to K.O. and J.R.K. The authors are grateful for many useful discussions with Carrie Moore and Matthew Breen at the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation at MIT.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. MIT Integrated Learning Initiative, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

Kana Okano, Jakub R. Kaczmarzyk & John D. E. Gabrieli

2. Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, 02163, USA

Neha Dave

3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

Jeffrey C. Grossman

Contributions

K.O. and J.C.G. conceived, designed, supervised, and analyzed the project. J.K. and N.D. helped analyze the data. The manuscript was written by K.O., J.D.E.G., and J.C.G.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey C. Grossman.

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Okano, K., Kaczmarzyk, J.R., Dave, N. et al. Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students. npj Sci. Learn. 4, 16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0055-z
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Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students - npj Science of Learning

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How does sleep quality impact brain functions like memory and attention in school?

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NREM sleep or non rapid eye movment sleep is the lighghter stage of sleep and only last a few minutes or about 5% of your sleep.

REM sleep is rapid eye movement sleep and is the deeper faze of sleep. Heart rate slows, and body temperature drops.

Sleep spindles (bursts of brain activity) and K-complexes (sudden spikes in brain activity) happen which are thought to help with memory consolidation and protection against waking.

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Melatonin: Causes sleep and regulates circadian rhythms.

Growth Hormone: Supports tissue and muscle growth.

Cortisol: Involved in the body's stress response.

Leptin and Ghrelin: Helps regulate appetite and energy.Sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation and learning:

REM sleep is important for emotion processing and memory consolidation.

Non-REM sleep supports general brain function and cognitive functioning.

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Sleep and Athletic Performance : Current Sports Medicine Reports

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gests that increased sleep duration and improved sleep quality in athletes are associated with improved performance and competitive success. In addition, better sleep may reduce the risk of both injury and illness in athletes, not only optimizing health but also potentially enhancing performance through increased participation in training. Despite this, most studies have found that athletes fail to obtain the recommended amount of sleep, threatening both performance and health. Athletes face a number of obstacles that can reduce the likelihood of obtaining proper sleep, such as training and competition schedules, travel, stress, academic demands, and overtraining. In addition, athletes have been found to demonstrate poor self-assessment of their sleep duration and quality. In light of this, athletes may require more careful monitoring and intervention to identify individuals at risk and promote proper sleep to improve both performance and overall health. This review attempts to highlight the recent literature regarding sleep issues in athletes, the effects of sleep on athletic performance, and interventions to enhance proper sleep in athletes.…

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How Sleep Affects Athletic Performance | Sleep Foundation

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Time for recovery, rest, & sleep is an integral part of reaching peak athletic performance. Learn how sleep can help athletes in this guide.

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Contributor Mark D. Stephenson, MS, ATC, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D

Athletes compete at their best when they feel their best. No amount of training or meal prep will help them feel more energized, refreshed, and ready to compete than the right amount of uninterrupted sleep.

Those who choose to neglect sleep days before a competition can jeopardize their performance.

"If you're someone who thinks they can operate well with 4 hours of sleep, you're kidding yourself in the long run," says Mark D. Stephenson, MS, ATC, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D, director of Tactical Research Development and Innovation at the Center for Sports Performance and Research. "Sleep needs to be taken as seriously as the foods we eat. If you're not feeling the effects the next day, there's a good chance it will catch up with you months and years later."

Stephenson explains how sleep affects athletic performance and how an athlete can adjust their lifestyle to sleep better.

How does sleep affect athletic performance?

During sleep, the brain flows in and out of four sleep stages. Different brain frequencies, or signals, occur in each stage. Much of the body's repair occurs during slower, "deep sleep" frequencies.

How much time the brain spends in deep sleep, and how many times it cycles through each stage, can affect how an athlete recovers physically and mentally, as well as their availability on gameday.

Physical recovery

People need sleep to rest and recover from injuries. Even the most ordinary activities, such as walking and talking, wear down dozens of tiny muscles over the course of a day. Athletes work much larger muscles when they sprint, run, throw, or perform other activities. They do so at a much higher level of intensity, too.

The constant breakdown and recovery of these muscles allow athletes to improve their fitness and adapt to higher competition levels.

According to Stephenson, an athlete's body repairs muscles best when it spends about 50% or more of its time asleep in deep sleep. Without enough time in this stage, their body may not undergo enough repair for them to feel ready to train at nearly the same level as they had the day before.

He adds that cycling through each sleep stage 6 or 7 times a night allows an athlete to feel most rested.

Mental recovery

Signals sent from the brain control muscles throughout the body. But, like the muscles it powers, the brain tires without a break. During deep sleep, cerebral spinal fluid washes over the brain and clears away debris that accumulates on its surface.

Without enough sleep, this debris can weaken signals from the brain. The weakened signals impact decision making, reaction time, and the pace at which an athlete moves their muscles.

"Think of it like a dimmer switch," says Stephenson. "You don't have the same power going through that switch, so the light bulb won't be as bright."

Illness and injuries

Athletes never want an injury or illness to keep them off the field. Unfortunately, too little sleep can compromise an athlete's long-term health. Child athletes, whose bodies rapidly change each year, need more sleep than adult athletes to account for their rapid growth.

"When you're a teenager, you may think you're better equipped to rebound from losing sleep than you are in your late twenties," says Stephenson. "But you're not actually rebounding at all."

Gradually, a lack of sleep can affect:

Heart health: Conditions like sleep apnea, which occurs when someone cannot breathe regularly while asleep, limits the amount of oxygen distributed throughout the body by the heart during sleep. The heart responds by pumping faster, which can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). Insomnia, or a lack of sleep, can also make it more likely to develop obesity and diabetes.

Digestive health: Digestion slows down during deep sleep. According to Stephenson, athletes who make late-night meals a habit can heighten their risk of developing several bowel-related diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome. These conditions make it harder for the body to absorb nutrients, like proteins, needed to repair tissue. Stephenson recommends meeting with a sports nutritionist to tailor when they eat around a healthy sleep schedule.

A lack of sleep can also make it harder for athletes to focus on the playing field. Those who play contact sports cannot afford to break their concentration when moving at high speeds. A small slip, uneven fall, or blind-side hit - no matter how accidental - can result in a concussion, bone fracture, sprain or strain, or some other sports-related injury.

How can athletes maximize sleep prior to competition?

Circadian rhythms, or our internal clock, determine when the brain enters its sleep cycle. These rhythms are sensitive to sunlight. For example, in response to the sun setting, the brain releases a hormone called melatonin, which triggers drowsiness.

Too much activity and overstimulation, however, can prevent the brain from entering its sleep cycle.

Tips to optimize sleep for athletic competition

An athlete may struggle to adjust their sleep routine when traveling to competitions. For optimal sleep hygiene, Stephenson recommends they:

Maximize sleep 2 nights before their event: Try going to bed an hour earlier than usual on both nights. The extra time could produce 1 or 2 extra sleep cycles, allowing the body to repair more damage ahead of the competition than it normally would.

Cool down the room: When too hot, the brain focuses on cooling itself down instead of preparing itself for sleep. Keep the room temperature at 68 degrees Fahrenheit to help your body stay cool.

Avoid large meals close to bedtime: The brain may struggle to fall asleep when more active digestion begins right before bed.

Pack sheets and pillows from home: Athletes traveling for away events may feel more comfortable falling asleep in a familiar bedroom environment.

Limit screen time a few hours before bed: Lights from smartphones, video games, and televisions can make it harder for the brain to switch into sleep mode. The light exposure may even delay the release of melatonin.

Try restricted environmental stimulation technique (REST): Also known as "float therapy," an athlete uses a shallow pool of high-density Epsom salt to create a sense of weightlessness. The pool restricts light and sound while the temperature of your body matches that of the water and the air. Stephenson says 20- to 40-minute pool sessions can slow down brain waves. Such pools are available at the Center for Sports Performance and Research's recovery suite.

Can energy drinks make up for lost sleep?

Athletes may turn to caffeinated energy drinks to wake them up after a restless night or if they feel tired from jet lag. Despite the sudden rush of energy, these beverages will not help athletes make up for lost sleep.

They do not guarantee a sharper performance either, says Stephenson. If anything, athletes often experience a "crash" when the effects of the caffeine fade away. That crash can leave them more tired and sluggish than they felt before.

"These beverages aren't nearly strong enough to keep you awake for an entire game or competition," he says. "You may last a few plays, but those heightened energy levels aren't sustainable."

Caffeine acts as a stimulant, which can also raise heart rate to an uncomfortable level or irritate bowels. That said, Stephenson does offer one healthy, harmless trick for those looking for a quick wake-up call: lemon juice.

"If you want to avoid that sudden 'crash,' try sucking on a lemon wedge, or really any naturally bitter substance," says Stephenson. "The unpleasant sensation can help you stay alert for a short period of time."

How do you know if you're getting enough sleep?

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most adults need 7 or more hours of uninterrupted sleep each day. Children need significantly more, and their recommended hours of sleep increase the younger their age.

Athletes, and their coaches, can identity sleep-related issues if an athlete:

Feels sleepy at unusual times of the day.

Experiences lapses in memory.

Notices sudden drops in energy levels.

Wakes up multiple times at night and struggles to fall back asleep.

Struggles to fall asleep within a half hour of getting into bed.

Needs multiple naps throughout the day.

Wearable devices for sleep

Some wearable devices, such as rings and watches, can help athletes screen subtle changes in their sleep before they begin to show signs of insomnia. Many measure heart rate, oxygen levels, and body movements to indirectly record their sleep stages.

While the devices are not nearly as accurate as a sleep test at a medical center, Stephenson says that the devices can still provide consistent, average readings. So, if athletes notice their sleep change over the course of a few weeks, they may want to see a sleep doctor before exhaustion affects their performance.

"We're most concerned with those who chronically aren't getting enough sleep," says Stephenson. "If you lose one night's sleep, you don't need to panic. It's not going to ruin you. But constantly getting only 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, that chronic effect is going to impact you sooner than you think."

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How Does Sleep Affect Athletic Performance?

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Athletes need rest to recover from training. Learn how sleep affects athletic performance and what athletes can do to feel rested.

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Sleep is an essential component of health and well-being, with significant impacts on physical development, emotional regulation, cognitive performance, and quality of life. Along with being an integral part of the recovery and adaptive process between bouts of exercise, accumulating evidence sugges …

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INTRODUCTION

Sleep is extremely important for performance, learning, development and physical and mental health.3 Some of the consequences of inadequate sleep include: a reduction in academic performance, mood disturbance, increases in risk-taking behaviour and drowsy driving. ¹¹ From an athletic perspective, reductions in performance, decision- making ability, learning and cognition can occur alongside reductions in immune function and an increased susceptibility to weight gain. While this chapter will outline the importance of sleep for all athletes, additional focus will be placed on the adolescent athlete. It is becoming increasingly clear that adolescence (ages 12-18 yrs) is a period of development where sleep is particularly important. What is also becoming obvious is that many adolescents do not obtain the recommended amount of sleep. ¹¹ This chapter will discuss consequences of reduced sleep, how much sleep is required, reasons for poor sleep and strategies that can be utilized to enhance sleep quality, and quantity in athletes and adolescents.

KEY FINDINGS

CONSEQUENCES OF REDUCED SLEEP

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

While there is limited research on exercise performance and sleep, a small number of studies have examined the effect of partial sleep deprivation on athletic performance in adults. Reilly and Deykin ¹³ reported decrements in a range of psychomotor functions after only one night of restricted sleep; however, muscle strength, lung power and endurance running were unaffected. ¹³ Reilly and Hayles ¹⁴ reported similar effects in females following partial sleep deprivation, with gross motor functions being less affected by sleep loss than tasks requiring fast reaction times. ¹⁴ Reilly and Percy ¹⁵ found a significant effect of sleep loss on maximal bench press, leg press and dead lifts, but not maximal bicep curl. Submaximal performance, however, was significantly affected on all four tasks and to a greater degree than maximal efforts. The greatest impairments were found later in the protocol, suggesting an accumulative effect of fatigue from sleep loss. 15

From the available research it appears that submaximal prolonged tasks may be more affected than maximal efforts, particularly after the first two nights of partial sleep deprivation. ¹⁵

OTHER CONSEQUENCES

There are a number of other biological functions that can be altered following sleep deprivation. Changes in glucose metabolism and neuroendocrine function as a result of chronic, partial sleep deprivation may result in alterations in carbohydrate metabolism, appetite, food intake, and protein synthesis. Ultimately these factors can all negatively influence an athlete's nutritional, metabolic and endocrine status and hence potentially reduce athletic performance.

EFFECTS OF SLEEP EXTENSION

Another means of examining the effect of sleep on performance is to extend the amount of sleep an athlete receives and determine the effects on subsequent performance. Mah et al, ⁹ instructed six basketball players to obtain as much extra sleep as possible following two weeks of normal sleep habits. Faster sprint times and increased free-throw accuracy was observed at the end of the sleep extension period. Mood was also significantly improved, with increased vigour and decreased fatigue. 9 While limited, this data suggests that increasing the amount of sleep an athlete receives may significantly enhance performance.

EFFECTS OF NAPPING

Athletes suffering from some degree of sleep loss may benefit from a brief nap, particularly if a training session is to be completed in the afternoon or evening. Waterhouse et al ¹⁶ are one of the only groups to investigate the effects of a lunchtime nap on sprint performance following partial sleep deprivation (4 h of sleep). Following a 30-min nap, 20-m sprint performance was increased (compared to no nap), alertness was increased, and sleepiness was decreased. In terms of cognitive performance, sleep supplementation in the form of napping has been shown to have a positive influence on cognitive tasks following a night of sleep deprivation (2 h). ¹² Naps can markedly reduce sleepiness and can be beneficial when learning skills, strategy or tactics. 12 Napping may be beneficial for athletes who have to routinely wake early for training or competition and for athletes who are experiencing sleep deprivation. ¹⁶

HOW MUCH SLEEP ARE ATHLETES GETTING?

According to a 2005 Gallup Poll in the USA, the average self-reported sleep duration of healthy individuals is 6.8 h on weekdays and 7.4 h on weekends.7 However, the sleep habits of elite athletes have only recently been investigated. Leeder et al ⁸ compared the sleep habits of 26 elite athletes from Olympic Sports (Canoeing, n=11; Diving, n=14; Rowing, n=10; Short-track speed skating, n=11) using actigraphy over a four- day period to that of age-and sex-matched non-sporting controls. The athlete group had a total time in bed of 8:36 ± 0:53 hr:min, compared to 8:07 ± 0:20 in the control group. Despite the longer time in bed, the athlete group had a longer sleep latency (time taken to fall asleep) (18.2 ± 16.5 min vs. 5.0 ± 2.5 min), a lower sleep efficiency (estimate of sleep quality) than controls (80.6 ± 6.4% vs. 88.7 ± 3.6%), resulting in a similar time asleep (6:55 ± 0:43 vs. 7:11 ± 0:25 hr:min). The results demonstrated that while athletes had a comparable quantity of sleep to controls, significant differences were observed in quality of sleep between the two groups. 8

While the above data was obtained during a period of normal training without competition, athletes may experience disturbed sleep prior to important competition or games. Erlacher et al 4 administered a questionnaire to 632 German athletes to assess possible sleep disturbances prior to competition. Of these athletes, 66% (416) reported that they slept worse than normal at least once prior to an important competition. Of these 416 athletes, 70% reported problems falling asleep, 43 reported waking up early in the morning and 32% reported waking up at night. Factors such as thoughts about competition (77%), nervousness about competition (60%), unusual surroundings (29%) and noise in the room (17%) were identified as reasons for poor sleep. ⁴

In a study from the Australian Institute of Sport, athletes and coaches ranked sleep as the most prominent problem when they were asked about the causes of fatigue/tiredness. ⁵ Sleep characteristics ranked first when athletes were asked about the aspects of the clinical history that they thought were important.

Therefore, it appears that sleep disturbances in athletes can occur at two time points: 1) prior to important competitions and 2) during normal training. This sleep disruption during normal training may be due to poor routine as a consequence of early training sessions, poor sleep habits (i.e., watching television in bed), nocturnal waking to use the bathroom, caffeine use, and excessive thinking/worrying/ planning. While not documented in the literature, anecdotal evidence also suggests that athletes such as soccer players who compete at night also have significant difficulties falling asleep post competition.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO ADOLESCENTS NEED?

Research suggests that the sleep needs of adolescents do not differ from that of younger children. ¹⁰ Evidence suggests that when adolescents are allowed to sleep as much as they want, they sleep for an average of 9.25 hrs per night. ² Further, during mid-puberty, there is an increased desire to sleep during the day even when sufficient sleep occurred at nighttime. ² From the literature available, it appears that adolescents require a minimum of 9 hrs per night of sleep.

HOW MUCH SLEEP ARE ADOLESCENTS GETTING?

Despite the recommendation that 12-18 year olds obtain a minimum of 9 hrs of sleep per night, research shows that adolescents sleep between 7.5 and 8.5 hrs per night. 11 While there is certainly going to be individual differences, it is clear that many adolescents are not meeting the minimum requirements for the recommended hours of sleep.

CAUSE OF POOR SLEEP IN ADOLESCENTS

There are a number of factors that may explain the poor sleep observed in adolescents, and these can be broken down to internal and external factors.

INTERNAL FACTORS

A shift in circadian rhythm occurs during puberty as a result of changes in the timing of melatonin release. ¹¹ Melatonin is a hormone that when released precipitates sleepiness. The delay in release of melatonin in adolescents results in the later feelings of sleepiness, the later subsequent bedtime, and the later wake-up time.

EXTERNAL FACTORS

As mentioned above, adolescents have a propensity to go to bed later and wake up later the following morning based on biological factors. However, due to school and extracurricular activities, most adolescents do not have the opportunity to wake later in the morning on school nights and potentially weekends, depending on their sporting schedule. This significantly reduces their sleep opportunity.

Adolescence is usually associated with increased social demands. This can include time spent "in person" or electronically. There is an increasing trend for adolescents to communicate via telephone, SMS, email, Facebook and Twitter into the late evening. As many adolescents experience sleep deprivation, they have increased levels of daytime sleepiness, which may result in caffeine and/or energy drink intake to feel alert and more awake. Caffeinated beverages can have a significant impact on the time taken to fall asleep.

WHEN DO ADOLESCENTS SLEEP?

The changes that occur with development result in adolescents feeling sleepy later in the evening when compared to children. ¹¹ Specifically, sleep onset time (time at which a person falls asleep) occurs later in the evening, and wake-up time is later in the morning. ⁶ The reasons for this delay will be discussed below; however, the result of the delay is most often reduced total sleep time due to the requirement to attend school or training the following morning.

One study found that in a group of 20 healthy adolescents, average sleep onset time was 12:44 a.m. with a rise time of 8:18 a.m., resulting in 7.7 hrs of sleep. ¹ In addition, adolescents tend to have more variable sleep patterns across the week when compared to children and adults. ⁶ This is evidenced by significant differences between school-night and weekend sleep onset time, wake-up time and total sleep times. Reports suggest that adolescents delay their bedtime by 1-2 hrs on weekends, and they may sleep in 3-4 hrs later on weekends compared to school nights. ¹⁰ This typically results in more sleep obtained on weekends, as the adolescent is able to fit his or her sleep pattern to their more favoured bedtime and wake-up time due to no influence of school schedules. However, this also results in significantly altered routines across a 7-day week.

HOW TO ASSESS SLEEP

A simple sleep diary in which information on bedtime, wake-up time, total sleep time, caffeine consumed prior to sleep, activities performed before going to bed, perceptions of sleep quality, and daytime functioning is recorded can be very useful. The National Sleep Foundation (https://www.thensf.org/) has excellent resources including diaries for adults and teens, which can be helpful to gain insight into sleep habits. A sleep clinician can conduct a detailed sleep history and assessment to determine if the athlete has a clinical sleep disorder. Psychiatric and medical conditions may need to be considered due to their interaction with sleep. A sleep clinician may conduct sleep assessments using actigraphy (wearing of a wristwatch to detect movement during sleep) or polysomnography (overnight stay in a sleep laboratory to measure brain activity and other physiological functions).

SOLUTIONS TO SLEEP PROBLEMS

Many of the strategies suggested for optimising sleep in adults also apply to the adolescent. However, there are some specific tips and tricks that may be useful for this age group. Table 1 includes some of the guidelines from The National Sleep Foundation (https://www.thensf.org/).

SUMMARY

Sleep is one of the body's most important biological functions with roles in performance, cognition, learning, development and mental and physical health. While there are numerous consequences as a result of inadequate sleep, identifying sleep problems and following the recommended sleep guidelines can help ensure sporting performance is maximized.

REFERENCES

1. Beebe, D.W., G. Fallone, N. Godiwala, M. Flanigan, D. Martin, L. Schaffner, and R. Amin (2008). Feasibility and behavioral effects of an at-home multi-night sleep restriction protocol for adolescents. J. Child Psychol. Psych. 49:915-923.

2. Carskadon, M.A. and C. Acebo (2002). Regulation of sleepiness in adolescents: update, insights, and speculation. Sleep. 25:606-614.

3. Dewald, J.F., A.M. Meijer, F.J. Oort, G.A. Kerkhof, S.M. Bogels (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep Med. Rev. 14:179-89.

4. Erlacher, D., F. Ehrlenspiel, O.A. Adegbesan, and H.G. El-Din (2011). Sleep habits in German athletes before important competitions or games. J. Sports Sci. 29:859-66.

5. Fallon, K.E. (2007). Blood tests in tired elite athletes: expectations of athletes, coaches and sport science/sports medicine staff. Br. J. Sports Med. 41:41-4.

6. Gradisar, M., G. Gardner, and H. Dohnt (2011). Recent worldwide sleep patterns and problems during adolescence: a review and meta-analysis of age, region, and sleep. Sleep Med. 12:110-8.

7. Foundation NS (2006). Sleep in America- Poll. In: Foundation NS (ed). Washington, DC.

8. Leeder, J., M. Glaister, K. Pizzoferro, J. Dawson, and C. Pedlar (2012). Sleep duration and quality in elite athletes measured using wristwatch actigraphy. J Sports Sci. 30:541- 545.

9. Mah, C.D., K.E. Mah, E.J. Kezirian, and W.C. Dement (2011). The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep. 34:943-950.

10. McLaughlin Crabtree, V., and N.A. Williams (2009). Normal sleep in children and adolescents. Child Adolesc. Psychiatr. Clin. N. Am. 18:799-811.

11. Moore, M., and L.J. Meltzer (2008). The sleepy adolescent: causes and consequences of sleepiness in teens. Paediatr. Respir. Rev. 9:114-20; quiz 20-1.

12. Postolache, T.T., and D.A. Oren (2005). Circadian phase shifting, alerting, and antidepressant effects of bright light treatment. Clin. Sports Med. 24:381-413.

13. Reilly, T., and T. Deykin (1983). Effects of partial sleep loss on subjective states, psychomotor and physical performance tests. J. Hum. Move. Stud. 9:157-170.

14. Reilly, T., and A. Hales (1988). Effects of partial sleep deprivation on performance measures in females. In: E.D. McGraw (ed). Contemporary Ergonomics. London: Taylor and Francis, pp. 509-513.

15. Reilly, T., and M. Piercy (1994). The effect of partial sleep deprivation on weight-lifting performance. Ergonomics. 37:107-15.

16. Waterhouse, J., G. Atkinson, B. Edwards, and T. Reilly (2007). The role of a short post- lunch nap in improving cognitive, motor, and sprint performance in participants with partial sleep deprivation. J. Sports Sci. 25:1557-66.

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WASHINGTON , March 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing commitment to advancing sleep health and to launch Sleep Awareness Week® 2025 (March 9-15), the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has released new data from its 2025 Sleep in America® Poll demonstrating the powerful link between sleep health and an individual's ability to flourish in life. Flourishing encompasses happiness, productivity at home and work, goal achievement, and fulfilling social relationships-key indicators of well-being.

New findings from the Sleep in America Poll include:

Sleep Satisfaction and Flourishing: Nearly 9 in 10 adults (88%) who report good sleep satisfaction are flourishing, while less than half (47%) of those with poor sleep satisfaction experience the same level of well-being.

Sleep Duration Matters: People who get the NSF's recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night are significantly more likely to flourish. Over 7 in 10 adults report that they thrive when they have enough quality sleep.

Consequences of Poor Sleep: Individuals with poor sleep health are

4 times more likely not to be happy

2.5 times more likely not to be productive at work

3 times more likely not to achieve their goals

2 times more likely not to be productive at home

2 times more likely not to have a fulfilling social life

"We can't overstate the significance of these findings. Poor sleep health is a major risk factor for lower well-being across multiple areas of life. Prioritizing sleep health at a societal level can lead to improved mental health, workplace efficiency, and stronger personal relationships-critical components of a thriving population," said Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD, NSF's SVP of Research and Scientific Affairs.

NSF's research continues to highlight the essential role of sleep for health and well-being. As Sleep Awareness Week 2025 approaches, NSF encourages the public to take actionable steps toward prioritizing sleep, including keeping consistent healthy sleep habits.

"Sleep is fundamental to thriving across many aspects of our life," said John Lopos, NSF CEO. "These study results reinforce how crucial positive sleep health is to basic achievements in life that are important to many people, beyond physical health."

Sleep Awareness Week 2025 is sponsored through unrestricted funding and support from Platinum sponsor Inspire Medical Systems, Inc., and Gold sponsors Apnimed, Avadel, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Purecare, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Silver sponsors include Asleep, Breescape, Harmony Biosciences, IKEA U.S., Neurovalens, NextSense, Pocket Kado, Schneider National, Samsung Health, UBlockout, Variowell, Waymo, and Withings.

Collaborators include American Heart Association, Comfort Keepers, Higi, Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Coalition for the Homeless, National Organization for Youth Safety, National PTA, Rural Minds, and Students Against Destructive Decisions, who, among many other organizations and agencies, help to promote NSF's sleep health messages.

For more sleep health information and to learn ways to be your Best Slept Self ®, visit www.theNSF.org.

About the National Sleep Foundation
There's only one National Sleep Foundation (NSF). NSF is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy. Founded in 1990, the NSF is committed to advancing excellence in sleep health theory, research and practice. In its 35 years, NSF has promoted sleep health through expert recommendations, consensus guidelines, tech standards, and easy-to-use tips and tools to improve sleep. For more information about NSF, visit www.theNSF.org.│ SleepHealthJournal.org

SOURCE National Sleep Foundation

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New Data from National Sleep Foundation Reveals Strong Connection Between Sleep Health and Flourishing in Life

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PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing commitment to advancing sleep health and to launch Sleep Awareness Week® 2025 (March 9-15), the National Sleep...

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from research organizations

Novel technique streamlines sleep analysis and supports future clinical tools to detect sleep disorders and other health risks

Date:

Source:

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Summary:

Researchers have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night's sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192 hours of sleep. The model, called patch foundational transformer for sleep (PFTSleep), analyzes brain waves, muscle activity, heart rate, and breathing patterns to classify sleep stages more effectively than traditional methods, streamlining sleep analysis, reducing variability, and supporting future clinical tools to detect sleep disorders and other health risks.

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Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night's sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192 hours of sleep. Details on their findings were reported in the March 13online issue of the journal Sleep.

The model, called patch foundational transformer for sleep (PFTSleep), analyzes brain waves, muscle activity, heart rate, and breathing patterns to classify sleep stages more effectively than traditional methods, streamlining sleep analysis, reducing variability, and supporting future clinical tools to detect sleep disorders and other health risks.

Current sleep analysis often relies on human experts manually scoring short segments of sleep data or using AI models that are not capable of analyzing a patient's entire night of sleep. This new approach, developed using thousands of sleep recordings, takes a more comprehensive view. By training on full-length sleep data, the model can recognize sleep patterns throughout the night and across different populations and settings, offering a standardized and scalable method for sleep research and clinical use, say the investigators.

"This is a step forward in AI-assisted sleep analysis and interpretation," says first author Benjamin Fox, a PhD candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Training Area. "By leveraging AI in this way, we can learn relevant clinical features directly from sleep study signal data and use them for sleep scoring and, in the future, other clinical applications such as detecting sleep apnea or assessing health risks linked to sleep quality."

The model was built using a large dataset of sleep studies (polysomnograms) that measure key physiological signals, including brain activity, muscle tone, heart rate, and breathing patterns. Unlike traditional AI models, which analyze only short, 30-second segments, this new model considers the entire night of sleep, capturing more detailed and nuanced patterns. Further, the model is trained via a method known as self-supervision, which helps learn relevant clinical features from physiological signals without using human labeled outcomes.

"Our findings suggest that AI could transform how we study and understand sleep," says co-senior corresponding author Ankit Parekh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Analysis Group at Mount Sinai. "Our next goal is to refine the technology for clinical applications, such as identifying sleep-related health risks more efficiently."

The researchers emphasize that this AI tool, while promising, would not replace clinical expertise. Instead, it would serve as a powerful aid for sleep specialists, helping to speed up and standardize sleep analysis. Next, the team's research aims to expand its capabilities beyond sleep-stage classification to detecting sleep disorders and predicting health outcomes.

"This AI-driven approach has the potential to revolutionize sleep research," says co-senior corresponding author Girish N. Nadkarni, MD, MPH, Chair of the Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine, Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health, and the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine. Dr. Nadkarni is also the inaugural Chief of the Division of Data-Driven and Digital Medicine and Co-Director of the Mount Sinai Clinical Intelligence Center. "By analyzing entire nights of sleep with greater consistency, we can uncover deeper insights into sleep health and its connection to overall well-being."

Journal Reference:

Benjamin Fox, Joy Jiang, Sajila Wickramaratne, Patricia Kovatch, Mayte Suarez-Farinas, Neomi A Shah, Ankit Parekh, Girish N Nadkarni. A foundational transformer leveraging full night, multichannel sleep study data accurately classifies sleep stages. SLEEP, 2025; DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaf061

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The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "New AI model analyzes full night of sleep with high accuracy in largest study of its kind." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 March 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250317163737.htm>.

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine. (2025, March 17). New AI model analyzes full night of sleep with high accuracy in largest study of its kind. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 6, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250317163737.htm

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "New AI model analyzes full night of sleep with high accuracy in largest study of its kind." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250317163737.htm (accessed April 6, 2025).

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sleep disorder research; insomnia research; diseases and conditions; sleep disorders; insomnia; obstructive sleep apnea; computer modeling; mathematical modeling; computational biology

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New AI model analyzes full night of sleep with high accuracy in largest study of its kind

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Researchers have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night's sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192 hours of sleep.