Do Undergraduates Get Enough Sleep? Trends from 2000 to 2024 According to the National College Health Assessment

The National Sleep Foundation (2020) recommends that adults aim to get 9 hours of sleep nightly. Research (Solan, 2023) shows that inadequate sleep can place individuals at a higher risk for mental health conditions. Since the Spring of 2000, the American College Health Association has collected data on the well-being of college students through its National College Health Assessment (NCHA), which includes questions broadly related to health and is administered during the Fall and Spring semesters. Our study examined sleep trends among undergraduates from Spring 2000 to Spring 2024. More specifically, we examined undergraduates’ responses to the question “How many of the past 7 days did you: Get enough sleep so that you felt rested?” We found that since Spring of 2000, an average of 6.3% of undergraduates have gotten 7 days of rested sleep in the past 7 days. In 2008, when the United States experienced a recession, this average further dropped and has hovered at 4.1%. In 2019, when the United States experienced a highly polarized election, the percent of undergraduates reporting getting only 1 day a week of rested sleep jumped from 13.4% in the Spring semester to 20.8% in the Fall semester. This percentage has been sustained since Spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Our findings show that undergraduates aren’t getting enough sleep, which can be detrimental to overall well-being and academic performance. These findings emphasize that universities promote the importance of getting enough sleep, so that students can flourish.