Study finds nightly sleep is key to student success

A recent multi‐university study led by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University adds to the growing body of evidence showing that sleep plays a critical role in student learning and academic achievement. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the study examined how nightly sleep duration among first‐year college students affected academic performance later in the semester. The findings suggest that insufficient sleep — specifically sleeping fewer than six hours per night — may significantly impair a student's ability to learn and succeed academically.