Their Grades Depend on It

By Editorial Staff

When kids go off to college, you can only hope the sleep routines (and myriad other good habits) you taught them survive the late-night study sessions, dorm-room parties and other sleep-depriving, sleep-disrupting activities. But even if college students manage to get enough sleep on a regular basis, their grades may still take a hit if their sleep patterns are irregular in nature.

New research suggests going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time every day – deemed a regular sleep pattern – leads to better academic performance compared to irregular sleep patterns, such as sleeping in on the weekends while waking up early on weekdays.

The total amount of sleep didn't impact grades, but the regularity of sleep did. In fact, regular sleepers ended the study period with an average grade-point average (GPA) of 3.72, while irregular sleepers managed only a 3.24 average.

An easy way to help kids establish a consistent sleep routine in the Age of Technology is to teach them to set the sleep function available on many smartphones and other devices. Pick reasonable sleep / wake times you can achieve every day (for example, 10 p.m. sleep / 6 a.m. wake); you'll get a gentle reminder of when to go to bed, and a gentle a.m. notification to wake up. Talk to your doctor to learn more.