NEWS

Does a Bed Time Actually Make a Difference?

by Julie Williams

It’s the first school night back from winter break after a long ten days of no school, and all you’ve been doing is binge-watching shows on Netflix and pulling all-nighters. You carry your cluttered sleep schedule into the first week back from break and notice your lack of motivation to complete assignments and pay attention in class. I’m sure we’ve all been here — it’s a hard cycle to break. Since a short sleep duration is linked to poor academic performance, it is important that students get around 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Okano et. al. (2019) conducted a study providing 88 students with a FitBit to track how many hours they typically sleep each night and compare it to their scores on midterms, quizzes, and a final exam. The testing throughout the semester helps demonstrate the correlation between a good sleep schedule and good test scores. The results of the study found that students who averaged eight or more hours of sleep, measured by the FitBit, performed greater on exams than students who slept less than 8 hours or chose not to participate. There are many signs you are sleeping fewer hours than needed without realizing, such as the reliance on caffeine, napping during the day, and migraines. Practice setting sleep and wake-up times, limiting caffeine to at least 6 hours prior to bedtime, avoiding naps during the day, and limiting blue light electronics, such as cell phones to feel recharged and focused during the day.