Most college students are not getting the recommended minimum of 9.5 hours of sleep each night. However, with students being challenged intellectually every day, it is better for active students to get 25-30% more sleep than the minimum recommendation. Like the other age groups, sleep deprivation can cause declines in cognitive function and memory creation, which are important for achieving success in the classroom. While students initially experience a lot of inconsistency, throughout the course of college their schedules and sleep will improve.
Spontaneous and full schedules
Lifestyle - parties and late-night study groups
Increased stress - emotional, mental, physical, and academic
Higher levels of caffeine consumption
All the tips mentioned on the Routine Page will help college students as well. An additional tip that would help college students is to take the Morning-Evening Type Questionaire that will let them know when their natural sleep and wake onsets are. Knowing what type of sleeper you help you understand when your peak performance will be letting the students know when they should study. Also, stopping homework and studies an hour before your natural sleep onset will help increase the quality of sleep by strengthening the circadian rhythms.
It should be noted that as college students get a better grip of their schedules and what is expected of them, their sleeping behaviors and habits improve on their own.