How Sleep Affects Concentration

This piece, by Onno Berkan, was published on 01/21/25. The original text, by van der Heijden et al., was published by The Journal of Sleep Research on 09/07/17.

This Leiden University study examined how sleep affects college students' academic performance and ability to concentrate on their studies. The researchers looked at three main aspects of sleep: chronic sleep reduction (ongoing symptoms of not getting enough sleep), sleep quality, and students' knowledge about good sleep habits. The study involved 1,378 college students in the Netherlands, with an average age of about 22 years old. This is a relevant one: your sleep significantly impacts your academic performance.

The findings revealed that students who experienced chronic sleep reduction (showing signs of tiredness, sleepiness, and irritability) tended to get lower grades in their current academic year. Interestingly, while good sleep quality was initially linked to better academic performance, this connection disappeared when researchers accounted for other factors like lifestyle and health habits. The study found that it wasn't necessarily the amount or quality of sleep that mattered most but whether students felt they were getting enough sleep to meet their needs.

Poor sleep is a significant issue among college students, affecting about 18.5% of us compared to only 7.4% of the general population. The research showed that students' knowledge about good sleep habits had some impact on their grades, though this effect was relatively modest. The study also found that both sleep quality and chronic sleep reduction affected students' ability to concentrate on their studies. This is a particularly important point– if you cannot focus or find your focus drifting away uncontrollably, it may be your sleep.

The researchers noted that attention and concentration are particularly sensitive to sleep loss. This makes sense because attention is crucial in how students process information, remember material, and plan their studies. The findings suggest that when students don't get enough sleep over time, it hurts their academic performance primarily by making it harder to concentrate.

The researchers examined practical implications and suggested that sleep education programs might help students improve their sleep habits and, consequently, their academic performance.

The study provides strong evidence that chronic sleep reduction negatively impacts college students' academic achievement and concentration ability. Thus, helping students maintain healthy sleep patterns and constructing realistic sleep schedules could be an important way to improve their academic success.

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