Consequences of inadequate sleep during the college years: Sleep deprivation, grade point average, and college graduation

Abstract

Sleep deprivation can have substantial consequences for college learning and achievement. However, prior studies on this topic are limited due to the reliance on small and convenience samples, the use of cross-sectional data, inadequate control for confounders, and the lack of outcome data from official school records. The present study used two waves of longitudinal data from the U.S. Wabash National Study (N = 3549) to examine the relationships between sleep deprivation and school-record grade point average (GPA) and college graduation. Random-effects and fixed-effects models were used to link sleep deprivation and GPA. Logistic regression was used to link sleep deprivation during the college years and college graduation. Results from the random-effects and fixed-effects models suggest that chronic sleep deprivation is associated with lower GPA. Students who experienced sleep deprivation from their freshman to senior years had a lower chance of graduation than students who were not sleep deprived. Furthermore, sleep deprivation during students' senior year was found to be more consequential for college graduation than sleep deprivation during their freshman year. Findings suggest that the ramifications of chronic sleep deprivation extend beyond short-term GPA; sleep deprivation predicts the likelihood of obtaining a college degree.

Keywords: Academic achievement; Health disparities; Sleep deprivation; Youth development.