Sleep expert David Earnest often tells colleges students that a good night’s sleep is important for academic success.
Not that they listen to him.

Earnest, a professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Medicine, says staying awake all night studying instead of sleeping doesn’t work and isn't healthy.

“The sort of common approach for college students…is to sort of wait until the last minute in terms of preparing or studying for an exam,” Earnest explains. “Because that way, you can cram all of your studying into a very short period of time.”

This academic strategy doesn’t really work, he says. “Unfortunately, it’s counterproductive.”

Research shows that people who stay up all night do not remember as much about what they read or studied. There is also some evidence that people even suffer temporary drops in their IQ ((intelligence quotient)), he said.

A 2014 report for the U.S. National Library of Medicine - part of the National Institutes of Health - reported that daytime sleepiness and irregular sleep schedules are common among college students.

The report said a lack of sleep can result in lower grade point averages. The research also found sleep deprivation can lead to increased risk of academic failure and emotional distress.

Recently, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that sleep helps improve brain performance by shrinking synapses, the area where cells transmit messages to other cells, thereby allowing us to wake up refreshed and ready to fill synapses with new information.

Company uses device to measure student sleep

Technology firm Jawbone manufactures a device that measures exercise and sleep. The company collected information from college-age device users to measure how much time they spent sleeping.

It found that college students slept an average of 7.03 hours during the week and 7.38 hours on weekends. Female students slept more than male students, getting an extra 23 minutes of sleep on weeknights and 17 more minutes on weekends.

Jawbone’s study seemed to suggest that college students were getting enough sleep. The time falls into recommendations by the National Sleep Foundation: seven to nine hours of sleep daily for people between the ages of 18 and 25.

Jawbone, however, said the average is misleading. Its study found that nearly half the time, students slept fewer than seven hours a night.

Earnest of Texas A&M said it is not uncommon for students to sleep 12 or 14 hours one day, after sleeping for little or no time the day before as they cram for tests.

Students at U.S. military academies such as West Point, the Naval Academy and Coast Guard Academy require students to rise before 7 a.m. That is the earliest required waking time for college students.

As a result, students at the three schools averaged 6.38 hours of sleep, the lowest among U.S. college students.

Other colleges where students average fewer than seven hours of sleep on weeknights include Columbia University in New York, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, according to the study.

Students at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Oregon and the University of San Diego had the most sleep, Jawbone said.

The National Sleep Foundation offers suggestions for better sleep.

- Go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time in the morning. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, and is not too hot or too cold.

- Have a comfortable bed, and do not use it to read, watch television or listen to music.

- Remove all TVs, computers, radios, and telephones from the bedroom: this is nearly impossible for shared dorm rooms.

- Avoid large meals before bedtime.

For die-hard crammers, Earnest suggests studying until 2 a.m., sleeping for four hours, and reviewing the material early in the morning.

Four hours is not enough sleep, but is better than none, he advised.

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WASHINGTON — 

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)