First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds That a Simple Sleep Change Directly Boosts College Students’ Grades

A new study published in the Journal of Political Economy has found that a relatively simple, low-cost intervention can meaningfully improve college students’ sleep — and, in turn, their academic performance, marking what researchers describe as the first field experiment to demonstrate a direct causal link between the two.

The research, led by health economist Osea Giuntella of the University of Pittsburgh, comes amid a growing body of evidence connecting sleep quality to overall health, well-being and cognitive function. While previous studies had shown a strong correlation between sleep and academic performance, causal evidence linking the two using real-world tools like wearable trackers had remained limited.