Why academics are losing sleep

Do you have dark circles under your eyes? Yawning during class or in the lab? Mood swings straining relationships with family or friends? These – and other well-known signs such as reduced productivity and poor decision-making – could mean you need better sleep habits.

While writing grant applications and peer reviews, thesis supervision and other creative works (on top of teaching and research) enrich academic life, they shouldn’t come at the cost of our health and well-being. Yet, the demanding nature of academic life often leads to educators, postdocs, administrators and researchers alike sacrificing rest for work. 

These evidence-based strategies offer a guide to improving your sleep quality while maintaining productivity in your university duties. Start with one change this week, perhaps establishing consistent sleep schedules, and build from there.

The hidden costs of sleep debt

When we consistently get less than the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep, we accumulate “sleep debt” – a deficit that affects not only our health but also professional performance. Sleep loss of a single night disrupts hunger hormones, increasing ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, according to one robust study. Chronic sleep loss, averaged over six nights, decreases leptin – a hormone that suppresses hunger and signals long-term nutritional status. This hormonal imbalance may potentially contribute to weight gain and obesity. 

• Read more: using movement and outdoor spaces to enhance learning
• Resource collection: well-being in higher education
• Ways to seamlessly build breaks into your working day

Indeed, sleep restriction, irregular sleep patterns and “social jet lag” can add up to insufficient sleep. These conditions are significant risk factors for impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and a heightened susceptibility to a range of chronic health issues, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

More critically for academics, sleep deprivation impairs cognitive processes essential for our work: learning, memory consolidation and emotional regulation. Consistent and restorative sleep is crucial for maintaining metabolic, physical and cognitive health.

The 4E framework for better sleep

1.  Establish consistent schedules

Sleep is characterised by duration, quality, timing and day-to-day variability, as stated in a study by Australian and Finnish researchers. Sleep timing and regularity are stronger predictors of mortality than sleep duration, according to research. So, set regular bedtimes and wake times, even on weekends. This consistency promotes ease of falling asleep and sleep continuity, a suggested proxy measure for sleep quality.

2.  Get exposure to natural light

Light is the body’s most powerful zeitgeber (timekeeper). Morning light exposure suppresses melatonin and increases alertness, preparing the body for the day ahead. Cortisol naturally rises with light, along with heart rate and blood glucose, readying us for daily activities. With dark onset, melatonin release begins about two hours before natural bedtime, promoting sleep. Melatonin helps with the timing and continuity of sleep by synchronising release with the environmental light-dark cycle. Timing is everything; morning light exposure helps anchor the body’s internal clock to the light-dark cycle, advancing bedtime, while evening light exposure can have the opposite effect, delaying sleep.

3.  Exercise daily

Physical activity is known for its multi-dimensional construct that follows the principle of FITT (frequency, intensity, time and type). Regular exercise promotes sleep. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day. The literature overwhelmingly suggests that moderate and high-intensity exercise within two hours of bedtime, remarkably, does not impair night-time sleep in young and middle-aged adults. 

4.  Eliminate sleep disruptors

Remove factors that interfere with quality sleep:

• Cut off caffeine and nicotine six hours and one hour respectively before bed.
• Avoid electronic screens two hours before bedtime.
• Keep the bedroom cool (18-20°C), dark and quiet.
• Reserve the bedroom for sleep and sex only.

Adapting to your chronotype

Understanding our chronotype – whether a “night owl” or “early bird” – helps optimise sleep strategy. This natural genetic trait influences the preferred sleep-wake timing. Night owls, whose biology favours later sleep times, often experience “social jet lag” when their sleep-wake rhythms misalign with the 24-hour light-dark cycles. One potential solution for night owls is to incorporate exercises into the daily routine. Both morning and evening exercise can help shift their sleep timing earlier. On the other hand, early birds may benefit from evening exercise or evening light exposure to prevent too-early bedtimes. 

Strategic napping for better attention

A well-timed nap can boost productivity without disrupting night-time sleep. Aim for a brief 10-30-minute power nap in the early afternoon, when there’s a natural dip in alertness. A power nap can restore attention and enhance learning capacity. Avoid longer naps, which can lead to sleep inertia and interfere with night-time sleep patterns.

Making it work in academic life

These strategies can be adapted to different academic scenarios:

• During intense grant-writing periods, maintain regular sleep-wake times even if deadlines loom.
• When travelling for conferences, use light exposure strategically to minimise jet lag.
• During marking periods, take short breaks for light exposure and movement rather than relying on caffeine.
• If teaching evening classes, minimise screen exposure afterward to help wind down.

Good sleep isn’t a luxury – it’s a cornerstone of academic performance and health. By implementing the 4E framework, we’re investing in both current productivity and long-term career sustainability. 

Chin Moi Chow is an associate professor of sleep and well-being in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. 

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