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Associations of time spent on homework or studying with nocturnal sleep behavior and depression symptoms in adolescents from Singapore

• Sing Chen Yeo, MSc Sing Chen Yeo Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author
• Jacinda Tan, BSc Jacinda Tan Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author
• Joshua J. Gooley, PhD Joshua J. Gooley Correspondence Corresponding author: Joshua J. Gooley, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore 117549, Singapore Contact Affiliations Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Search for articles by this author

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How to Stay Up All Night Doing Homework

Last Updated: March 7, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jeremy Bartz, PhD . Dr. Jeremy Bartz is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Bartz specializes in treating depression, anxiety, OCD, mind-body syndromes, chronic pain, insomnia, relationship difficulties, attachment trauma, and resolving the effects of narcissistic trauma. He received a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Brigham Young University and completed a fellowship In Pain Psychology at Stanford's premier pain management clinic. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 221,872 times.

Staying up all night to do homework is not advised, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. If your homework has piled up to the point that the only way to complete it is to pull an all-nighter, then make some preparations and get your head in the game. You’re in for a long night.

Getting Organized Before Your All-Nighter

• Make sure you have all the resources you’ll need –all your books, assignments and stationery.
• If it helps you to have music playing as you work, work near a speaker. But choose instrumental music to avoid being distracted by focusing on the song lyrics instead of your assignments.

• Feed your body protein rich foods, like peanut butter sandwiches, turkey sandwiches or hummus and carrots.
• Stay away from sweets; the sugar will cause you to crash.

• Put the biggest assignments that are due first near the top of the list.
• Put smaller assignments that you can complete quickly and easily near the bottom of the list. Try to do these towards the end of your night when you’re exhausted.
• Any assignment that isn’t due the next day should be completed on another night.

• Approximate how long each assignment will take you and then block off an appropriate amount of time in your night to do the work.
• Schedule high priority assignments early in the evening, when you’re still at your best.
• Schedule in a ten minute break every two hours. Use this time to get up and walk around and give your brain a break.

• Don’t nap for longer than 30 minutes. If you nap for longer than 30, you risk entering into REM sleep cycle.
• If you don’t have time for a nap, take a fifteen-minute walk outside. It will accomplish the same thing.

• Make a concrete plan of what time you’re going to begin working and stick to it. Set an alarm, if you have to.
• Turn off your phone and any other distractions that might impede you from beginning your work.

Executing Your All-Nighter

• For every caffeinated beverage you drink, drink a cup of water.
• As the night goes on, increase the time between caffeinated beverages.
• If you feel yourself falling into a slump, take a multivitamin.

• A quick workout can boost your brain's ability to learn and retain information, which will help you break through your slump.
• Don’t do a full workout – instead, do some quick exercise in the form of 10 pushups, 10 jumping jacks or 10 sit ups.

• If pinching isn’t cutting it, splash cold water on your face for an added boost.
• Lower the thermostat in your house or study area to keep your body alert.
• Take a cold shower to freeze yourself awake.

• The closer the light is to your eyes, the better, so try to work near a desk lamp or computer screen.
• Change rooms every couple of hours so your eyes don’t have time to fully adjust to the bright lights.

• Keep a stash close to your desk and dip into it whenever you feel yourself slowing down.
• Drinking mint tea is also a great way to get some added caffeine.

Staying Motivated During Your All-Nighter

• Don’t invite over a friend who only wants to talk and hang out. You need someone who will motivate you, not distract you.

• If you know you can’t go all night without checking Facebook, deactivate your account for the night. You can reactivate it as soon as all your work is done.
• Give your social media passwords to a friend or parent for the evening so you can’t break in to check your accounts.

• Use your priority list from earlier, cross each item off the list when it’s completed, then move on to the next one.

• Every time you finish an assignment, throw a five minute dance party. You’ll get some exercise in and you can listen to your favorite song.
• Give yourself five minutes to check your phone after completing an item on your to-do list.

• Take 10 - 15 minutes every two hours to grab a snack or take a walk.
• If you feel overwhelmed, take a 10 minute break to meditate.

Supercharge Your Studying with this Expert Series

Expert Q&A

Tips from our Readers

• Since you'll be using them for a prolonged period, make sure to charge up all of your electronics! If your laptop or phone dies halfway through your study sesh, it can take up some of your valuable time to re-charge them.
• If there are certain foods you know make you tired or sluggish, try to avoid them while you study. Choose food items you know for sure won't make you want to take a nap.
• If you can get any sleep at all, do so. Even if it's just a half hour to an hour, your brain can really use that time to regenerate!
• Staying up for too long can be dangerous. Do not stay awake for longer than 36 hours consecutively. Disregarding this advice can lead to sickness and possible death. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If you know you have this much homework, start it as early as possible or during lunch or other down times at school. Starting the homework at 4:00 PM is better than doing it at 4:00 AM! Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/find-a-quiet-place-to-study/
• ↑ https://au.reachout.com/articles/foods-that-help-our-brain-study
• ↑ https://www.fnu.edu/7-techniques-improve-study-habits/
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/
• ↑ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/coffee/
• ↑ https://www.apu.edu/articles/6-crucial-study-habits-for-college-students/
• ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/how-to-start-exercising-and-stick-to-it.htm
• ↑ https://students.ubc.ca/ubclife/pull-all-nighter-if-you-have
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-new-home/201905/chew-or-not-chew-gum-when-studying
• ↑ https://www.fnu.edu/10-reasons-form-study-group/
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/blog/psychology-rewarding-yourself-with-treats
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-future-self/201804/giving-yourself-break

About This Article

If you need to stay up all night doing homework, there are a few ways to help you stay as productive as possible. First, break down your work into smaller tasks and write a schedule to cover everything. Make sure you take regular breaks to walk around and refresh yourself. You should also turn off your phone, log out of your social media accounts, and avoid any other distractions to help you focus. Keep the main lights on in your room and open a window, which will help you stay awake. You’ll probably need caffeine and some healthy snacks, like fruit and nuts, to keep you going. Just make sure you spread them out over the night so you don’t crash after a few hours. For more study tips, including how to do a coffee nap to wake yourself up, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Managing Homework and Bedtime Routine: Striking a Balance for School-Aged Children

Managing homework and bedtime routines: striking a balance for school-aged children.

As the school year gets underway, balancing children’s homework and bedtime routine  can feel like a tightrope walk for parents. And the struggle is real—on one hand, it’s important for children to get enough sleep to support their cognitive development, memory consolidation, and learning. On the other hand, there’s a lot of homework to be done!

We’re here to guide you through the challenges of balancing homework and bedtime, so your young scholars can thrive in the classroom and under the covers.

The Importance of Sleep for School-Aged Children

Remember when naptime felt like a punishment? Turns out, sleep is the superhero of cognitive development . While our kids snooze, their brains are busy building memory bridges and sharpening their problem-solving skills. Adequate, quality sleep is the secret ingredient to their attention span, emotional resilience, and yes, even those pop quizzes.

Understanding the Challenges of Homework and Sleep

There are several challenges that can make it difficult for children to get enough sleep . First, there’s the nightly battle of sitting down to tackle homework. And then, the dreaded dilemma of: stay up to finish this assignment or prioritize sleep and go to bed? It’s a conundrum every parent faces.

Too Much Homework

Many school-aged children come home with a stack of homework that feels like more than they can complete in one night, which commonly leads to late nights and possibly sleep deprivation.

Screen Time

From TVs to smartphones, computers to tablets, many children spend hours each day using electronic devices. This screen time can stimulate the brain, interfering with their sleep and making it difficult for them to fall asleep.

Kids can experience stressors from a number of sources, including academic pressure, social demands, and even family problems at home. This stress can make it difficult not only to focus on homework but also to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Crafting a Homework Schedule that Respects Sleep Needs

Picture this: a homework schedule that respects both learning and essential snooze time. Dreamy, right? Here are a few things that parents can do to help your children create a homework management schedule that respects their sleep needs:

• Set limits on homework hours. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that children ages 9-13 should ideally get 9-11 hours of sleep per night, but sometimes it can feel like their homework workload can eat into those precious sleep hours. That’s why healthy time management habits are essential. Teaching your child how to prioritize tasks and set achievable goals can significantly impact the number of hours they spend on homework each night. Ultimately, helping them manage their workload effectively not only supports their learning journey but also ensures they have ample time for the quality sleep they need.
• Prioritize tasks. Help your child to prioritize their homework tasks so that they can focus on the most important assignments first and prevent feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
• Take breaks. Encourage your child to take breaks every 20-30 minutes while they’re working on homework. Regular breaks will help them stay focused and avoid getting burned out.
• Set a bedtime schedule and stick to it. Even on weekends, it’s important to stick to a regular bedtime schedule to regulate your child’s body clock and make it easier for them to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
• Set a “no screen” rule for one hour before bed. The blue light emitted from screens can interfere with the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep. Limiting screen time before bed will give your child’s eyes a break from the blue light emitted from screens and help them to wind down after a long day. If your child needs to use a screen before bed, finishing up homework or reading on a tablet, make sure their devices are scheduled to regularly shift into “night mode” a couple hours before bedtime.

Establishing a Consistent Bedtime Routine

A consistent bedtime routine isn’t just a calming ritual; it’s a sleep-inducing magic spell. Winding down with calming activities helps encourage sleep. Here are some healthy sleep habits to add to a nightly routine for a seamless transition to dreamland:

• Reading. Not only can reading help improve your child’s literacy skills, but it is also a great way for them to relax and unwind before bed. 
• Taking a bath. A warm bath can help to soothe the body and mind, making it easier to fall asleep.
• Listening to calming music. Create a relaxing atmosphere and promote sleep with some quiet, calming music.
• Stretching. Gentle stretching can help relax the body and mind, making it easier to fall asleep.
• Meditation. Similar to stretching, meditation can help calm the mind and body and promote relaxation before bed.

Collaborative Communication Between Parents and Children

Striking a balance between homework and bedtime can feel like a science experiment—tinkering to figure out the right ratio between enforcing the rules and going with the flow or prioritizing wellness and completing tasks. But the truth is, there is no magical equation or one-size-fits-all solution to strike the right balance between homework management and bedtime. 

In fact, a 2018 Better Sleep Council study found that homework-related stress is a significant concern for high school students, with more than three-fourths (75%) citing it as a source of stress. The study also found that students spending excessive time on homework (39% spending 3+ hours) may experience increased stress without proportional academic benefits, further underscoring the need for a more thoughtful approach to homework and its impact on sleep.

One way to help find the right balance for your kids? Keeping a line of open communication. Talk to your kids about their schoolwork and sleep needs . Our advice?

• Get their insight. Ask them about how much homework they have each night and how long they think it might take them to finish.
• Organize their workload. Get a homework planner to help them to prioritize their tasks and set achievable goals.
• Encourage participation. Involve them in crafting their routines, empowering them to take charge of their education and sleep.
• Work together. If they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, work together to find solutions.

This isn’t just about bedtime routine; it’s about fostering responsibility and finding balance.

Explore more sleep-related resources, tips, and research at bettersleep.org .

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Complete guide to teenagers and sleep, what's in this guide.

Adolescents are notoriously sleep-deprived, because of a combination of biology, technology and the demands of school and extra-curricular activities. This guide outlines how lack of sleep can affect teenagers, and how parents can help them build more sleep into their lives.

How Sleep-Deprived Are Teenagers?

While teenagers need 9.25 hours of sleep to be optimally alert, multiple studies have shown that the vast majority today are living with borderline to severe sleep deprivation.

• According to a 2010 large-scale study published in The Journal of Adolescent Health , a scant 8 percent of U.S. high school students get the recommended amount of sleep.
• Some 23 percent get six hours of sleep on an average school night.
• 10 percent get only five hours.

Why Are Teens So Sleep-Deprived?

Biology, technology and societal expectations, including homework and extracurriculars, together create a perfect storm for chronic sleep deprivation. The major contributors to adolescent sleep debt come down to these:

• Biology: Along with the more obvious hormonal changes that transform your child into a teen are shifts in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. That is why your teenager actually seems more awake at midnight than at dinner, and left alone would probably sleep until ten or eleven. That is the normal circadian rhythm for 15- to 22-year-olds. The problem is compounded when adolescents try to make up for lost sleep on the weekends, sometimes sleeping upwards of 12 hours on Friday and Saturday nights, which only further disrupts their sleep cycle.
• Technology: It’s not just that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube are distractions that keep kids up later, it’s the actual light coming off the electronic devices they’re exposed to, especially late at night. Electronics emit a glow called blue light that has a particular frequency. When it hits receptors in the eye, those receptors send a signal to the brain that suppresses the production of melatonin and keeps kids from feeling tired. And adolescents are low on melatonin and start producing it later to begin with.
• Homework: Parents are torn between making kids go to bed and encouraging them to finish their work regardless of how long it takes. And for kids who are anxious about their homework, knowing that there may be a peer who stays up later or all night only adds to the anxiety, competitiveness and desire to stay awake. Add to this the stimulating blue light emitted by computers being used to study and write papers, and you’ve got a wide-awake kid.
• Over-scheduling: We live in a culture that values activity over sleep. Teens are constantly being told that they have to be “well-rounded,” which means that the more they do, the better their college applications will look. For some kids, being involved in a lot of extracurricular activities may truly be a matter of pursuing a diversity of passions. But either way, sports, clubs, volunteering and after-school jobs on top of classes and homework leave an ever-narrowing window for sleep.
• Early school start times: Very early high school start times are common, despite the fact that they run completely counter to the biological needs of adolescents. Multiple studies have shown that high school students aren’t functional before 9am.

What Are the Consequences for Teenagers?

Sleep deprivation puts teenagers into a kind of perpetual cloud or haze. That haze can negatively affect a teenager’s mood, as well as ability to think, react, regulate their emotions, learn and get along with adults. Half the teens one expert evaluated were so tired in the morning that they showed the same symptoms as patients with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder in which the patient nods off and falls directly into REM sleep. This can result in the following:

• Increased risk of injury: According to a National Sleep Foundation Study, drowsiness or fatigue is the principal cause of at least 100,000 traffic accidents each year. One North Carolina state study found that 55 percent of all “fall-asleep” crashes were caused by drivers under the age of 25.
• Inability to self-regulate: Along with a lack of sleep goes the ability to exercise self-control — over one’s emotions, impulses and mood. Lack of sleep has been linked to aggression, impulsiveness and being short-tempered. It can also produce some of the same symptoms as kids with ADHD, including an inability to sit still, to stay on task and to focus.
• Substance use and risky behavior: Research shows that sleep-deprived teens are more likely to use stimulants like caffeine and nicotine to get through the day, but also to deal with negative moods by self-medicating with alcohol. They’re also more likely to engage in unprotected sex and reckless driving than teens who get upwards of seven hours of sleep a night.
• Mood: Less sleep also correlates with higher levels of depression, and in turn, kids with depression had problems falling or staying asleep. Since many mental illnesses first show up in the teenage years, doctors worry that severe sleep deprivation can trigger a serious depression in kids who are already predisposed to it. And multiple studies have found that severe sleep debt is linked to suicidal ideation.

How Can You Help Teens Get More Sleep?

There are lifestyle changes that middle- and high-schoolers can make, and even several small changes can have a big effect on their well-being. Here is some expert advice on how to win back a couple of precious hours a night:

• Take a stand: Teenagers will resist, but there’s evidence that parental help with limit-setting on study and sleep does help kids make better decisions about managing their time.
• Encourage consistency: It’s important for your teen to go to bed as close as possible to the same time every night, and to get as close as possible to eight hours of sleep. But it’s also important for him to stick to the same schedule — within reason — on the weekends.
• Limit screen time: Emphasize the importance of turning off all electronic devices a minimum of one hour before bed. Plan ahead so that homework that needs to be done on a screen is completed by early evening and “off-screen” work is saved for later at night. That also means no “unwinding” by going on Facebook or Instagram. Social media is a great place to find new sources of anxiety to chase away sleep.
• Discourage snacking: Adolescents are prone to eating and drinking on an ersatz schedule, as a means to self-regulate, or to stay awake, or just because they can. But the bag of chips or the cookies at 1am, or caffeine any time after dinner — whether or not they help get the essay written — can postpone sleep, and harmfully.
• Boost the biological clock: A low dose (2-3 mg) of the sleep hormone melatonin (a non-prescription vitamin which can be purchased at the drugstore) one to hours before it’s time to go to bed may help jumpstart melatonin production that tends to start later at night in adolescents.
• Simplify: Teenagers need you to help them set realistic expectations for how many activities they can get involved in without burning out. That means limiting pressure to build the ultimate college resume.
• Set a good example: Model good sleep habits for your teens by making sleep part of living a healthy lifestyle — like eating right and exercising regularly.
• Streamline mornings: Encourage teenagers to shower, pick out clothes and pack up books before bed so they don’t have to spend time doing it in the morning.
• Pump up productivity: Show them that using odd bits of time they might otherwise blow off can be fruitful. Also, by breaking homework down into bite-size pieces, say 45-minute blocks with 10-minute breaks to clear one’s head, they can get more done and be more relaxed doing it.
• Keep the bed for sleep: Experts agree that it’s easier to fall asleep and stay asleep if you associate the bed with sleeping. That means encouraging your teenager to work in another room he associates with getting work done.

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Tips for Successful Late Night Studying

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What is your best study time ? Do you feel most like studying in the wee hours of the night? If so, you are not alone. But that can be a problem for parents and school officials.

While some students like to get up early in the morning and study, most will say that late night studying is most productive. When it comes to brain power, students will say they perform better at night--and the fact that parents might find surprising and interesting is that science seems to agree.

That can be a problem. School starts early in the morning for most students, so the benefits of studying at night can be eliminated by the drowsiness of missing sleep! Science also shows that the amount of sleep you get will affect your academic performance .

Here Are a Few Tips for Maximizing Study Time

• Figure out if you are a morning person or a night person. You might surprise yourself. Try getting up early to study and see if it works out.
• Have a talk with parents to tell them that teen brains do perform better at night, so you won’t have to deal with miscommunication. Show them the science. You might be able to come up with a solution.
• Agree on an absolute “start time” for studying if you need to study late. Turn off the TV! Your brain should be just fine at six or seven o’clock. You don’t need to start after dark.
• Agree on a solid deadline for closing books and getting to sleep.
• Don't waste time on texts , games, and social media . You can do all of that early evening and get serious later in the evening if you're a night owl.
• Upon occasion, you may be able to go to school a little late if you have to study for an afternoon test. As long as you are communicating with your parents, and as long as the tardiness doesn't hurt your grades, you may be able to work this out.

Improved Academic Success. ScienceDaily . Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/06/090610091232.htm

Teens. ScienceDaily . Retrieved November 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2007/05/070520130046.htm

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High School Daze: The Perils Of Sacrificing Sleep For Late-Night Studying

Allison Aubrey

It may not be the best strategy to stay up late and cram. A new study finds that when teens don't get the sleep they need, all kinds of things can go poorly. iStockphoto.com hide caption

It may not be the best strategy to stay up late and cram. A new study finds that when teens don't get the sleep they need, all kinds of things can go poorly.

High school students with heavy academic course loads often find the demands of homework colliding with the need for adequate sleep. And a new study published in the journal C hild Development finds that when teens don't get the sleep they need on a given night, the next day all kinds of things can go poorly.

"What we learned is that when kids cram, particularly at the expense of sleep, the next day they're more likely to have academic problems even though they spent more time studying that night," explains researcher Andrew Fuligni of UCLA.

"These findings may come as a surprise to many researchers, educators, parents and teens who assume that more studying will surely lead to better grades," says Amy Wolfson , a professor of psychology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

The study builds on a body of evidence that finds sleep and learning are inextricably linked.

"Lots of things happen during sleep," explains Helene Emsellem , director of The Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, Md. "We don't just physically restore ourselves." We also process all the information we've gathered during the day. "We take the information and organize it and make all the connections," Emsellem explains. Without adequate sleep, students don't learn as well.

Maybe this explains why rising 12th-grader Patrick Ottolini from suburban Washington, D.C., has realized it's not always the best strategy to stay up late and cram.

"If it's, like, a big test, it's not going to work at all," he says.

Instead of sacrificing sleep, he says, he has learned it's best to try to pace himself and find regular chunks of time each day to study. His classmate David LoBosco says he has another strategy that works for him: When it comes to prepping the night before a quiz, he finds it better to get some sleep and set the alarm.

"You know, wake up early in the morning and study," he says.

The most helpful advice Emsellem gives families? "Have a lights-out time in the house," she says.

Emsellem has outlined strategies for success in the book Snooze or Lose . This can be helpful for teens — and their parents.

Wolfson says one caution about the new study is that the data are entirely self-reported rather than drawn from report cards or teacher reports. But she says it's important research that adds to our "need to remind school districts to think seriously about school start times, homework policies and the need to teach study skills and health to developing adolescents."

Here are some additional tips from Wolfson:

1. Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule throughout the week. When your schedule varies by more than 60 to 90 minutes day to day (or school nights vs. weekend nights), this can have negative consequences for academics, mood and health.

2. Try to get 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep a night: Best for middle and high school-age adolescents

3. Keep a regular study schedule: Trying to study late at night interferes with a teen's ability to get a sufficient amount of sleep, and may create an irregular sleep-wake schedule as noted above.

4. Minimize high-tech in one's sleep environment and particularly in the hour before trying to fall asleep (such as: text messaging, computer work/games, watching videos, etc.). These activities will also interfere with falling asleep and might wake you up at night if you keep your cellphone on during the night.

5. Eliminate caffeine from your diet, particularly 3 to 5 hours before trying to fall asleep.

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Are Students Who Sleep Better More Likely to Succeed?

Last Updated on April 11, 2024

Written by Jill Zwarensteyn

Written by Jill Zwarensteyn, Editor

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Find out more from our sleep if the students who sleep better are more likely to succeed.

It’s no secret that students face immense pressure to do well in school. For teens, good grades can determine the college you’re accepted into, and for college and grad students, academic success can impact your career goals. 

Multiple factors can influence your achievements, but does sleep play a role? In this article, we’ll find out  if   students who sleep better are more likely to succeed.  

We’ll also look at students’ current sleep patterns, how they can improve their rest, and why developing good sleeping habits now will help them later in life.

Are Students Getting Enough Sleep?

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine,  teens should sleep   [1]  between 8 and 10 hours every night. 1 To develop these guidelines, the AASM developed a panel of 13 experts who reviewed over 800 articles of scientific research in order to come to an agreement on what is the optimum amount of sleep.

For more information, check out our  beds for teenagers .

They used a similar process for the recommended sleep time for  adults   [2] , with the help of a 15-person expert panel. They concluded that adults 18 and older should get 7 or more hours of shut-eye.

Using this data as a reference point, experts can analyze whether students are meeting the recommended amounts of sleep.

In a CDC  national student sample   [3] , they discovered that as many as 7 out of 10—or 72.7 percent—of students weren’t sleeping enough on school nights. Most of these students were sleeping for less than 8 hours, and the alarmingly high numbers reveal just how prevalent sleep deprivation is among young people.

Unfortunately, college and grad students aren’t doing much better. The  University of Georgia   [4]  Health Center reports that most college students only get 6-6.9 hours of sleep each night, which is below the minimum recommendation of 7.

A 2020 study examined stress and burnout among graduate students. Their findings also looked at how well grad students slept. They reported that the study participants only slept an average of  6.4 hours per night   [5] .

Learn More:   How Much Sleep Do Teens Need ?

What Causes Teens and Young Adults to Lose Rest?

Why, then, are so many young people not sleeping well? There are a variety of reasons contributing to this trend.

Late-Night Homework

Many students will often stay up late trying to study for an exam or work on homework. While some may have to do homework later due to extracurricular activities or a job, others may need the extra time to meet the demands of multiple classes.

Between computers, video games, and cell phones, young people are surrounded by technological distractions. Unfortunately, screen time can affect your quality of sleep. Research shows us that  screen time  before bed can impact people of all ages for several reasons  [6] .

The first is that the blue light emitted from the screen reduces the production of the melatonin hormone, which is responsible for keeping your sleep-wake cycle running smoothly. The second reason is that the devices stimulate your brain, making it difficult to quiet your mind as you prepare to sleep. Thirdly, notifications going off during the right could disrupt your REM – or deep sleep – cycle.

It’s also worth noting that even when you don’t use devices before bed, tech distractions may also cause you to put off doing homework and other tasks until later, which could still throw off your sleep schedule.

Emotional Stress

Dartmouth College   [7]  reports that over 50 percent of chronic sleep problems are caused by emotional stress, including depression and anxiety. They go on to add that high levels of stress can also  lead to insomnia .

For teens and young adults, they are dealing with the demands of school, extracurricular activities, internships, and side jobs – all while trying to navigate social, family, and romantic relationships. A combination of these stressors could easily keep them from sleeping well.

Inconsistent Sleep Schedules

Not having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time can also affect how well-rested you are. While some students might maintain a good sleep schedule during the week, that can quickly go out the window when the weekend rolls around.

A 2009 study that looked at the sleep habits of university students in Taiwan determined that there’s a link between  irregular sleeping patterns   [8]  and insufficient rest.

Living Environment

It’s not just your habits, though. The environment you sleep in may also influence your sleep quality. 

College and graduate students, in particular, may have difficulty creating a relaxing sleep environment. From roommates to noisy neighbors, there are plenty of distractions that could keep you up at night.

Find Out More:   29 College Students Sleep Statistics

Sleep Disorders

Young people may also struggle with  sleep disorders   that interfere with rest. These include insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome. However, when it comes to sleep disorders, it’s best to consult with a physician who will be able to diagnose your  sleep issue   [9]  properly.

Diet and Exercise

What you eat and drink can also trigger sleep problems. For example, caffeine and alcohol consumption can disrupt your sleep, while going to bed on a full or empty stomach may cause discomfort that makes it difficult to fall asleep.

Although exercise is essential for maintaining a healthy life, working out too late at night can give you a boost of energy that makes it hard to doze off at bedtime.

Get More Info:   Exercise and Sleep  – How to Target Your Workout Time

We might be quick to scold young people about their sleeping habits, but it’s not  entirely  their fault either.  Research   [10]  established since the early 1990s determined that as teens got older, they were biologically wired to go to bed later. This is referred to as a Sleep Phase Delay, and it means that their circadian rhythm (or internal clock) makes it harder for them to go to bed before 11:00 pm.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t correlate with school and university schedules. Most  schools begin classes   [11]  as early as 8:00 am, with some high schools starting even earlier at 7:30 am.

Signs of Sleep Deprivation

When you’re sleep-deprived, you will notice one – if not several – of these symptoms.

Mood Changes

Mood disorders like anxiety and depression can lead to a lack of rest, but little sleep can also exacerbate these conditions or create an increased risk of developing them. When they don’t sleep enough, students may also experience more  negative moods   [12]  like frustration, irritability, sadness, and anger. These types of mood disorders and changes could hinder their relationships with teachers, peers, and family.

Get Sick More Often

Not getting adequate sleep also means you’re more likely to get sick, and it could influence how long it takes you to recover from an illness. When you sleep, your body releases protective proteins called  Cytokines   [13] . However, when you’re not getting enough rest, the production of this protein decreases, leaving you more vulnerable to infections and diseases.

Daytime Drowsiness

We all know those students who fall asleep in class, and at times we may have been those students. Rather than passing judgment on yourself or the behavior, consider it could be related more closely to sleep deprivation than laziness. 

When you consistently feel sleepy during the day, there’s a high chance you didn’t get enough shut-eye the night before.  Daytime drowsiness  is also a common symptom to be aware of. Extreme tiredness in class is undoubtedly a cause for concern, but drowsiness can be dangerous – especially for students who drive since it increases their risk of an accident.

Inability to Concentrate

Difficulty concentrating is also an effect of sleep deprivation, and a lack of focus could certainly impact your ability to do well in school. When you’re unable to concentrate, you will notice you have a harder time paying attention in class and staying on track with homework and study assignments.

Memory Problems

Not enough rest could also negatively affect your memory, and for students who need to retain important information for tests and presentations, this is not good news. In the event you notice you’re more forgetful than usual, it’s a good opportunity to review your sleep habits.

Less Physical Strength

While some students participate in athletics for fun, others may rely on sports to get important scholarships and college opportunities.

Just as food fuels your body, so does sleep. However, when you don’t get the rest you need, you will have less physical strength and energy.  This means you are less likely to perform as well as you could, which is why rest is so crucial.

In fact, the data supports this. A 2011 study looked at how sleep affected the performance of college basketball players.

They discovered that basketball players who achieved optimal sleep also reached their  peak athletic performance   [14] .

Even for young people who don’t participate in their school’s sports, this can cause them to feel less inclined to exercise altogether.

Do Successful Students Sleep More?

Although this information implies that sleeping better leads to more success in school, is there actual data that proves it? Yes.

For example,  a 2015 study   [15]  wanted to see if there was a correlation between sleep duration and academic performance among pharmaceutical students. Their research found that students who sleep longer did better on exams, resulting in higher semester grades and GPAs.

How Can Students Sleep Better?

Now understanding the relationship between sleep and success, students can take the initiative to improve their sleeping habits.

No Homework or Technology Right Before Bed

Students should avoid homework, studying, and technology – including social media – about an hour before bed. 

As tempting as it is to stay up late for more study time, the research shows us that you are more likely to do better if you go to bed earlier. In the event you have homework due the next day, experts recommend getting up early to finish it instead. 

It might be hard to give up scrolling through Instagram or playing video games, but cutting off your screen time before bed should also help your mind relax to fall asleep.

Find Out More:  The Effect of  Technology on Sleep

Create a Better Sleep Environment

For students who have trouble sleeping, improving their sleep environment could result in a better night’s rest.  Light, temperature, and noise   [16]  are three main environmental factors that can affect sleep.

For students with noisy roommates who stay up later, try using devices like  sleep masks  or earplugs.  Blackout curtains  can also help knock out extra light from outside. It’s also a good idea to monitor your room’s temperature so that it’s not too hot or too cold, which should help you rest more comfortably.

Stick to a Schedule

Another helpful tip is to stick to a regular sleep schedule by going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time every day. While this might be more of a challenge on weekends, a consistent schedule should help keep your body’s internal clock in check.

Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol

Cutting out caffeine, particularly later in the day and at night, seems like a no-brainer, but you might be tempted to use it while you finish up your homework. Rather, opt for a glass of water or a decaffeinated drink to give you some energy. 

In addition to caffeine, experts also suggest avoiding alcoholic beverages. For students of legal drinking age, you might think a glass of wine can help you wind down. While alcohol does make you sleepy, it could also lead to more disrupted sleep.

Don’t Eat Right Before Bed

When you’re going from class to class and then an evening team practice, rehearsal, or study session, you could easily find yourself putting off dinner until late at night. Instead of having a big meal, though, opt for a  light snack  that won’t leave you feeling uncomfortably full during the night.

Exercise Regularly

Regular workouts should also help you sleep better. According to research, students who are in good physical condition fall asleep more quickly and rest better. For optimum results, you should exercise for at least 30 minutes three times a week about 5-7 hours before your bedtime – if not earlier.

Manage Your Concerns

Whether they’re school-related or personal, worries have an awful habit of creeping up at night. When you find that your worries keep you up, a good idea is to jot them down. Then, try to come up with solutions before you go to bed and plan your schedule for the next day. 

Writing them down and creating a game plan should make it easier for you to let go of those concerns when you go to sleep.

How Will Better Sleep Help Students Later in Life?

The great news is that developing good habits as a student should translate to not only academic success but also success later in life when you enter your respective career field. Many high-level jobs will need you to function to the best of your ability, and if you’re not well-rested, this could affect your job performance. That’s why creating good habits early on is so important.

Good sleep should also  keep you healthy   [17]  as you age. A full night’s sleep should help prevent weight gain, boost your immune system, strengthen your heart, and improve your memory.

Sources and References:

[1] Shalini. Paruthi MD, Lee J. Brooks MD, Carolyn. D’Ambrosio MD, Wendy A. Hall PhD RN,  Suresh. Kotagal MD, Robin M. Lloyd MD, Beth A. Malow MD MS, et al. “ Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine”,  American Academy of Sleep Medicine , 2016.

[2] Nathaniel F. Watson MD MSc, M. Safwan. Badr MD, Gregory Belenky MD, Donald L. Bliwise PhD, Orfeu M. Buxton PhD, Daniel. Buysse MD, David F. Dinges PhD, “ Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society”,  American Academy of Sleep Medicine , 2015.

[3]  “Sleep in Middle and High School Students” , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, September 10, 2020.

[4]  “Sleep Rocks!…Get More of it!” , University Health Center at the University of Georgia 

[5] Hannah K. Allen, Angelica L. Barrall, Kathryn B. Vincent, Amelia M. Arria, “ Stress and Burnout Among Graduate Students: Moderation by Sleep Duration and Quality”, Springer Link, 2020.

[6]  “Why It’s Time to Ditch the Phone Before Bed” , SCL Health 

[7]  “Improving Sleep” , Dartmouth College

[8] Jiunn-Horng. Kang, Shih-Ching. Chen, “ Effects of an irregular bedtime schedule on sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and fatigue among university students in Taiwan”,  National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2009.

[9]  “Sleep Deprivation” , Cedars Sinai

[10] Ruthann Richter,  “Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic” , Stanford Medicine, 2015.

[11] Anne G. Wheaton PhD, Gabrielle A. Ferro PhD, Janet B. Croft PhD, “ School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students — United States, 2011–12 School Year” , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015.

[12]  “Mood and Sleep” , Better Health Channel

[13] Eric J. Olson MD,  “Lack of sleep: Can it make you sick?” , Mayo Clinic, November 28, 2018.

[14] Cheri D. Mah, Kenneth E. Mah, Eric J. Kezirian, William C. Dement, “ The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players”,  National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2011.

[15] Megan L. Zeek PharmD, Matthew J. Savoie PharmD, Salisa C. Westrick PhD MS, “ Sleep Duration and Academic Performance Among Student Pharmacists”,  National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2015.

[16]  “External Factors that Influence Sleep” , Harvard University, December 18, 2007.

[17]  “The Benefits of Getting a Full Night’s Sleep” , SCL Health, 2018.

Jill Zwarensteyn

About author.

Jill Zwarensteyn is the Editor for Sleep Advisor and a Certified Sleep Science Coach. She is enthusiastic about providing helpful and engaging information on all things sleep and wellness.

Combination Sleeper

Athletes should be given more flexibility with homework deadlines

Bailey Spore

Junior Nick Hayslett works in PREP to finish his homework on time.

by Bailey Spore , Reporter September 24, 2018

Participating in high school sports is not easy. With practices every day and games or meets once or twice a week, many student-athletes struggle to balance school work and sports. I have had track meets where I don’t get home until 10:00 at night. By the time I shower and eat dinner, it’s 11:30. At this point I have to make a choice. I can either stay up for another two hours doing homework that is due in the morning, (but then have to go through the school day on 5 hours of sleep), or I can not do my homework (sleep, and turn in my homework late).

Studies published in the  Journal of The American Academy of Pediatrics showed that students need at least 8 hours of sleep to fully function throughout the day. This can be an issue for student-athletes who don’t get to sleep until late at night and are up early in the morning.

No matter what I choose to do, I have to go to practice after school and repeat this process again every night. Teachers should sometimes give more time for homework because of this. I realize school comes before after school activities, but athletes are struggling in classes because of the loads of homework they have.

Student-athletes have to find a way to balance school work with games and practices. Many students don’t do sports just because of the amounts of homework they get. There just isn’t time. At the same time, many athletes love the sports they do and wouldn’t give it up because of extra pressure to complete homework. Sometimes that means they will not do their homework just because of how late athletes are at games or practices.

According to  The Foundation for Global Sports Development , “Not only does sleep affect a student’s academic and athletic performance, but a lack of sleep may lead to a greater risk for injury.”

Not doing homework hurts grades, which could make athletes ineligible and would lead to them not being able to participate in sports. On the other hand, if they do their homework, there is a possibility of being up to or even past midnight. Having to wake up the next morning with only five or six hours of sleep leads to academic struggles. 

This issue could be fixed if athletes had more time allowance for homework. Even with one extra day, students would be able to split their homework, and do half one night and half the next. It’s a win-win situation: participate in sports, get good grades, and get a full eight hours of sleep.

A lot of students participate in sports. Mr. Sunkel is a science teacher and the tennis coach. He estimates that about 20% of his students are student/athletes. That is a lot of students who will be up late doing homework after their practices and games.

Junior Nick Hayslett plays for the football team and runs track. Hayslett gets home from games or meets at 11 most of the time and has to wake up at six the next morning.Hayslett said,  “Athletes need more time because they have less time than other students to do their homework.”

“My student athletes complete homework almost all the time. I will make an exception once in a while for a student who will come to me and say they have an away game and won’t be able to get homework done. A lot of my students do their work in study halls after school,” said Mrs. Jamie Hendi, government teacher.

Mrs. Hendi doesn’t believe student athletes should get more time for because they don’t get more time in college, so why should they in high school?

No matter how much time they get for homework, being a student-athlete is a tough challenge. As long as they are willing to put in the extra time and effort, student-athletes do great in their classes.

• Nick Hayslett
• The American Academy of Pediatrics

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Craig Canapari, MD

Proven advice for better sleep in kids and parents

Homework vs. Sleep: A Cause of Stress in Teens (And Younger Kids)

posted on August 31, 2015

Homework stresses kids out; there is no way around this fact. The combination of heavy homework loads and early school start times is a major cause of sleep deprivation and consequent stress in teens, but this can be a problem even in younger kids.

When I started looking into the evidence,  I was surprised to find that there is not much evidence that homework before high school benefits children.  I really love this article by Justin Coulson, a parenting expert and psychologist, detailing why he bans his school age children from doing homework , concluding from the evidence that homework does more harm than good. A recent study showed that some elementary school children had three times the recommended homework load . In spite of this, homework has started appearing even in kindergarten and the first great in spite of recommendations to the contrary. This has become a source of great stress to families.

Sleep deprivation in teenagers is an epidemic here in the US, with up to 90% of teenagers not getting enough sleep on school nights . The most important factor causing this is school start times that are too early for teenagers, who are hardwired to go to bed later and get up later compared with younger children (or grown-ups, for that matter). I’ve discussed this at length on my blog .

Another factor which can cause sleep deprivation is homework. Some studies suggest that the amount of homework which teenagers receive has stayed constant over time. I don’t pretend to be an educational expert, but I frequently see children and teenagers who have hours and hours of homework every night. This seems most common in teenagers who are striving to get into competitive colleges. This is piled on top of multiple extracurricular activities– sports, clubs, music lessons, and public service. Of course, the patients and families I see in clinic tend to be the people with the greatest difficulties with sleep. So I decided to look into this issue a bit more.

How common is excessive homework, anyway?

The recommendation of the National Education Association is that children received no more than ten minutes of homework per grade level. So a high school senior would max out at two hours of homework per night. An analysis published by the Brookings Institute concluded that there has been little change in the amount of homework assigned between 1984 and 2012 . About 15% of juniors and seniors did have greater than two hours of homework per night. Interestingly, the author also referenced a study which showed that about 15% of parents were concerned about excessive homework as well. This would suggest that the problem of excessive homework is occurring only in about one in six teenagers.

There is a perception that homework loads are excessive. This certainly may be the case in some communities or in high pressure schools. Teenagers certainly think that they have too much homework; here is a well researched piece written by a teenager  who questions the utility of large amounts of homework.

Some generalities emerge from the educational research :

• Older students get more homework than younger students
• Race may play a role, with Asian students doing more homework
• Less experienced teachers assign more homework
• Math classes are the classes most likely to assign homework

How beneficial is homework?

The US is a relatively homework intense country, but does not score as well as countries where homework is less common. In high school age kids, homework does have benefits. However, 70 minutes total seems to be the sweet spot in terms of benefits ; homework in excess of this amount is associated with decreasing test scores.

Homework clearly can have benefits– development of good organizational habits, review of materials, and improving skills such as reading and critical thinking. Homework should be assigned, however, with the goal of helping children learning, not because the teacher or school has decided that a certain amount should be assigned nightly, or because some parents want their children to get more  homework. Alfie Kohn, an educational leader and a big critic of homework. published a great article on rethinking homework . Here’s another thoughtful perspective on homework by a history teacher named Glen Whitman.

When To Worry About Excessive Homework

Obviously, I am not an educational expert. My review of this topic suggests that most children do not have an undue burden of homework. Thus, the best way to help teenagers get more sleep is to start school later . However, there are a subset of teenagers who may have an excessive amount of homework. I would define that is over two hours of homework a night, or an amount of homework that keeps children up late at night with regularity, especially given that getting enough sleep is critical for learning. No child should have to regularly decide between homework and sleep.  These factors can contribute to excessive homework:

• Unreasonable amounts of assigned homework (10 minutes/grade level)
• Excessive extracurricular activities leading to a late homework start time
• Learning problems such as ADHD or dyslexia, especially if they have not yet been diagnosed.

Some final advice:

• Teenagers:  If you cannot get your homework done at night without staying up past ten or eleven on school nights, please talk to your parents about this. They can help you. Also, recognize that there are diminishing returns; I got the worst grade I ever got in college on a biochemistry exam after pulling my one and only all-nighter. Going to sleep earlier on the night before a test might be more beneficial than sacrificing sleep to study.
• Parents: Be conscious of how late your teens are staying up and how much time they are spending on their homework. If it seems excessive, please review your child’s schedule with him or her, and have a frank conversation with your child’s teachers.
• Educators:  Ask your students how long they are spending on homework. If they seem sleepy in class, talk about this issue with them and  their parents. Try to make sure that the culture of your school is such that homework is assigned for clear educational benefits, and not simply for the sake of doing so.

I would love to hear your perspectives on these issues. Of course, to paraphrase “Bones” McCoy , “I’m a sleep doctor, not a teacher.” However, if I was asking my patients to do a nightly treatment that required an hour or more of their time, I would have to be absolutely sure that it was helpful. I’m not convinced that homework meets that standard.  Do I have this issue all wrong? Let me know in the comments.  Is the homework load excessive in your town? I would love to hear.

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Reader interactions.

August 31, 2015 at 11:54 am

I agree in part. My child (who is freshman at your school now) and who took pretty much all AP/Honors classes did, at times, have an excessive work load. It wasn’t so much that what was asked by each teacher was excessive; it was that there is no coordination among teachers in terms of regular homework, tests, and projects. So the teachers have no idea that the totality of the work for any given day might be excessive. There are a handful of teachers at the school that give an assignment for the week or month, giving students flexibility to less on a busy day, and more on less busy day.

I think there are activities and there are activities. The student referenced above did not do athletics and that makes a HUGE difference. She was very involved in a few clubs and was (is) a serious musician. So even though she was busy all day Sat and half of Sunday with music school and orchestra, on weekdays a coach was not dictating how many hours and when she would have to practice.

I really think you must factor in the role of athletics. I am not anti-athletics (number 2 child is an athlete), but the practice time demand (generally 5 days/week) put on athletes coupled with games that may require two hours of travel and getting back at 6pm or 8pm does then make it difficult to do the homework plus get enough sleep.

Last, I’ve noticed that some kids are really a lot more efficient at getting work done than others. Some of my kids’ friends seem to spend more time on work without benefit necessarily of higher grades. And certainly homework takes a lot longer to do if you are checking email, texting, going on FB, etc. I have to remind my kids -and myself – that it isn’t an efficient way to work.

I think it’s great to look at homework and sleep, but I think homework v. sleep doesn’t take into account some of the issue around both. Great that you’re bringing this up!

August 31, 2015 at 12:28 pm

Thanks so much Valerie! This is tremendously insightful. I agree with you that this is a complex issue. In terms of efficiency, I also think that a well rested kid gets homework done faster and gets to bed earlier. This was the experience in Minneapolis when they moved school start times later.

August 31, 2015 at 8:02 pm

I just read your article and saw your video regarding homework vs sleep – very well said! I remember hours and hours of homework in high school and not getting enough sleep. I have been a 4th grade teacher here in Florida for 13 years and feel the same way as you in regards for homework, even at the elementary level. My school is a late starting school, we go from 9:30 until 3:50. On some evenings, some of my students are not even getting home until 4:30/5:00. I would never ask them to do hours of homework. From the minute my students enter my room each morning, I am motivating, educating and basically keeping them going non-stop all day long (except for lunch and recess). I go home on a nightly basis exhausted from teaching them, I can’t imagine how exhausted they are from learning all day. I truly do not think it is fair to then have them continue to go, go, go into the evening. That is their down time, time with their friends and most importantly time with their family and to basically decompress from the day. They need that. I feel they have the rest of their lives to be on the go continuously. In my career and my son’s educational career (which he is only 10 years old) I have come across teachers that don’t give any homework, to teachers that give 2-3 hours of homework each night. It’s very frustrating trying to get a young child who has learned all day long in school to then again sit down to do hours of homework each night. Their brains are shutting off and telling them to stop. Anyways I could go on and on about this – hopefully things will change for the better and allow our youth to enjoy life. They have adulthood to be tied down with responsibilities. I truly enjoy your articles!!

August 31, 2015 at 8:03 pm

Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa. I wish all teachers shared your perspective.

January 26, 2016 at 8:21 pm

The reason I’m on this website was to look for some guidance as to whether my sophomore daughter’s homework load is normal. The takeaway – no, it’s not. I’d say she averages 3-4 hours a day, but some days are significantly worse than others. She’s in all Honors classes, and she’s getting good grades (5.79 GPA out of 6.00), but she gets about 5-6 hours a night sleep, sometimes less. Then, she spends 12 hours sleeping on Saturday and Sunday. From what I’m hearing, the juniors at her school that are in the Honors/AP courses average about 3-4 hours a night sleep. Of course, the logical thing to do is to discourage students from taking such a punishing course load. Unfortunately, every college admissions officer tells these kids that they need to have a “rigorous” course load in high school. Specifically, the admissions offices have been quite clear that if there’s an AP class offered, and the student doesn’t take it, it looks like they’re not challenging themselves. Add that to the fact that colleges want “well rounded” students who are athletes, leaders, community volunteers, etc., it’s no wonder these kids aren’t sleeping. My daughter is completely convinced that she won’t get into the schools she wants if she doesn’t take all of the Honors/AP classes and do well in them. Simply put, high school sucks for these kids. My daughter’s health is being ruined, and I’m seemingly powerless to stop it. The schools (not just my daughter’s, but every high school that I know of), want these honors kids to get into the college of their choice, so the teachers push and push and push. It breaks my heart to watch my daughter go through this, and I’ve repeatedly tried to talk her out of the AP classes, but she is insistent. So sad…

March 07, 2016 at 11:00 am

I agree with you. It is totally insane. I would encourage you to make some noise at your local Board of Education.

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Homework Help for Reluctant Children

• Posted October 15, 2018
• By Heather Miller

It’s hard to fault the child who resists doing homework. After all, she has already put in a long day at school, probably been involved in afterschool activities, and, as the late afternoon spills into evening, now faces a pile of assignments. Parents feel it, too — it’s no one’s favorite time of day.

But despite its bad rap, homework plays an important role in ensuring that students can execute tasks independently. When it’s thoughtfully assigned, homework provides deeper engagement with material introduced in class. And even when it’s “just” worksheets, homework can build the automatic habits and the basic skills required to tackle more interesting endeavors. Finally, homework is a nightly test of grit. Adult life brings its share of tasks that are both compulsory and unenjoyable. Developing the discipline to fulfill our responsibilities, regardless of whether they thrill us, begins in middle childhood.

So how to help the avoidant child embrace the challenge, rather than resist it?

The first step, especially with kids 13 and under, is to have them do their homework at a communal space, like a dining room or kitchen table. If other children are in the home, they can all do their homework at the same table, and the parent can sit nearby to support the work effort. This alleviates some of the loneliness a reluctant child might associate with assignments. The alternative — doing homework at a bedroom desk — can result in the child guiltily avoiding the work for as long as possible. Like all forms of procrastination, this has the effect of making the entire process take much longer than it needs to.  

When parents turn the homework ritual into a series of conversations about what needs to be done, how, and for how long, children feel less “alone” with their nightly work, they relish the company and support of their parent, and they work better and more efficiently.

Many parents are under the impression that they shouldn’t have anything to do with their children's homework. This comes from schools emphasizing that homework is a child's responsibility, not the parents'. While it is absolutely true that parents should not do their children's homework, there is a role for parents — one that's perhaps best described as “homework project manager.” Parents can be monitoring, organizing, motivating, and praising the homework effort as it gets done. And yes, that means sitting with your child to help them stay focused and on task. Your presence sends the message that homework is important business, not to be taken lightly.

Once you’re sitting down with your child, ask him to unload his school bag and talk you through his various assignments. Maybe he has a school planner with all his homework listed, or a printout from school, or perhaps his work is listed on the classroom website. Many children attend an afterschool program where, in theory, they are doing homework. They’ll often claim that they’ve done all their homework, even though they’ve only done some. Together, make a quick and easy “Done/To Do” list. Writing down what she has finished will give her a sense of satisfaction. Identifying what she still needs to do will help her to focus on the remaining assignments. Over time, this practice will help your child build an understanding that large tasks are completed incrementally.

Next, ask your child to put the assignments in the order he’d like to do them. Encourage him to explain his thinking. Doing this helps a child feel in control of the evening’s tasks and prompts him to reflect on his work style. Discuss the first task of the night together. Ask your child to think about the supplies he is likely to need, and ensure they’re at the ready. This “pre-work” work helps a child think through a task, understand it, and prepare to execute it with gusto.

Last but not least, introduce a timer to the evening’s proceedings. Challenge your child to estimate how long the first assignment will take. Then ask, “Do you want me to set the timer for the full amount of time you think you’ll need, or a smaller amount?” Then, set the timer with the understanding that the child must work without interruption until the timer goes off. Even questions are verboten while the timer runs. The goal here is to enable the child to solve problems independently, through concentration. This not only builds concentration powers, it builds creativity, critical thinking, resilience, and resourcefulness. In my experience, the theatricality of being timed helps relax children who would otherwise feel daunted by a mountain of homework.

As each piece of work gets done, parents can add meaningful positive reinforcement. Exclaiming, “Another assignment done! And done well!” helps your child feel like what they are doing matters.

By turning the homework ritual into a series of conversations about what needs to be done, how, and for how long, children feel less “alone” with their nightly work, they relish the company and support of their parent, and they complete the work much more efficiently and at a higher standard than they might otherwise.

Helping the Homework Resisters

• Have children do their work at a communal table. Stay nearby, to alleviate the loneliness that some kids feel — and to prevent procrastination.
• Ask your child to unload her backpack and talk through assignments.
• Help your child make a "Done/To Do" list.
• Ask your child to put the assignments in the order he’d like to do them. Encourage him to explain his thinking — fostering a sense of control.
• Use a timer. Challenge your child to estimate how long an assignment will take, and ask if she wants to set the timer for that full amount of time, or less. 
• Your role: To monitor, organize, motivate, and praise the homework effort as each piece is done. 

Additional Resource

• More about Heather Miller's work to help parents create healthy routines on weeknights

Usable Knowledge

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Are there any benefits of doing homework late at night.

Everyone has that specific time when they are comfortable enough to write their papers. You can be pretty sure that when you settle down and start working on your assignment, you would not want to have anyone or anything disturbing you. You need to make sure that you set aside some peaceful time and a really quiet place at home from where you will be able to do the work you need.

If you do not know how to proceed, you can ask for help here and you will learn a lot about how to handle your assignments. Given the need for you to write your homework perfectly and present it to your teacher in the morning, it would appear as though everyone knows they should be able to do their work as early as possible. However, some students prefer to get their work done at night. This begs the question as to whether ether are some benefits of doing their work so late at night, and we have some answers that might interest you. Here are the true benefits of choosing to do the work late in the evening:

Enjoy the peace and quiet

You have had enough rest, allows you time to consult.

One of the main benefits of doing your work late at night is the fact that you are in a good position to enjoy the peace and quiet that you desire. When you are working on this paper, you should get all the peace that you need, so that you can focus and do the work well. Anything else that makes you want to rush will be a terrible idea.

One of the other good reasons why you would need to get your work done at night is because in most cases, you will be working after having had more than enough rest. Therefore you are in a good position to think clearly and everything you do will fall in place.

For those who choose to do their work late in the evening, in most cases you spend a good part of the day gathering information and consulting. Therefore by the time you are working on your assignment, you will be in a good position to make it awesome.

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Teachers: Please make homework due times right before class

With 5 minutes until the due date and one paragraph left to write, you stare at the clock as you type furiously on your keyboard. A bead of sweat trickles slowly down your neck as the clock ticks in the background. Seconds away from midnight, you hastily click the “submit” button: A small burst of confetti appears on the screen, marking your completion of the day’s homework. 

Thinking back on your work, you realize the quality of it is rather low — and in the end you didn’t learn much from the tedious experience. 

Clearly, deadlines are important for students’ time management skills. But many teachers set Canvas deadlines at 11:59 p.m. on the night before class. Some even have their deadlines due at more unconventional times, such as 9 p.m. the night before class.

Although these teachers are sure to have reasons for their due dates, they should return to a beneficial aspect of pre-pandemic education and set their due times at the beginning of class to alleviate stress and increase sleep for students. 

Why is it better to have due dates set at the beginning of class? For one thing, many students attend a plethora of extracurricular activities after school, causing them to do their homework late at night upon returning home.

Forcing these students to turn in assignments earlier than class starting times creates a situation where they rush through their assignments, ruining the educational purpose of homework. 

This increases students’ existing stress and anxiety over the assignment, leading to negative consequences on their mental health. A student constantly thinking about their approaching midnight deadlines and late-night workload is bound to experience a lot of stress.

Another unintended consequence of the due date policy is loss of sleep. A student with a midnight or early morning due date is more likely to stay up late than those with deadlines the next day.

Ideally, students should have the opportunity to complete homework during tutorials, lunch and free periods before later classes. Although this change may seem small, even an extra hour of sleep can bring many benefits to students.

In addition, making assignments due before the class period also ensures that all students have the same amount of time to complete their work, creating a more equitable academic environment. When due dates are the same for all periods of a class, later periods have less time to complete the homework.

These later periods can also miss out on valuable tutorial time that is available to students of earlier periods — first- and second-periods have two tutorials compared to one tutorial for other classes.

Despite these benefits, some people may argue that preclass deadlines invariably lead to procrastination.

However, this argument doesn’t focus on the real issue: Some students will always procrastinate, and later due times will not change their habits. Pre-class due dates merely change the time at which these students will do the work — a net neutral effect — while simultaneously helping the students who need the extra time and help before class.

Teachers should prioritize students who are under a lot of stress over students who procrastinate, as the former are more likely to suffer in terms of mental health. Teachers can’t change how much students procrastinate, but they can change due times to benefit those with genuine need.

Since there are special assignments or rare cases that require unique due dates, a school-wide policy might not be the best idea. However, teachers themselves do have the ability to use more student-friendly due dates, and they can easily do so by setting their assignment deadlines before class — a simple fix that will certainly benefit students.

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Why Are You More Productive at Night (+ Tips for Night Owls)

Table of Contents

With the rise of remote work, there’s been a noticeable change in people feeling more productive at night . It’s an interesting phenomenon that involves genes, lifestyle, personality type, and even brain chemistry. Night owls seem to be thriving, and we’re going to delve into the core of their productivity, the biology of their inner clocks, and how one can stay focused and energized when working late.

How night owls work

Night owls are people who find their most productive hours after some people have done their bedtime routines. Working late into the night feels natural for them, so sometimes they even continue working until morning. And for such a long time, I couldn’t understand them. I’d be dead-tired by 11 p.m.

But, in researching night owls, so far removed from my own lark-y self, I ran into a captivating article by Kathryn Schulz . One particular part had me smiling, and instantly understanding these strange “night birds:”

“It starts, as I said, around 10 p.m., when something ticks over in my mind, as if someone had walked into a shuttered cabin and flipped all the switches in the fuse box to “on.” For the first time all day, I get interested in writing. As a corollary, I get a lot less interested in everything else.”

It was Schulz and this quote that set me on a path of researching night owls and becoming less misinformed about them. So, one would say this article is mainly a spotlight for them, while giving the rest of us some much-needed slap on the hand for thinking they’re lazy.

Are night people more productive?

Contrary to popular belief, one group isn’t better than the other. The working world is currently better suited for early birds, which is why you hear more about them.

In fact, numerous research on night owls and morning larks (another term for early risers) focuses more on the differences in other aspects of life. To compare them more casually, both groups are like ice cream flavors — vanilla or chocolate. One isn’t inherently better than the other, they’re both sweet, but people will always choose one or the other.

It’s the same with productivity and people’s biological clocks. Both owls and larks are equally productive, just at different times of the day.

Why are some people more productive at night?

Night owls are a mystery that has garnered quite a bit of attention lately. An article by Rachael Rettner is among many who can answer the question of nighttime productivity. She examined several different studies to draw the conclusion that when we are most productive depends on:

• Genetic predisposition;
• Our brain’s “wiring”;
• Circadian rhythm — owls’ and larks’ bodies function on a different wavelength;
• How our lifestyle and circumstances shape our habits.

Let’s take a closer look at each factor and how they come together to form a night owl’s unique work habit.

Genetic predisposition for late-night work

Fairly self-explanatory, if someone in your family is or was a night owl, especially one of your parents, odds are that you will be one as well.

Scientists Satchidananda Panda and Luciano DiTacchio have managed to locate the gene that basically functions as an alarm clock for our bodies . And since they’re part of the genetic material, they can be transferred as easily as eye color from the parents to the child.

Brains that are more functional late in the afternoon

Aside from genetics, neurological studies and imaging have shown over and over again that early birds’ and night owls’ brains just work differently.

Night owls find it natural to reach their peak in the afternoon and evening, while the larks find that productivity boost earlier in the morning .

Circadian rhythm and metabolism’s role in a night owl’s routine

Circadian rhythm as a word comes from the Latin words “circa” meaning “about”, and “dies” meaning “day”. It is used to describe the way our bodies function through the day: when we wake, go to sleep, eat, when we’re most energetic, etc.

It’s the main way of distinguishing between the night owls, early birds, and — believe it or not — the intermediate type. Science tells us that out of the three types, the vast majority of us actually belong to the last one. Early birds would be considered really early risers (say, between 4 and 6 a.m.), while the night owls would be those going to bed long after midnight. But the extremes are rare, as studies have shown.

How lifestyle and circumstances shape the night owls

Some people become night owls due to some changes in their lives. For example, some parents feel more productive at night because, for a long time, they had to be. Their kids would go to bed at 8 or 9 p.m. and only then was it possible to focus on their own work.

In contrast, my mother, who had three of us, has become a light sleeper and can’t stay in bed past 8 a.m. She even says how having to get up frequently at night, and prepping everyone for school (including herself, as she is a teacher), she got used to being an early bird.

Lastly…. Some people just love the nighttime. There are fewer distractions, everything is silent and more peaceful. Night owls with ADHD have even reported their brains are less stimulated at night, and can actually focus.

It’s worth taking a look at your own lifestyle, family, and living conditions in general, to see just which ones shaped you into the night owl you are today. Maybe therein lies the secret to improving your work habits as one, unlocking their full potential.

Is it okay to be a night owl?

Our personal conclusion? Absolutely.

You can’t go against your genetic makeup, or what may feel natural to you.

And as we’ve seen, whether you’re an early bird or a night owl depends largely on those two factors. However, we can’t deny that the world is tailored to early risers. Statistics favor them when it comes to success , even if night owls are seen as more adaptable and creative.

Unfortunately, having a different biorhythm to your peers is still, in a way, stigmatized. Night owls can be seen as lazy, inadaptable (ironically), or simply as victims of bad habits, despite them trying to fit into the conventional workday mold for years.

Till Roenneberg, author of Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag and Why You’re So Tired , put it best:

“Once enlightened, they [night owls] started to understand themselves (and others) much better, began to appreciate their own individual time, and were suddenly relieved of the weight of prejudice ridiculing their temporal habits: for example, being called lazy if you don’t wake up fresh as a daisy by seven o’clock in the morning; or being called a boring person only because you don’t enjoy going out with friends after ten at night.”

This is why it’s crucial for every night owl to establish boundaries with the early birds in their life and at work. The real victory is in overcoming the stigma and downsides that come with it. Namely, how working later at night affects your body and mind in the long term.

Being a night owl comes with health risks

The bad news is: night owls have increased risks of numerous illnesses precisely because they work late. This is mostly due to those who can’t and don’t structure their work, and end up sleeping too much or too little.

Our bodies are designed to follow the sun’s rotation cycle throughout the day. It’s something deeply embedded in our genes, because the daytime is meant for work, hunting, and socializing, while the night is for sleeping. And even though we don’t live in hunter-gatherer societies anymore, it is still evolutionary early for our bodies to catch up to our modern society. In short — we’re modeling life and society faster than biology can keep up.

This is why the human body hasn’t yet fully adapted to the night owl lifestyle. Researchers have found that among those risks, sleep apnea, depression and anxiety, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension are among the worst offenders.

Source: SpringerLink

Though it looks bleak, this is no cause for panic. In fact, this information can help night owls become better at structuring their time and taking care of themselves better. After all, knowing the risks can help you avoid harmful consequences. And in the next part, we’ll be sharing some tips on how to get the most out of late-night work, while staying healthy.

Productivity tips for night owls

“Owls are at best, extroverted artists and intellectuals, or at worst, people who engage in dark arts and exert evil powers” – T. Roenneberg, Internal Time

Succeeding as a night owl is possible. For freelancers and business owners, that’s not going to be a problem. They make and manage their own schedules. But for knowledge workers, those tied up in crowded offices, and shift workers, it can be a challenge.

Find your most productive time of night

You need structure even if you’re super productive at night. Otherwise, you’ll easily slip into overwork and potentially ruin your sleep schedule. Burnout is a very real thing.

Try timeboxing to introduce some linearity to your workload. Track your time and tasks , just like a morning person would (if you’re not doing so already), as accurate data is your best friend. Soon, you’ll begin to notice what times of evening or night are your best times to focus. Then you can use moments of lower concentration for rest and recharging.

Keep to a consistent sleep schedule

When I shared all the findings about night owl health risks with a couple of friends, I almost got a unanimous and loud: “ Sleep is sleep! So long as you get enough hours in, what does it matter when you go to bed? ”

Surprisingly enough, for those who agree, it does matter. In the above-mentioned research on health risks in night owls, Timo Partonen noticed that, even if the night owls they tested slept a consistent amount of hours, the risks were still there. The whole problem was the body needing sleep at night .

So, trying to go for a consistent sleep schedule could help immensely. And it doesn’t have to be a huge change. Deciding to go to sleep no later than 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. every night, despite your energy levels or amount of work, is good enough.

Automate your morning tasks

For night owls who need to be at work bright and early, and have no way of avoiding a 9-to-5, try to automate as much of your morning workload as you can. Make an easy-to-follow to-do list of some mundane tasks to do before your brain kicks into gear.

This could be archiving emails or sorting your inbox, doing some digital decluttering, preparing data or research for more demanding tasks later on, etc. Help your brain out by starting slow, and letting it wake up on its own terms.

Ask for a later start

There is no shame in asking your boss for a later start. Many companies allow their employees to get started earlier, so it would only be fair to try and vie for the same treatment.

However, My Hub Intranet statistics suggest that you should articulate it, so your boss doesn’t think you want to be lazy. If possible, you can discuss it first with HR and see if you can find a compromise. Arrangements like these are not unheard of. Organizations like BSociety with its founder, Camilla Kring, fight for the night owls’ place in the workforce , and for companies to hear their needs. Do keep in mind that a lot of companies still depend on synchronous work. So if your peak hours are at 10 p.m. when most of your coworkers are asleep, getting that late a start will be difficult.

Other options would be to work from home a few days a week, if you’re not already, negotiating things like flex time (thanks to labor laws), or a 9-80 work schedule. And if you manage to rally a few more night owl coworkers, odds of success are greater.

Journal your night-time experiences

We’ve mentioned that learning how to manage your night-time energy would greatly help in reducing health risks. This includes spending a few minutes every day (or night), journaling details that affect your routine. These can include:

• Foods that give you more energy, or make you sleepier;
• Noises that help or disturb your concentration;
• Distractions.

Consolidate the information after a week of tracking. Are there any habits that could help you start work earlier? Which ones leave you groggy after waking up? What does your bedtime routine look like?

In some of those habits lies the answer to shifting your schedule just enough to keep your productivity, while conforming to the daytime work hours.

Manage bedroom lighting

Night owls can be notoriously difficult to get up. They sleep through several alarms and wake up feeling groggy and dysfunctional.

One research included their subjects camping out in the woods without electronic devices and lighting. They noted a whopping 69% shift in circadian timing , meaning that night owls were affected by their environment. Take away indoor lights, phones, computers, and TV screens, and the body clock slowly resets. They felt refreshed and more energized after waking up, even if they weren’t completely morning larks.

To try and emulate this, you can get a sunlight alarm clock. Instead of noises waking you up, it is a lamp that illuminates gradually, based on the actual sun. As a waking method, completely darkening your room and having only a sunlight alarm clock, it achieves better results than a loud noise out of nowhere.

Take extra care of your health

Clinical psychologist Dr. Michael J. Breus wrote for HuffPost about the downsides of being a night owl . While they are more creative, can be productive longer, and generally have more energy, Breus finds they’re also more vulnerable to substance abuse (alcohol, nicotine, medication), poorer diets, and less exercise. All of this is arguably an even bigger factor in the health complications than being a night owl per se. This is why you need to take more care of what you eat and drink, even more than morning larks.

Eat brain-boosting foods , train or start a sports activity, or even just take longer walks every day. Drink enough water and steer clear of alcohol and carbonated drinks, especially in the late-night hours.

Avoid overeating

In the same vein as the previous tip, keep serious late-eating at bay with emergency snacks. I think back to my university days, and how staying up late to study meant getting really hungry around midnight, or 1 a.m. Getting a full meal back then would definitely send me sleeping, or later waking up feeling queasy. Not to mention I packed a few additional pounds.

If you decide to swap meals for snacks, don’t take anything high in carbohydrates and sugars. It may fill you up faster, and more easily, but it will also lead to a sugar crash. This includes processed foods like chips, most candy bars, and energy drinks.

Consider shifting to an intermediate routine

The aim of this article is not to preach how “early bird is the road to take”, but I would be remiss not to mention that shifting your circadian rhythm can actually bring numerous benefits. Dr. Elise Facer-Childs of Monash University in Australia conducted a research with her co-authors, and found that night owls who reset their routines over time to a more intermediate one reported better mental and physical health, as well as improved performance.

Her research, among others dealing with the chronotype phenomena, hope to pave the way towards battling depression, anxiety, and many other mental issues plaguing the modern human.

I think the most fitting end, however, lies in Kathryn Schulz’s words at the tail end of her article, which inspired my search:

“In darkness I am freer, less weighted down, my perspective wholly altered: a kind of noctonaut. I wouldn’t trade my schedule for the universe. Or rather, I have traded my schedule for the universe. You early birds can keep your worms.”

💡 If you are an early bird, don’t worry, we have something for you as well: The secrets of a productive morning routine .

In the modern workplace, night owls are a force to be reckoned with. Their habits may be unfathomable to the rest of us, but somehow work, and they can be more productive and adaptable than most of us. However, this gift doesn’t come without its side effects. Night owls can be plagued with a myriad of health risks, due to these habits. Learning how to structure their time, staying disciplined with their schedules, opting for sleeping at some hours during the night, and avoiding all-nighters seems to be the saving grace.

✉️ Are you a night owl? How has your career benefited from it? Do you have any tips to share with fellow night owls? Write to us at [email protected] and we might feature you in one of our articles.

Marijana Stojanovic is a writer and researcher who specializes in the topics of productivity and time management.

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How to Do Homework in the Morning

Last Updated: June 28, 2021 References

This article was co-authored by Jennifer Kaifesh and by wikiHow staff writer, Amber Crain . Jennifer Kaifesh is the Founder of Great Expectations College Prep, a tutoring and counseling service based in Southern California. Jennifer has over 15 years of experience managing and facilitating academic tutoring and standardized test prep as it relates to the college application process. She takes a personal approach to her tutoring, and focuses on working with students to find their specific mix of pursuits that they both enjoy and excel at. She is a graduate of Northwestern University. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 144,446 times.

If you want to get some homework done in the morning, that's awesome! Just make sure you get everything ready the night before so you can get right to work in the morning. We've created a list to help you do just that! We'll start by walking you through some ways to prepare the night before and then share a few pointers to help you have a stress-free morning.

Figure out how much time you'll need in the morning.

• Don't forget to leave plenty of time for eating breakfast and getting ready!

Leave your homework out so it's ready to go.

• If you think you might need stuff like a dictionary, graph paper, or a ruler, go ahead and grab it now. [3] X Trustworthy Source Child Mind Institute Nonprofit organization providing evidence-based care for children with mental health and learning disorders and their families Go to source

Pack your lunch and set out your clothes at night.

Set your alarm to wake you up in the morning.

• If you have a family member who wakes up early, ask them to make sure you’re awake in the morning and to wake you up immediately if you’re still snoozing.

Go to bed at a sensible hour so you won't be tired.

• Put your phone on a sleep timer if your friends have a habit of calling or texting you late into the night.

Sit at a desk or table to finish your homework in the morning.

• If your bed is starting to look a little too appealing as you’re working at your desk, get up and go work at the kitchen table, just in case!

Do logic-based homework first.

Get up and move around if you start to feel sleepy.

• Be careful not to get distracted! Limit your break to 1-2 minutes.

Leave enough time to get to school before the first bell.

Give yourself more than a day for tough assignments.

• If you're procrastinating because you don't understand the assignment, don't be afraid to ask your teacher to clarify! Ask for clear instructions and examples so you can get started. [13] X Trustworthy Source Edutopia Educational nonprofit organization focused on encouraging and celebrating classroom innovation Go to source

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.startupwisconsin.org/tricky-tips-on-how-to-do-homework-early-in-the-morning.htm
• ↑ https://ofy.org/blog/homework-hacks-8-tips-get-done-faster/
• ↑ https://childmind.org/article/strategies-to-make-homework-go-more-smoothly/
• ↑ https://childmind.org/article/school-mornings-without-the-stress/
• ↑ https://www.fastcompany.com/3041455/8-tricks-to-make-yourself-wake-up-earlier
• ↑ https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/healthy-sleep-habits-how-many-hours-does-your-child-need.aspx
• ↑ https://childmind.org/article/teenagers-sleep-deprived/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/organize-focus.html
• ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/04/12/maths-classes-should-taught-morning-improve-attainment-study/
• ↑ https://www.chkd.org/patients-and-families/health-library/quick-tips/homework-procrastination/
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-reasons-students-procrastinate-and-how-help-them-stop

About this article

If you want to do your homework in the morning, prepare the night before by setting out your homework on your desk so you don't waste time the next day. Then, set your alarm so you wake up with enough time to complete your assignments, have breakfast, and get to school. When you wake up in the morning, do stretches to make you feel more alert and drink a glass of cold water to release adrenaline. Finally, sit at a desk or table to do your assignments to help you stay focused. To learn why you should complete logic-based homework first, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Studying at night provides more benefits

By Lydia Zhang :

Graphic by Alvina Yau :

Almost every student is, at some point during his or her high school, faced with a stubborn pile of homework that needs to get done and a clock that reads 11:30 p.m. So, the question often pops up: should students stay up as late as necessary to finish schoolwork? Or is it better to go to sleep earlier, and wake up a few hours before school to do the work? Though it does vary for each student, it is generally better to study at night than in the morning.

Granted, each person’s sleep schedule and study habits are different, so staying up to finish homework may not fit every specific student. People can be divided into three types: morning larks, those who naturally wake up early and sleep early; night owls, those who naturally sleep in and go to bed late; and regular robins, those who do not sleep very late or very early.  So it would be much harder for morning larks to do homework late into the night, and they would do better waking up in the morning to finish homework.

According to The Body Clock Guide to Better Health, however, most college and high school students are night owls, while morning larks are generally people over the age of 60. Therefore, students who do have heavy homework loads would most likely be night owls and would then benefit more from studying later rather than early in the morning.

In a purely physiological outlook, the body is better equipped to study later at night than in the morning.  Blood sugar is at its lowest in the morning, which means that students have less of an ability to concentrate. Not only that, but for most students, or at least those who are night owls, their peak melatonin levels are around 5:30 a.m. This increased level of melatonin, according to the National Sleep Foundation, will cause sleepiness, so at that time, anyone trying to study in the morning will have trouble focus  on the material or will simply fall back asleep.

Studying at night may also be more beneficial because night-studying will result in more retained information than studying in the morning. Though psychology teacher Alice McCraley does not recommend studying too late into the night, she does say that going to bed after studying gives the student the ability to better process and absorb the material they just learned.  According to McCraley, if one studies in the morning, retroactive interference—when new information and distractions make it difficult to recall material previously learned—may occur, and all the information that was previously memorized or learned will be forgotten. Instead, the learning done before bed will not be affected by retroactive interference, and so the studying will actually be effective.

Studying through the night might not work for everyone, but it will benefit the largest number of students. This being said, the best course of action for every student is to maximize efficiency and finish all homework and studying before it gets too late. According to McCraley students should get to sleep before 10 p.m., and she believes that, by getting enough sleep, students naturally become more efficient and alert. Even though an early bedtime will cut into the amount of time that can be spent on homework, the extra sleep can help students finish their homework faster and more accurately, which makes up for the lost time. All and all, students should try and avoid a pile-up of homework as much as possible, but if it is necessary to sacrifice sleep for studying, then it is better to study through the night.

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Akanksha • Jan 30, 2022 at 2:09 am

First I think studying in the morning is good .I can’t sleep early still I think I’m waking up early for studying but I can’t. Now I’m gonna study late at night. Thanks for the information..

Vivek koriya • Jun 20, 2021 at 10:37 am

Study time is depends on the student But from my point of view Night study is Better than morning study because there is silent and quit environment which help student to focus more than morning

Theresa lartey • Mar 24, 2021 at 7:51 am

I can’t concentrate fully in class always my mind is some where else so please what should I do

Ashutosh • Jul 13, 2020 at 1:28 am

According to me, I think that studying late at night is not good for a student..but yes, if he is comfortable & feels that the content he is reading is being understood by him & is gaining expected results its a good achievement..but I usually do the homework at night but not till late night, approx till 10 pm or max. 11 pm I prefer the learning portion in the morning time & also do the revision of the things taught the day before in schools or coaching centers.. i think, so as it is the time we feel fresh and in a good mood to study!

Debeshwor • Jun 24, 2020 at 8:42 pm

Thank you very much . I was very confused about this.

Oliver L. Gaye • Jun 1, 2020 at 11:00 pm

I firstly want to be thankful to Mrs. Zhang for this article. I am one person who after my graduation from high school has experienced a change in my academic ability, and with more research have understood that it’s due to the change in my study time from night study to the morning. By I’m glad to know this.

Ifrah Mukhtar • Feb 10, 2020 at 2:05 am

I am a morning lurk. And for me i can concentrate better in the morning when everyone is sleeping because i am so tired at night so i wake up at 5 am in the morning get an energetic drink and i start working before my school starts at 8 30 am. Night time doesn’t work for me cause i get a bad headache so thanks for your information.

Robin Singh • Jan 21, 2019 at 8:43 am

I am completely agree with this Topic . Night studies are More Effective than Morning Studies . But it will not let you wake up for your school . I thought if u want to study Late Night Than you should Take Break First I mean i should take a sleep for 2-3 Hours before going to study .As In my Routine i used sleep from 8 to 10 P.M. After that i start My studies i keeps my Fresh And more ability to learn . You should Not compromise with your sleep . Its very Important . Thanks !

navaneetha krishnan • Aug 24, 2018 at 11:41 am

Thanks for your kind information, this may help us .

Evelyn W. Minnick • Feb 23, 2016 at 11:38 pm

We all know the benefits of reading and it does not matter at what the time is. If we are studying the whole night it will helpful, but it won’t let you go to your school and as well as not good for your health. Try to complete your study before 12 AM. You can easily wake up around 7 AM. You will feel ok with your health and easily go to your school. Thanks!

sherry • Oct 7, 2015 at 4:05 pm

I am a complete night owl I usually study the whole night and I agree it is really helpful but the main problem is I can’t wake up early in the morning due to this I am late for school everyday and sometimes I bunk off the school and sleep the whole day.even though I put a lot of effort in studies my parents are not happy about my routine

zishan • Feb 27, 2014 at 6:43 am

first. i used to think that morning study is beneficial but after reading this content i have understood that night study is beneficial than morning