Sleep problems found to be prevalent and increasing among college students

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Dec 5 2018

A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research indicates that sleep problems are both prevalent and increasing among students.

In the study that included Norwegian college and university students in 2010, 2014, and 2018, both male and female students had an average sleep duration in the lower end of the normal range on weekdays (7:24 hours) but met their own sleep need and sleep recommendations at weekends (8:25 hours).

The overall prevalence of insomnia among participants was 34.2 percent for women and 22.2 percent for men. There was a substantial increase in sleep problems from 2010 (22.6 percent) to 2018 (30.5 percent), which was especially pronounced in women.

"We are worried about the high and increasing prevalence of insomnia in our college students. These findings extend on the mental health crisis facing college students today, and emphasize that sleep problems, equal to mental health problems, warrant attention as a public health concern in this population," said lead author Prof. Børge Sivertsen, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.