A Comparison of the Number of Hours of Sleep in High School Students Who Took Advanced Placement and/or College Courses and Those Who Did Not

This study investigated the association between sleep deprivation and enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) and/or college courses among high school students. Approximately 4,000 surveys were distributed, and 2,197 completed surveys were returned from students in Grades 9 to 12 at 15 high schools in Iowa. Findings indicated the majority of high school students were sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation was significantly associated with enrollment in AP/college courses. Results indicated that enrollment in AP/college courses had a greater impact on younger students than older students. Compared with non–AP/college course takers, AP/college course takers slept approximately 20 minutes less per night. Specifically, 9th- and 10th-grade AP/college course takers slept approximately 1 hour less and 40 minutes less, respectively. In addition, students enrolled in two or more AP/college classes received 1 hour less and 30 minutes less among 10th and 11th graders, respectively. These results provide useful information on adolescent sleep patterns for school nurses.