  Shorter sleep is known to be negatively associated with academic performance.
However, this result has mostly been found in homogenous samples (e.g.,
students from one university) or when using relative measures of academic
performance, such as grade point average. Consequently, the relationship
between academic performance and sleep patterns at the population level is not
well understood. In this paper, we examined the relationship between academic
performance as measured by a standardized test and sleep patterns using data
from a Russian panel study (N = 4,400) that was nationally representative for
one age cohort (20-21 years old). In addition to self-reported sleep patterns,
the data set contained information about participants' online activities over a
period of up to 10 years, which allowed us to track the evolution of this
relationship over time. We found that high academic performance was associated
with shorter sleep, later bedtime, and increased online activity at night. The
relationship between high academic performance and online activity at night was
stable over a period of 5 years. Our findings suggest that the relationship
between academic performance and sleep patterns can be more complex than
previously believed and that high performance may be achieved at the expense of
individual well-being.
