Scientific studies have indicated that adapting to university life is linked to several factors, including sleep quality, mental health, social relationships, and study methods, making preparation for this stage as important as academic preparation.
Sleep is part of preparation for success
A study conducted by a research team from several American universities, including Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, and published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), showed that increasing the average duration of nighttime sleep at the beginning of the semester was associated with higher grades at the end of it, even after taking previous academic performance into account. Each additional hour of sleep was associated with an increase of 0.07 points in the grade according to the study's scale.
A scientific review prepared by Diana R. Pereira from the University of Minho in Portugal, and published in the journal "Clocks & Sleep" in August 2026, presented the results of 21 studies on sleep and academic achievement among first-year university students. It concluded that sleeping for shorter periods, especially less than six to seven hours a night, was generally associated with weaker academic performance.
Homesickness does not mean choosing the wrong university
A study published in the journal "Emotion," prepared by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Temple, Harvard, and Stanford universities in the US, tracked levels of homesickness among 174 university students during the first ten weeks of their studies. The results showed that 94 percent of participants felt homesick at some point, and that levels decreased slightly on average during the first semester, with the experience varying from student to student.
Effective study methods at university
A study published in the journal "Physical Review Physics Education Research" investigated changes in study methods and help-seeking among students in a preparatory physics course as they transitioned from high school to university. The study was prepared by Devin Schaefer, Daniella Girotti-Hernandez, and Tim Stelzer from the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US.
The results showed that many students realized their need to allocate more time for studying outside of lectures. Increasing the number of exercises alone is not always sufficient to improve performance; rather, deepening understanding of the material is beneficial.
Independence requires good management of daily life
Guidelines for student awareness published on the official website of the University of Northern Iowa in the US indicate that university life gives young people a wider space to make decisions and organize time, but it requires attention to the impact of daily habits on health, academic achievement, and social relationships.
Frequent staying up late, neglecting meals, and postponing assignments may have cumulative effects. Furthermore, peer pressure should not push students into behaviors they do not want or do not feel safe about.
University is an experience of learning outside the classroom, and the experience may not go according to expectations from its first days. However, giving oneself time to adapt, maintaining healthy habits, and taking advantage of available support can make the transition easier.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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