By Aakanksha Singh
A Report by Pallavi Smart
Mar 12, 2026
Why are IIT Kanpur students feeling sleepy even before the first lecture begins? A new campus study turns the spotlight on the connection between hostel rooms and sleep quality.
Photo: iitk.ac.in
Professor Anubha Goel of the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur approaches sleep through the lens of building design and indoor environmental quality.
Photo: The Indian Express
In what is among the first such studies in India, researchers at the institute are examining how the hostel environment, including ventilation, temperature, and humidity, affects students’ sleep quality and, in turn, their ability to concentrate in classrooms.
Photo: Freepik
“Ultimately, our aim is to generate enough data to show that the sleeping environment matters,” Goel told The Indian Express. “If we understand these connections, it can influence how future hostels and residential buildings are designed.”
Photo: Freepik
The idea emerged unexpectedly during an earlier campus study on classroom ventilation, conducted by one of Goel’s research students about four years ago. Students participating in that study were asked to report how alert or tired they felt at the beginning of a class, and again after an hour.
Photo: Freepik
“Not surprisingly, students in poorly ventilated classrooms reported feeling sleepy or less attentive by the end of the lecture,” Goel said. “But what caught our attention were the students who said they already felt tired even before the class began.”
Photo: Freepik
The observation prompted a new question. Were hostel conditions affecting how well students slept at night?
Photo: Freepik
When the researchers reviewed existing literature, they found that while international studies had examined the relationship between sleep and environmental conditions, similar work had not been carried out in India.
Photo: Freepik
Goel reached out to Professor Pawel Wargocki of the Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, widely regarded as one of the foremost international authorities on indoor environmental quality and its impact on human health.
Photo: Freepik
The researchers first conducted a survey-based study involving over 500 students living in hostels on the IIT Kanpur campus, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a widely used tool to measure sleep quality.
AI generated image
The questionnaire also asked students about their hostel room conditions, including ventilation, temperature, humidity and whether windows were typically kept open. Nearly 70% of the surveyed students reported poor sleep quality.
AI generated image
According to Goel, environmental factors such as hot weather, humidity, poor ventilation and closed windows leading to stuffy air appeared to play a role.
Photo: Freepik
A second study, currently under preparation for publication, goes a step further by combining real-time measurements of indoor environmental conditions with objective sleep data. In this, about 140 IIT Kanpur students participated, with sensors recording environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and ventilation conditions in hostel rooms.
Photo: iitk.ac.in
Sleep quality has a direct bearing on cognitive abilities, Goel said. “If students are not sleeping well, their cognitive performance is affected. That can mean difficulty focusing during class, weaker comprehension and eventually poorer academic performance,” she added.
Photo: iitk.ac.in
Traditionally, sleep has rarely been a focus of campus discussions in India, where institutions tend to emphasise academic performance. But Goel believes that conversation is beginning to change.
Photo: iitk.ac.in
“There is increasing concern about students’ mental health, and many institutions are setting up support systems,” she said. “As awareness grows about the link between sleep, mental health and academic performance, sleep quality will receive more attention.”
Photo: iitk.ac.in
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