Almost half of the students suffer from sleep disorders and exhaustion
Quick Look
- A DAK survey shows that 49 percent of students in grades five to ten have sleep problems and 69 percent feel exhausted at least once a week.
- The values have increased since 2019/2020 and are related to Germany's poor PISA results.
- Experts see a connection with excessive media use and are calling for more health literacy.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The DAK prevention radar has been carried out every two years since 2016 and examines the well-being and health behavior of students. The current survey for the 2025/2026 school year included around 30,000 participants from 141 schools in 15 federal states.
Almost half of students in grades five to ten complain of sleep disorders. This emerges from a large-scale survey commissioned by the health insurance company DAK. 69 percent of those surveyed feel exhausted at least once a week. 49 percent reported reduced well-being. Only 57 percent are positive about their own future. According to the information, the trend is negative everywhere.
The so-called DAK prevention radar has been produced regularly by the Institute for Therapy and Health Research since 2016, now for the tenth time. Students are asked about well-being and health behaviors. According to the DAK, around 30,000 children and young people attended 141 general secondary schools in 15 federal states in the 2025/2026 school year - all except Saarland.
If you're exhausted, you don't learn well
The DAK sees a connection between exhaustion and sleep problems and the weak German results in the international education study Pisa. “Anyone who is exhausted at a young age or even suffers from sleep disorders and does not know how to deal with such stress has poorer conditions for successful learning,” said DAK boss Andreas Storm. More health literacy is needed.
According to comparative data, sleep problems have increased in recent years: 36 percent complained about them in the 2019/2020 school year and 46 percent in the last school year. Three years ago, 52 percent spoke of exhaustion; today it is 69 percent.
“Algorithmically triggered”?
The President of the Association of Pediatricians and Adolescents, Michael Hubmann, sees a possible explanation in excessive media use. “Children and young people who use social media late into the evening or who consume algorithmically triggered, upsetting videos are prevented from healthy sleep,” explained Hubmann.
In the PISA 2025 study published this week, students in Germany performed weaker than ever before. Around 6,700 15-year-olds were tested, primarily on skills in reading, mathematics and natural sciences. The Federal Student Conference also pointed out factors such as pressure to perform, bullying and social media and a lack of well-being at school.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The DAK will propose concrete support programs for health literacy in schools.
Likely · Within months
The debate about the effects of social media on young people's sleep is becoming more intense in political circles.
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific measures is the DAK planning to promote health literacy?
- How do the results differ between the individual federal states?
- What role do school structures such as the start of lessons or break regulations play in sleep problems?
