Being out of sync in academia: psychological, sleep-related and chronobiological factors associated with burnout in higher education students

Objectives: Academic burnout is a growing concern in university settings, yet research has mainly focused on internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Less attention has been devoted to the role of sleep-related variables, including insomnia and chronotype, in explaining burnout levels. This study aimed to assess the relative contribution of internalizing symptoms and sleep-related factors to academic burnout in university students and to test a moderated mediation model in which insomnia mediated the association between internalizing symptoms and burnout, while chronotype was examined as a potential moderator. Methods: A total of 625 Italian undergraduate students (mean age = 22.55, 59.7% female) completed standardized self-report measures assessing academic burnout, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, insomnia severity, and chronotype. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed, followed by a moderated mediation model to evaluate indirect effects through insomnia across chronotype categories. Results: The final regression model explained 68% of the variance in burnout symptoms. Depression and anxiety were significantly and positively associated with burnout. Higher insomnia severity was associated with higher levels of burnout, whereas intermediate and morning chronotypes showed lower burnout levels compared with evening types. The moderated mediation analysis revealed significant indirect effects of depressive and anxious symptoms on burnout through insomnia for most chronotype categories, while the indirect effect for depression was non-significant among morning-type students. Conclusions: These findings underscore the relevance of both psychological and chronobiological factors in academic burnout. Insomnia appears to be a key mechanism linking internalizing symptoms to burnout.