Abstract Introduction Higher education students ingest very high doses of caffeine, on average twice the recommended safe dose. This excessive consumption can become problematic, ultimately affecting sleep quality and, consequently, academic performance. The aim of this work is to describe caffeine consumption, sleep quality and to characterize the chronotype and academic performance of students at Polytechnic of Leiria. Methods An online self-completion questionnaire was developed, consisting of several instruments: The Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire; Horne and Ostberg morningness-eveningness Questionnaire; Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), to describe caffeine consumption, characterize chronotype and assess sleep quality, respectively. The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were calculated for the quantitative variables. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for the qualitative variables. Parametric tests were used to compare groups; when this was not possible, non-parametric tests were used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Of the 261 students (mean age: 23.26 ± 6.60 years), 64.2% had poor sleep quality and 45.3% reported an afternoon chronotype. It was found that men consumed more coffee and energy drinks than women, although women consumed more caffeine-containing food products. The average academic score was 14.56 ± 1.61. There was a statistically significant association (p < 0.01) between the afternoon chronotype and poor sleep quality and between the consumption of coffee and chocolate drinks and poor sleep quality. Conclusions Students at Polytechnic of Leiria tend to have poor sleep quality and an intermediate chronotype. Those with an afternoon chronotype or who drink coffee and chocolate drinks have poor sleep quality. Key messages • Accurately assessing the situation is essential for crafting suitable solutions. • Higher students should adjust their coffee consumption to achieve better sleep quality.