There is a popular belief in the Nigerian society that reading too much can result in mental illness. Interestingly, virtually no research literature had recorded any relationship between this belief and academic performance of Nigerian students. Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the belief that reading too much can cause mental illness on the academic performance of Nigerian students. Study group: The final year medical students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-section of 60 final year medical students was interviewed using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire obtained information from the participants on their socio-demographic characteristics,
