Sleep Deprivation
College Students Need Sleep
By Cassidy Burger | Winter 2018
College students have been known to be severely sleep-deprived. Between cramming for exams and pulling all-nighters, it can be hard for students to get the recommended eight hours of sleep. According to the University of Georgia’s Health Center, most college students only sleep about six hours per night.
Many students today treat sleep as more of a luxury and not a necessity. With the costs of tuition, books, and room and board, many full-time students also work part-time jobs. Their busy schedules mean the only time left for studying
is late at night.
Junior business major, Morgan Steckel, takes 16 credit hours and works four or five times a week. As her schedule gets busier each semester, she finds getting a good, long night of sleep is rare.
“If I’m not at school, I’m working. The only time I can really get my homework done is when it’s late at night. I hate it, but it’s the only way I will get it done.
I probably get five hours of sleep every night,” Steckel said.
Most adults require six-10 hours of sleep every night to function properly. Many people don’t realize why sleep is important for their overall health. Sleep does more for students’ bodies than making sure they stay awake during their 8 a.m. lecture. Sleep restores energy, strengthens the immune system and helps the brain think clearly.
A lack of sleep can have consequences both physically and mentally.
Studies have shown sleep deprivation can lower the immune system, cause one to feel more stressed than usual and can increase mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
“When I’m very sleep deprived it makes my anxiety so much worse. I feel really stressed out and my ADHD seems worse too,” Steckel said.
Sleep deprivation has also been linked to weight gain. College students may know all too well the “freshman 15,” meaning on average most students gain 15 pounds their freshman year of college. By the end of the year, some students who put on some pounds while at school aren’t sure how. Their eating habits weren’t much different and they didn’t go out often. Research has shown this weight gain can be due to a school year’s worth of bad sleeping habits. When a body isn’t getting enough sleep it produces more of the hormone ghrelin, causing individuals to crave high-calorie foods.
Perhaps the consequence most college students can’t afford is a lower GPA and a decrease in academic performance.
A survey performed every two years at the University of Georgia showed 1 in 4 students admit a lack of sleep has hindered their academic performance in some way.
Most of these students have trouble remembering deadlines and forget to turn assignments in.
Junior tour leisure and event planning major, Megan Brubaker, believes her lack of sleep is starting to affect her academic performance.
“I live in an apartment this year, so I have to work to pay rent along with going to school. Honestly, it makes it really hard to have a good sleep schedule. Making sure I get all my assignments done has been a lot harder this year than last year when I didn’t have to work and could sleep more,” said Brubaker.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, students who sacrifice a good night’s sleep because they’re pulling an all-nighter cramming for an exam are wasting their time. If a student doesn’t know the material the day before, they aren’t going to know it by attempting to study all night.
The University of Georgia’s Health Center states: “during sleep the brain organizes, sorts and stores what we have learned and experienced that day, making it easier to recall at a later time.” The only way to truly do well on an exam is look over the material a little bit each night leading up to the exam. Students should review any concepts they don’t understand right before going to bed. This will allow the brain to process the information overnight and store it in one’s memory.
Experts acknowledge most students aren’t able to completely change their sleep schedules right away. AASM has come up with a few tips to help students get on the right track. The AASM recommends students go to bed as early as they possibly can. Students shouldn’t stay up until 2 a.m. binge-watching their favorite shows on Netflix if they get their homework done early one night. AASM also recommends limiting the number of naps one takes as well as avoiding caffeine after 3 p.m.
While it can be hard to balance a long list of priorities in college, sleep should be at the top of the list. If students were more aware of the harmful effects of sleep deprivation at an earlier age, they may have better sleeping habits. Most students who change their sleeping habits for the better will tend to live a happier, healthier life.
“I definitely need to make some changes when it comes to sleeping. I am definitely going to start by taking less naps. So no nap for me today,” Brubaker said.
