1 Academic Draft Emily Kolbenschlag English 1102 Lack of Sleep

Sleep is for the weak says the common college student. As I entered my freshmen year of college at UNCC I quickly came to find that sleep becomes so sparse in college. Between studying, going out, or just hanging out, late nights creep up on us so often. Because of the change in my sleep schedule I decided to do my inquiry project on how the lack of sleep can affect a person. I have done some research online and my own research through an experiment and a survey. Most people have the most basic understanding about sleep but dont realize how it can affect them mentally, physically and emotionally. The importance of sleep is often overlooked. The common person probably understands that they need around 8 hours of sleep each night and that they can function with less as they get older. But do they realize that by losing sleep they are put at risk for medical complications far beyond just fatigue? To start my research I looked into the basics about of lack of sleep and came across Camille Peri and Alexandros Vgontzas, both have spent some time researching sleep in this most recent decade. Peri is a journalist who specializes in health and family issues. She has published books and numerous journals in many popular magazines and websites. Vgontzas, on the other hand, focuses more specifically on sleep, he works at the sleep research and treatment center and

2 department of psychiatry. He went to Pennsylvania State University and is now a male Psychiatrist with 32 years of experience. Vgontzas tends to look at the more scientific and what some would say serious side of sleep loss. He makes the argument that when insomnia is chronic and severe, it may itself become a stressor that affects the patients life so greatly that it is perceived by the patient as a distinct disorder. While Peri agrues that the lack of sleep does more than make you grumpy and foggy, but that it can affect numerous things including your sex life, memory, health, looks, and ability to lose weight, she too agrees that this distinct disorder is serious and puts you at a higher risk for heart complications, including heart disease, heart attacks, and heart failure. As a freshman in college I have definitely experienced my fair share of long days after little sleep the night before and have found that I dont pay attention in class and dont achieve at my full potential. In an effort to get some of my own primary research I conducted an experiment of my own to see how I am affected with lack of sleep. To do so I stuck to a bed time schedule for a few days to see how I function during the day, and I found that I got more done during the day and getting out of bed in the mornings wasnt so dreadful. From there I decided to create an online survey to get other peoples input on this topic. Questions were regarding peoples occupations, experience with lack of sleep, their sleeping habits and so on. The results of my survey showed that most people got between five and 9 hours asleep, a few with less than five, a couple with nine and the majority got 8 hours. Most people said that they think the lack of sleep does affect their day-to-day life, but very few have suffered from insomnia. One of the results that shocked me

3 most was that the time when people lost sleep most was during the week, I thought that most people would have a strict sleep schedule during the week but stay up late on the weekends, however the weekend was the time with the least amount of sleep lost. I also found it interesting that almost half (47.06%) of the surveyors have taken medications to fall asleep, I would like to look into that more to see what they took and what the side effects were. Overall I think the survey was a helpful tool in my research. From my research I have found that lack of sleep can really take a toll on a persons body and mind. The effects can range from being minimal to being life threatening. It is important that people know how important sleep is because it is too often over looked or seen as a waste of time. After doing this research I will rethink all nighters!

4 Table of Contents

Feature, Camille. "10 Surprising Effects of Lack of Sleep." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/sleepdisorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss>.

Vgontzas, Alexandros. "Chronic Insomnia and Stress System." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Nov. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2128619/>.