Olivia Salyers

ENG 1201
Professor Williams
10 July 2016
College Students and Sleep, or Lack Thereof
The sleeping patterns of college students I know, including myself are
ridiculous. I find it easier to stay up until 8 am than to wake up at 8 am. I
struggle to make it to a 2:30 pm class and find it impossible to wake up
before noon. Even when I dont wake up until noon Im exhausted and feel
the need for a nap by 5 or 6 in the evening. My general sleep schedule is
waking up around noon, taking a nap at 5 or 6, then going to bed around 2
am. I still feel tired all the time and my sleep schedule is interfering with my
daily life. College students need to receive an adequate amount of sleep
each night because there are numerous health risks related to lack of sleep,
doctors recommend a certain number of hours of sleep to be healthy, and it
takes time to reach all stages of sleep and become fully rested. As a college
student, there are many factors that may make maintaining a regular sleep
schedule difficult, such as living in the residence hall, studying for exams,
late classes, and socializing. Your daily habits and activities may affect how
well you sleep. The demanding lives of undergraduate and graduate
students can make it challenging to maintain healthy daily habits.
(Regents).

Sleep is needed as much as breathing and eating. When you are

sleeping the body tends to your physical and mental health. Hormones that
promote growth are released during sleep for children. Hormones such as
these help build muscle mass, as well as make repairs to cells and tissues.
Sleep is vital to development during puberty. (Pietrangalo).
Sleep deprivation prevents the body from functioning properly. This
affects your cognitive and emotional abilities Extensive sleep deprivation
weakens the immune system and can make a person more susceptible to
chronic illness. Some obvious signs of sleep deprivation are excessive
sleepiness, yawning, and irritability. Sleep deprivation can cause a lack of
balance, coordination, and decision-making abilities. No matter how much a
person fights it if they are experiencing chronic sleep deprivation they could
fall asleep at any point in the day. According to Harvard Medical School,
studies show that sleeping less than five hours a night increases the risk of
death from all causes by about 15 percent. (Pietrangalo). Lack of sleep
prevents a person from being able to concentrate and learn new things.
Sleep deprivation affects both short-term and long-term memory. Your overall
cognitive abilities are impaired which interferes with your decision-making
process, creativity, and emotions. Chronic sleep deprivation puts you at risk
for hallucinations. Lack of sleep also puts you at a higher risk of developing
depression. A side effect of sleep deprivation is micro sleep. Thats when
youre asleep for only a few seconds or a few minutes, but you dont realize

it. If youre sleep deprived, micro sleep is out of your control and can be
extremely dangerous if youre driving.(Pietrangalo).
While a person is sleeping, the immune system produces protective
cytokines and infection-fighting antibodies and cells. These are used to fight
off bacteria and viruses. Protective substances help you sleep and give the
immune system more energy to defend against illness. Sleep deprivation
prevents your immune system from building up these defenses. A few
studies discovered a link between lack of sleep and weight gain. Sleep
deprivation can be a risk factor for obesity. Since youre more likely to gain
weight if youre chronically sleep deprived, youre also at increased risk of
problems with your cardiovascular system. Sleep plays a pivotal role in the
bodys ability to heal and repair blood vessels and heart. Sleep disorders and
chronic sleep loss puts you at a risk for heart disease, heart attack, heart
failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes.
According to some estimates, 90% of people with insomnia - a sleep disorder
characterized by trouble falling and staying asleep -also have another health
condition. (WebMD).
The amount of sleep a person needs each night depends on various
factors but, the biggest one is age. The most recommended amount of sleep
for young adults between 18 and 25 years old is 7 to 9 hours of sleep each
night. Specialists say that between 6 and 11 could be an acceptable amount
but, any less than 6 or more than 11 is not recommended. Some other

factors that affect the amount of sleep a person needs are pregnancy, aging,
previous sleep deprivation, and sleep quality. When pregnant the amount of
sleep that a woman needs increases.
While older adults require the amount of
sleep as young adults they tend to sleep
more lightly and for shorter time spans. A
person who is sleep deprived requires
more sleep every night. If your sleep is

While there is some variation from

doctor to doctor, these are the
general recommended sleep times
from birth to adulthood.

interrupted frequently then you are not getting quality sleep and quality is
just as important as quantity. Some people claim that they feel rested on
only a few hours of sleep a night, but their performance is most likely
affected. Research shows that people who only sleep a few hours a night for
many nights don't perform as well on complex mental tasks as people who
get closer to seven hours of sleep.
There are five different stages of sleep: 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM (rapid eye
movement) sleep. The stages progress in cycles from 1 through REM then
start over at stage 1. It takes anywhere from 90 to 110 minutes to complete
a sleep cycle. The first sleep cycles each night have shorter REM sleep
periods and longer periods of deep sleep but as the night progresses, REM
periods lengthen and deep sleep time decreases. The first stage of sleep,
known as stage 1, is a light sleep where people drift in and out of sleep and
can be awakened easily. In this stage, the eyes move slowly and muscle
activity slows. During this stage, many people experience sudden muscle

contractions preceded by a sensation of falling. (Sleepdex). During stage 2

of sleep, eye movement stops and brain waves become slower with
occasional bursts of rapid brain waves. Once a person enters stage 3,
extremely slow brain waves called delta waves are combined with smaller,
faster waves. Once stage 4 begins the brain produces solely delta waves.
Stages 3 and 4 are referred to as deep sleep or delta sleep (Sleepdex).
Once a person has entered deep sleep it becomes very hard to wake them
up. There is no eye movement of muscle activity during deep sleep. The first
half of sleep is spent mostly in slow wave sleep while the other half of sleep
is spent in REM sleep. While in REM sleep a persons breathing becomes
more rapid, eyes jerk rapidly and limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed.
Brain waves are increased to the same levels as when a person is awake.
Also, the heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, males develop erections
and the body loses some of the ability to regulate its own temperature. This
is the time when most dreams occur, and, if awoken during REM sleep, a
person can remember the dreams. Most people experience three to five
intervals of REM sleep each night. (Sleepdex).
USA Today wrote an article about the rampant problem of sleep
deprivation among college students. A study concluded that the effects of
poor sleep, bad grades and class withdrawal, are equal to those of students
who binge drink or use marijuana. Many students reported that they feel
worse after a night of poor sleep than they do after a night of drinking. One
student stated that she would rather have a hangover than feel the way she

does after not getting enough sleep. The data about sleep and sleep
deprivation among college students is astonishing. College students are one
of the most sleep deprived populations. Research at Brown University has
found that approximately 11% of students report good sleep, while 73%
report sleep problems. 18% of college men and 30% of college women report
having suffered from insomnia in the past 3 months. (Regents). Sleep
affects concentration, memory, and ability to learn so, sleep deprivation has
been linked to lowers GPAs.
The University of Michigan has many helpful tips for college students to
receive a better nights sleep. They suggest students stop using technology
30 minutes before bed. The light blocks melatonin which can help you fall
asleep. A 30 minute period with relaxation and reading can make falling
asleep easier. Having caffeine after 3 pm is not recommended. It is also
suggested that you only sleep an hour longer during the weekend than your
latest weekday wake-up time.
Many people do not understand what an issue this is for college
students. College students often have demanding schedules as well as hefty
course loads. It is not uncommon for students to be up until sunrise working
on homework then sleeping for only a few hours before heading to class. The
sleep habits of many college students are not healthy at all and many of
them do not realize the health risks. If more colleges took the initiative that
the University of Michigan did and started informing students about the

importance of sleep and helping them acquire sleep it would greatly benefit
students. Most students main focus is getting their work done and they
dont realize how bad for them it is to make sleep unimportant. There are so
many more risks of sleep deprivation than just being tired throughout the
day. College students need to receive an adequate amount of sleep each
night because there are numerous health risks related to lack of sleep,
doctors recommend a certain number of hours of sleep to be healthy, and it
takes time to reach all stages of sleep and become fully rested. The more
you know about your own sleep patterns and your own sleep needs, the
more you can use sleep as a tool to increase your productivity and help you
manage the symptoms of your mental health disorder. It may be helpful to
track your sleep over the course of a week or two using a sleep diary. You
may not realize how some of your habits may be making it more difficult for
you to fall asleep or stay asleep. (Regents).

Works Cited

Flores, Jayson. Effects of Sleep Deprivation Equal to Binge Drinking or

Marijuana Use, Study Shows. USA Today. USA TODAY, 6 June 2014.
Web. 3 July 2016.
Foundation, National Sleep. National sleep foundation recommends new
sleep times. 2016. Web. 3 July 2016.
Pietrangalo, Ann. Effects of sleep deprivation on the body. Healthline.
Healthline, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 3 July 2016.
Sleep loss: 10 surprising effects. WebMD. WebMD, 2005. Web. 3 July 2016.
Sleepdex. Stages of sleep. sleepdex.org. n.d. Web. 3 July 2016.
the, Regents of. The importance of sleep. 2003. Web. 3 July 2016.
What lack of sleep does to your mind. WebMD. WebMD, 2005. Web. 3 July
2016.
Dewar, Gwen. Sleep requirements: A guide for the science-minded
parent. Parenting Science.
2008. Web. 24 July 2016.