Running head: SLEEP 1

Sleep

Kalinda S. Harris

Student at BYU-I
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Sleep

I lean back in the classroom chair, trying to get comfortable while drowsiness enfolds me

like a blanket, making it hard to focus on the teacher. I let the drowsiness take me for a few

moments while my choir teacher talks to another vocal group, hoping I will be more alert for

homework and my next class if I take a little nap now. The ironic thing is, I had trouble sleeping

the night before.

Problems with sleeping can have a multitude of causes and treatments for these problems

are likewise diverse (Taylor et al, 2010.) Finding the right treatment among such a widespread of

treatments ranging from psychological to pharmacological (Taylor et al, 2010) partly depends on

determining what is the cause of the insomnia. Although there are many issues that can cause

sleeping problems, including anxiety, I think napping is the cause of my daytime sleepiness and

less sleep at night. Furthermore, I believe that sleep restriction therapy would be the most

effective method to help me not nap during the day.

Researchers found that college students who reported napping reported needing sleep

during class more than those who did not nap (Vela-Bueno et al, 2008.) The goal of sleep

restriction therapy is to establish a regular sleeping and waking schedule that is tailored to the

individuals individual sleep needs (Taylor et al, 2010.) This would also reduce napping as the

individual wouldnt feel the need to nap during the day if they were getting adequate sleep at

night.

Other treatments for having problems sleeping at night include taking medicine designed

to help increase the amount of melatonin in the body (Taylor et al, 2010.) Melatonin is a

chemical that is released into the blood stream when the body wishes to induce sleep (Cartinali et

al, 2012.) Thus increasing the amount of melatonin in the blood stream right before an individual
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wishes to go to sleep should prove effective in establishing a regular sleep cycle. If an individual

establishes a regular sleeping and waking schedule, they will get adequate sleep at night, and not

feel the need to make up for lack of sleep at night with naps during the day. Using a melatonin

reuptake inhibitor to increase the melatonin in the blood should prove helpful in working in

conjunction with establishing a regular sleep cycle.

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References

Cardinali, D. P., Srinivasan, V., Brzezinski, A., & Brown, G. M. (2012). Melatonin and its

analogs in insomnia and depression. Journal Of Pineal Research, 52(4), 365-375.

doi:10.1111/j.1600-079X.2011.00962.x

Taylor, D. J., & Roane, B. M. (2010). Treatment of insomnia in adults and children: a practice-

friendly review of research. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 66(11), 1137-1147.

Vela-Bueno, A., Fernandez-Mendoza, J., Olavarrieta-Bernardino, S., Vgontzas, A. N., Bixler, E.

O., de la Cruz-Troca, J. J., & ... Olivn-Palacios, J. (2008). Sleep and Behavioral Correlates of

Napping Among Young Adults: A Survey of First-Year University Students in Madrid,

Spain. Journal Of American College Health, 57(2), 150-158.