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’ost Americans aren't getting enough sleep. This trends is seen even more so in college students
because they are torn between class and having fun.

That newfound freedom can make some people get a little crazy. Before you know it, you've been up
and it's 3: 00 am. And you have a class at 8:00 the next morning. Your choice then becomes, to get
a full night's sleep or to actually go to class. If you skip, your performance and grade can suffer. This
is an all too common scenario and the result is a classroom full of hung over sleepy students.

Of course, this isn't the only reason why students lose sleep. Procrastination is also rampant in
college campuses across the country and when you have a ten pages to write and you waited until
the day before, chances are you won't be sleeping very much tonight. This is also true when
cramming for quizzes and exams. It's doubtful that so many students work so well late at night when
they should be sleeping. It's even less likely that they like it that way. But that's the way things are
done.

Additionally, when the weekend comes, parties and clubbing could keep you up all night, messing up
your sleep schedule. If you stay up on your average Saturday night until 4:00 in the morning, and
you get a full night's sleep, you'll be waking up around noon or one the next day. So you'll be ready
for bed way later than usual on Sunday night, making you extra tired come class time ’onday
morning.

Work can also play a big part in why students don't get enough sleep. A lot of students work while
they're in school to pay for living expenses. Your school and work schedule can work together to
keep you exhausted and sleep deprived.

This is the norm for most students but it doesn't have to be this way. College allows you the freedom
to make your own schedule. So if you know that you frequently stay up late nights and end up really
tired in class, or even worse, too tired to go to class, then you should sign up for afternoon and
evening classes. And if you work, you should make sure that you can do so while giving yourself
enough time to rest up.

Sleep is important and even though it is often postponed for other activities. You should make sure
that you make time for at least eight hours a day even. Even though consecutive sleep is healthier
should at least nap between classes to reach a comfortable rested level.
Overcoming Sleep Deprivation - 8 Tips For Getting Great
Sleep
By Will Robertson

Today's fast paced world leaves too little time for sleep, making sleep debt a modern
epidemic that is stealing health and peace from millions of lives. Sleep debt is the slow
accumulation of fatigue based on getting a lot, or just a little, less sleep than you need
every night. Over time, sleep debt can cause many health problems including fatigue,
depression, memory loss, obesity, high blood pressure, or heart disease.

There are many factors that prevent people from sleeping like chronic pain, sleep apnea,
travel, medications, and diet. Among them stress is the most common cause of sleep loss,
and fortunately it is usually the easiest to remedy. Just knowing how to get better sleep is
sometimes all the medicine you need to help you resolve sleep problems.

8 Tips for Getting Great Sleep

1) Regular Bedtime - Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends
and vacations. This will keep your internal clock working in a rhythm, greatly increasing the
chances that you will sleep better when you are supposed to.

2) Regular Exercise. Exercise improves sleeping habits. Exercise 5-6 times per week,
between twenty to thirty minutes a day. Don't exercise within five hours of bedtime.

3) Don't Lie Awake. Staying in bed when you can't sleep will interrupt your daily sleep
rhythm and give you negative emotions to associate with your bed. Get up and do
something else until you feel sleepy.

4) Evaluate your mattress. Over 60% of people continue using a mattress after is has loss
both comfort and proper support. Replacing your old mattress with a quality bed has been
proven to improve sleep.

5) Limit Caffeine , Nicotine , and Alcohol - Avoid nicotine or caffeine for 6 hours before
bedtime. They are stimulants and will keep you awake. Alcohol is a sedative, and may make
you feel sleepy. But alcohol also creates erratic sleep patterns that disturb a natural sleep
rhythm.

6) Don't Eat or Drink Before Bedtime. It takes a lot of energy for your body to digest food.
Digestion will disturb your sleep. Drinking fluids before bedtime will make you get up in the
night to pee, interrupting sleep. Avoid food and drink for two hours before bedtime.

7) Relaxing Quiet Time - A quiet, peaceful period before bed can help you relax. Taking a
warm bath or reading a book can help cue your body that it's time to sleep. Meditation,
breathing, and relaxation techniques help many people get ready to sleep.

8) Keep the Bedroom for Two Things. Watching television, reading a book, or listening to
music in the bedroom is not recommended. Any bedroom activities, that engage your
interest, can create a mental association that pulls you out of sleep. Only use your bedroom
for sleep and sex.

People need varying amounts of sleep, from 6 to 10 hours per night. Finding your optimal
amount will be a personal journey that is fulfilled when you find that you are waking up with
energy and an upbeat outlook. Implementing the 8 tips learned here will help you on the
journey to create a satisfying sleep schedule that will improve you long term health and
quality of life.


 


 



 
 


 



 9/6/07 
 News

Although the average college student needs 8-9 hours of sleep each night, between school, studying and work, not
enough students are getting the recommended amount of sleep.

When a person does not acquire the sleep his or her body needs to function properly, sleep deprivation can occur.

Sleep deprivation is general lack of the necessary amount of sleep, and studies have reported that it affects tens of
millions of adults each year.

’any students, as well as adults in general, do not see lack of sleep as a problem. However, scientific studies show
that the side effects of sleep deprivation can be severe and abundant. The most common and simple side effects are
aching muscles, blurred vision, daytime drowsiness, decreased mental activity and concentration, weakened immune
system, dizziness, dark circles under eyes, fainting, general confusion, headache, impatience, irritability, memory
lapses or loss, nausea, slowed reaction time, slurred speech, weight gain or loss and yawning.

Other side effects that can occur and become serious problems are cardiovascular disease, clinical depression,
colorblindness, hallucinations, hand tremors, hernia, hyperactivity, hypertension, lucid dreaming, nystagmus (rapid
involuntary rhythmic eye movement) and psychosis.

Not only does sleep deprivation cause those side effects, but it also affects other parts of the body.

A 1999 study by the University of Chicago ’edical Center showed that sleep deprivation affects the human body's
ability to metabolize glucose, which can lead to early-stage Type 2 Diabetes.

Sleep deprivation can also adversely affect brain function.

A 2000 study by the University of California in San Diego School of ’edicine and the Veterans Affairs Healthcare
System in San Diego monitored activity in the brains of sleep-deprived subjects performing simple verbal learning
tasks.

The study showed that regions of the brain's prefrontal cortez displayed more activity in the sleepier subjects.
Depending on the task at hand, the brain would sometimes attempt to compensate for the adverse effects caused by
lack of sleep.

The temporal lobe, which was active in the rested subjects, was not active in the sleep-deprived subjects. On the
other hand, the parietal lobe was not activated in rested subjects, but was more active when the subjects were
deprived of sleep. ’emory performance overall suffered in the subjects who were sleep deprived.

Sleep deprivation may also affect growth, healing process, and obesity.