Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On College Students

The students could rate their current mood on a scale from zero to seven. The higher the

One of the many arising problems of America’s students is they are becoming sleep deprived. The busy daily schedules of children and teens are not allowing them to get enough sleep. “Less sleep is unhealthy especially with the new research that as teenagers move through teenage years, they need increasing amounts of sleep. Nine hours per night is the necessary amount to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation” (Final Report Summary, 2001). Among other things, sleep deprivation is causing students to sleep during class instead of being awake and aware. When the students are sleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that

Adolescent sleep deprivation is a common problem in today’s society, and it is also a very dangerous one. There have been numerous studies done to determine the causes of sleep deprivation in teenagers, the most prevalent being teens not getting enough sleep due to things like jobs and early school start times. There are many perceived dangers of this, such as sleepiness while driving and a risk for hypertension. There are a few ways to prevent these problems, ranging from parents stepping in to ensure teens get the proper amount of sleep to changing school start times to a later hour. Adolescent sleep deprivation is something that everyone, parents and teens alike, should

Sleep Deprivation is the issue that prevalent among university’s first year students. According to Hershner & Chervin (2014) , half of the university respondents indicated daytimes sleepiness and 70% attain insufficient sleep .

Specific Purpose: Sleep and college students usually don’t tend to get along very well. Sleep and college life often bump heads due to stress, coursework and social activities. This speech will give the students useful information about dangers of not getting enough sleep and also hints on how to get a better nights sleep.

Sleep problems have become an epidemic throughout the United States affecting nearly two-thirds of American adults, including the college population (Becker, 2008). A recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation determined that over half of this population describes their sleep habits as poor (Becker, 2008). Poor sleep quality for the college population has been linked to higher levels of stress, depression, anxiety disorders, and poor academic achievement (Becker, 2008). Having a prolonged feeling of stress and exhaustion can have detrimental effects on a college student’s confidence and abilities. When a college student becomes more interested in where they can fit in time to sleep throughout their day as opposed to upcoming assignments, school performance can be negatively affected. Without an adequate night's sleep, college students are likely to have impaired cognitive functioning and as a result fall behind in school work (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

Research indicates that America’s sleep problems have increased and might be the number one health problem. The average amount of sleep that people get per night can range anywhere from three to twelve hours. According to Dr. David Dinges at the University of Pennsylvania, it is a fact that people who get fewer than six hours of sleep a night do not live as long as people who get seven hours or more. Most people do not realize the importance of sleep or even realize that it is needed to survive. Many people experience sleep deprivation; however it is commonly seen in college students. Irregular sleeping patterns tend to occur in students, which can later lead to long-term effects.

College students are becoming overweight, more stressed , and have a lower GPA. These effect are a result from lack of sleep. Many college students attend parties that are provided with alcohol for underage drinkers. “ The alcohol that students are consuming can interfere with their sleeping schedule” (University of Health). Lack of sleep can have many triggers like they food people eat ,the drinks people consume ,and the activities people participate in. People are always in a rush, when on the go most people will reach for a bag of chips or a box of candy when they are hungry. These quick snacks are loaded with sugars and fats that can keep you up at night. Many of the healthy choices people can make will make huge change in their sleep schedules in a positive way.

Thesis Statement: When the projects, exams, and extra-curricular activities start to pile up on one another it seems as though there is not enough time in the day.  This is when college students tend to lose precious hours of sleep and the consequences can be costly.

As a college student, I know first-hand the importance of a good night's sleep. However, due to homework, midterms, and extracurriculars, a nap has become a rare luxury. This is the case for university students across the globe, and sleep disorders have become real a health concern. By conducting a cross sectional study, psychologists at the Saint-Joseph University in Lebanon investigated sleep disorders and examined the relationship between sleep disorders and anxiety.

Several college students lack sleep due to having an extensive social life and/or doing countless assignments. However, there is a point where lack of sleep affects the mental health of college students. Taylor, Bramoweth, Griesser, Tatum, and Roane (2014) studied college students who had chronic insomnia. People with chronic insomnia have difficulties going to sleep, have difficulties staying asleep, or wake up too early and also do not functioning correctly during the daytime (Taylor et al., 2014). For someone to be diagnosed with chronic insomnia, the symptoms have to occur at least three times each week for three months or more (Taylor et al., 2014).

Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest and most consistent problems for middle and high school students. Every school day, the majority of teenage students miss hours of required sleep to get to school in time. With school hours starting so early, their ability to learn new information is substantially decreased. Not only does it affect learning, but not enough sleep for a developing brain and immune system means a very high risk of both physical and mental illnesses such as heart disease and depression. In order to maximize learning potential and minimize risk of illnesses, schools must stop pushing teenagers to wake up earlier than their bodies are conditioned to and start their classes one hour later.

Students who usually stay up late and get little sleep do not think of the consequences for the next day. Frequently, a majority of these students arrive at class only to fall the next day only to fall asleep after the professor starts the lecture. The poor behavior problem usually leads to low attendance rates and poor grades among sleep deprived students (Johnson). For first time freshmen, sleep deprivation has been known to cause a variety of issues that can lead to grave harm. Sleep deprivation can cause slow reaction time as well as headaches and nightmares more frequently. The mind will fall asleep if it cannot get enough sleep causing it to not function properly. Some side effects insomnia are feeling fatigue, depressed or a feeling of the body being completely drained (Haynes). One of these issues

Reason to Listen: University students often rely on delaying sleep for academic pursuits without knowing that the instant gratification of completed assignments and exam preparations pales in comparison to the effects on the body. Students should listen to increase awareness on the impacts of sleep deprivation and moderate sleep patterns.

Conspicuously, there are numerous excuses as to why a teen or young adult would deprive themselves of sleep. Whether it is caused by a jam-packed schedule or some type of sleeping disorder, the issue needs to be addressed and measures need to be taken so that they, once again, are able get a proper night’s sleep. There are two distinct sides that researchers take when it comes to helping teens and young adults get enough sleep. The most prevalent is when the sleep deprived person tries to fix their sleep issues on their own or with the help of their family or doctor. Commonly used practices include consuming over the counter or prescription sleeping medication; making sure one sticks to a regular sleep schedule, even on the weekends; avoiding naps; and avoiding stimulating and stressful activities near bedtime, this includes exercise and anything that involves a backlit screen, such as a computer or TV (Saisan, Smith, Robinson & Segal, 2013). If a person truly has the desire to help themselves by going to sleep and waking up at normal hours, he