The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On College Students Essay

Are you tired and having trouble paying attention in class? Focusing on tasks at hand? Or just completely being overall unproductive? The average college student is deprived at least two full hours asleep each night according to “College Tidbits” a website designed to promote healthy lifestyles and productivity in daily college life. These results were pooled from multiple surveys done over hundreds of campuses throughout the United States. Today, I hope to persuade you to fight the statistics and get those extra two hours of sleep. Do what it takes to get the full seven to nine hours that is suggested by the Mayo Clinic. I will discuss two problems. Why college students are not

The consequences of sleep deprivation during the teenage years are particularly serious. Teens spend a great portion of each day in school when it starts early; resulting in a lack of sleep. Ultimately, sleep deprivation affects a student’s academic performance. When students lose sleep, they disrupt their sleep cycles and their bodies respond by decreasing their ability to concentrate and complete complex tasks. A prolonged period of cumulative sleep deprivation will affect their physical and mental well-being and consequently their capacity to learn.

Sleep loss can take a devastating toll on the mind and body at any stage of life from early childhood to older adulthood. But, for teenagers, who are at a critical stage of development, skipping out on sleep can be particularly dangerous. One standout finding is that a lack of sleep affects the body the same way that drinking alcohol does. And like alcohol an insufficient amount of sleep can lead to impairments of mood, affect regulation, attention, memory, behavior control, executive function, and quality of life. In a study of nearly 28,000 suburban high school students, published earlier this year in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that each hour of lost sleep is associated with a 38 percent risk of feeling sad or hopeless and a 58 percent increase in suicide attempts. As well teens who sleep an average of six hours per night are also three times more likely to suffer from depression, a 2010 study found. Thus, the correlation between sleep deprivation and depression go hand in hand among teenagers. Also, losing sleep can also have a long-term negative effect on a teens physical health with poor sleep quality being linked to diabetes and obesity risk for teens. Sleep correlates with the well-being of teens, but it also closely relates with academic

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

Sleep deprivation is a serious concern among college students, who are "among the most sleep-deprived age group in the United States," (Central Michigan University, 2008). It is important to study the causes of sleep deprivation, or sleep disorders, among college students. According to Park (2009), "dozens of studies have linked an increase in nightly sleep to better cognition and alertness." A study by Central Michigan University (2008) found that sleep deprivation can lead to poor academic performance, impaired driving, depression, and behavioral problems. There are several variables that may affect sleeping patterns among college students. One is genetics or biological issues. It is highly

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

Given the thought of Middle Tennessee State University’s final exams are in five weeks makes most if not all students anxious. Procrastination begins, stress rises, and sleep decreases with most students. According to Brown University, “In a 2001 study, only 11% of college students have good quality sleep, and 73% have occasional sleep problems.” This means almost three out of four quarters of college students have sleeping problems such as insomnia. However, sleep is very important to the human body mentally and physically. When sleeping, the human body feel refreshed because the brain is working less and relaxes the muscles. Nevertheless, there will still be sleep deprivation, but it can lead to fatigue, irritability, and memory problems (Bernstein 147). As a college student sleep more, the grade point average, memory, and immunity will increased. The solutions to sleeping more are time management and a nightly routine.

All of us are aware about the importance of sleep in our lives. In fact, people that don’t get enough sleep at night may experience a variety of health issues in the long run. Unfortunately, students find it as a hard task to sleep about 8-9 hours a day because they have to wake up early and go to school. This creates a tremendous impact on their physical and mental health.

College students are some of the most active and stressed individuals in today’s society. Social pressures and scholastic achievement keep this population at a constant state of exhaustion. College students are apt to put sleep at the bottom of their to-do lists without giving further consideration largely due to full schedules. College students often do not understand the importance sleep has for their mental, physical, and overall health. Individuals in this age group require around nine hours of sleep in any given night, but most students report they only receive between seven and eight hours of sleep (Forquer, 2008). According to a survey by the American College Health Association that was distributed to 33

Weaver from Oklahoma State University. According to the authors “the purpose of the present study was to determine if sleep deprivation and/or poor sleep quality in a sample of non-depressed university students was associated with lower academic performance” (Gilbert, Cameron. 295). The study was also made to determine the relationship between sleep deprivation, sleep quality, and academic performance (Gilbert, Cameron. 298). It was hypothesized that by the end of the study, participants who had higher levels of sleep deprivation and poorer sleep quality would have lower academic performance (as indicated by grade point average [GPA] and course incompletions—drops, withdrawals, and incompletes) than participants with little sleep deprivation and good sleep quality (Gilbert, Cameron. 298). By the end of the study, the authors discussed the results in the following narration:

Sleep is the body’s chance to repair and rejuvenate itself, and, without it, students can suffer immensely and become more susceptible to mental illnesses. As humans grow older, it naturally becomes more difficult to wake up at earlier times. It has been widely agreed that each person should get between eight and ten hours of sleep, but, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation in 2006, more than 87 percent of teens get considerably less than the recommended amount of sleep (Richter). Students are staying out later to participate in extracurricular activities and to work on homework in the hopes that they will be able to attain a slot in the college of their choice. For students with earlier wake up times, this also means a more compressed time for sleep. During sleep, we go through cycles of deeper and lighter sleeper. Not only are students getting less sleep, they are also not given the opportunity to go through the sleep cycles as they should. Oftentimes they are being ripped out of bed at times which deprive them of some of the deepest, most productive sleep time (Richter). Coincidently, this deep sleep stage is also when dreaming occurs. In essence, students are not being given the opportunity to

Many years ago Greek physician Hippocrates wrote a very sensible and accurate quote which says “Disease exists if either sleep or watchfulness be excessive” which clearly states when one gets too little or too much sleep either situations the individual may experience health problems. Sleep is a vital part of overall health and well-being. Environmental factors such as temperature, noise, light, bed comfort, and electronic distraction plays a significant role in one’s ability to gain a proper sleep. Precisely, college students are listed as the most sleep-deprived populations. A research made at Brown University, United States has showed that approximately 11% of students report sufficient sleep, while sleep problems covers 73% of students.

Enclosed is a copy of “Sleep Deprivation among ASU Students.” This report is a summary of my findings from the work that I completed in which I call upon documented scientific studies, articles, books, and my own findings through survey in order to determine the problem of sleep deprivation, more specifically, sleep deprivation among students at Arizona State University. This isn’t a clearly visible problem or popular topic of conversation on college campuses so you may be wondering how I came to discover this as a problem worthy of attention.

It is not unheard of for college students to pull all nighters, cram for exams, and run on coffee. Many would assume something that occurs so often, cannot possibly be bad for your overall health. Sleep deprivation affects many college students, especially when they have increasingly higher standards and expectations. Sleep deprivation is defined as a situation or condition of suffering from a lack of sleep (Sleep Deprivation, n.d.). Between balancing school, work, and social lives, it is easy to see how college students can have difficulty avoiding sleep deprivation. While college students in general often suffer from sleep deprivation, college athletes may be affected more so than the average student.

There is a certain group of Americans who aren’t getting enough sleep. It's making them sick and it's affecting many aspects of their lives. Who are they? It’s the average American college student. According to the University of Michigan, college students are one of the most sleep-deprived populations (Sleep). Most college students don’t get the recommended amount of sleep; mostly because of the numerous priorities such as turning in papers on time or studying for exams. Sleep is often pushed further down their priority list. Just because we are young college students, doesn’t mean we don’t need sleep. When we go to college our stereotypes come with us, including that college students don’t get enough sleep and all we eat is ramen soup. As students transition to college, they are not typically taught about the side effects of being sleep deprived. Not getting enough sleep affects academic performance, social life, and health. Students should learn the importance of getting sleep and staying healthy because college is important.