The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On College Students

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.

A common problem in many young adults in college is sleep deprivation. College students are some of the most sleep deprived people. Their sleep hygiene behavior is worse than adults. An adequate amount of sleep time is 7 to 8 hours each night to complete a regular sleep cycle. When college students have less sleep time, they are disturbing their sleeping cycle and their bodies respond by decreasing their ability to concentrate on tasks. Sleep deprivation can affect your everyday life in many different ways. For instances, it can decrease your physical health, mental health, and academic performance. The following articles will be focusing on

Lack of sleep can seriously affect students mental and physical health and can change it permanently. “Effects on one crummy night’s sleep: You feel groggy, forgetful, clumsy,” according to Scholastic Choices, When Sleep Becomes a Nightmare. Lack of sleep makes adolescents become more vulnerable to depression and obesity (npr.org). For example, when people are tired they want foods or drinks with lots of sugar or caffeine to give them a temporary boost, but it can later on affect their body negatively (sleepingresorces.com). When students don’t get the right amount of sleep they can become

Sleep is the most important part of a student-athlete’s life. “Getting your zzz’s may be just as important as fitting in training sessions”(“Find out Why Snoozing”). The fact that sleep is just as important as sports, or maybe even more important really tells something. In order for a person to live a healthy lifestyle, they first need to start out by getting a good night’s sleep. People that receive less than six hours of sleep are in risk of disease, as well as other medical issues. Also a lack of sleep can increase stress levels, which can drive people into depression. “Researchers have also found that newly learned information and skills are reinforced by a good night’s sleep --- meaning that children are becoming better at their soccer footwork, their piano playing, or

Students that do not sleep well at night will struggle to maintain grades and a healthy lifestyle. Students who sleep less usually have lower grades than a student that gets enough rest. Student will feel pressured to sacrifice sleep to be in top shape for their team so they can earn the money given to them. Students who do this will wrestle with lowering grades and the inability to think as efficiently. According to ncaa.org, their blog states that colleges graduate 18 percent fewer college athletes than regular students. The main cause of this is being overworked to the point of exhaustion or to where they have to pick academics to focus on or their sport. Also according to ncaa.org In 2004 only 73 percent of college athletes graduated

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

Sleep is a very important key for an athlete to perform at their highest level. Which would give us an additional reason for student athletes to be paid an allowance. A sleep deprived athlete could prove to be useless during a hard workout or in their game/meet. Studies from Dr. Eve Van Cauter show that a hormone called cortisol is higher when a person is sleep deprived. This leads to memory impairment, stress, and impaired recovery time for athletes (AboutHealth). Making it tough for an athlete to balance work, school and their sport.

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

Relevance: Sleep and college life often seem to bump heads. With pulling All-nighters, stress and socializing it makes it difficult when a college student has the freedom to sleep whenever they want but the work that goes along with college makes it difficult to have the best of both worlds.

College is exciting transition for freshman as they can meet new people and be open to opportunities in their life; however, college is very demanding when it comes to school work. Freshmen tend to underestimate their school work and end up stacking their homework, leading them to become stressed and develop unhealthy habits. Sleep deprivation is a common habit among freshmen as they stay up all night to study for an exam or write a paper. If students feel like they have too much work, they burn themselves out and end up losing the motivation to finish their homework, making their grade fall. With all this work, freshmen spend most of their time at home or in the library doing their homework and feel too exhausted to socialize. College is supposed to be a thrilling experience for freshmen, but they tend to form bad habits that makes college more difficult and do not know how to get rid of them. Freshmen need to know developing good sleeping habits, motivating themselves, and finding the time to socialize is important in maintaining their health and social life throughout college. Freshman should set a sleep schedule for themselves, create a reward system for themselves when completing their work, and join a club or organization in order to manage their school life and enjoy the exciting experience of college. (225)

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:

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.

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.

Sleep deprivation is a frequent obstacle that many college students in America face. Insomnia in college students can have an immense impact on psychological and physical health, which greatly influence academic success. Research shows that 70% of college students qualify as sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation has also been linked with several diseases/disorders, including: depression, anxiety, and obesity. Our research question investigated how sleep deprivation in college students affects them physiologically and psychologically. The participants included college students that are at least 18 years of age. Researchers distributed 200 surveys to college students in a rural community. The survey determined the student’s sleep habits and how their sleep affects their physiological and psychological health. Our research hypothesis was that out of all the 200 students surveyed, the majority or at least 45% of the students said they suffer from sleep disturbances that affect their school and personal lives. Our results concluded that 125 students (62.5%) feel like the hours of sleep they receive affects their psychological health more than their physiological health. However, 50 students felt that the hours of sleep they receive affects their physiological health more than their psychological health. Around 72% of the students surveyed felt that their psychological health was more affected by the hours of sleep they receive a night per week than their physiological

Thesis Statement: Sleep Deprivation Robs University Students of Optimal Academic Performance and well being .