The Effects Of Sleep On Children And Adults

1. Many never pay attention and really don’t see how important it is to get enough sleep and the proper hours. Although exercise and nutrition are essential for having health and happiness, sleep is also very important. Not getting the correct amount of sleep directly affects mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and managing weight.

One of the most common and high risk disorders among college students is sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is when one does not obtain the full amount of sleep that is required for the body to function properly. Young adults need about six to eight hours of sleep in order to function properly, but some college students do not get to sleep the full six to eight hours in one sleep session. There has been a wide range of concern on whether or not people are performing at their highest potential in their day to day lives or if that performance is somehow interrupted due to this insufficient sleep. Buboltz, Brown and Soper (2001) found that trouble waking up in the morning, taking more than thirty minutes to fall asleep, and daytime sleepiness were more of the common types of sleep difficulties. Due to inadequate sleep students get during the night, they tend to take naps in the middle of the day (Ye, Johnson, Keane, Manasia, & Gregas, 2015). Most college students often surrender their sleep during the week, and make up for it by sleeping longer on the weekends (Pilcher & Walters, 1997), but they actually do not get more sleep.

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 is a huge part of our lives. On average, we need anywhere from 7-10 of sleep, depending on age. However, few people, especially students, actually get the amount of sleep they should be receiving every night. You might be wondering, its only a couple of hours, why is this a big deal? Actually, sleep deprivation can have a huge impact on your day. According to the article “The Cure for Brain Fog” by Toni Gerber Hope, “lack of sleep has such a profound effect on our brains, making us forgetful, unable to concentrate, grumpy, accident-prone or clumsy”. Anyone who has lost sleep has felt these symptoms and they occur even slightly if one gets less sleep than necessary. There are many diagnoses for sleep deprivation but I believe that the rising issue is technology.

This article explains the importance of getting the perfect amount of sleep at night. The idea that sleeping for less than five hours or more than nine hours proves to have a negative effect on the human body. Sleep deprivation has a closely related link to memory retention and can cause a person to have trouble with daily task. The author continues to explain that not only is the brain effected by too little or too much sleep, but the rest of the body is also effected. Conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and even depression have links to not getting the perfect amount of sleep. The article concludes with listing tips to get the ideal amount of sleep at night, such as, going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day and limiting the amount of caffeine that is consumed throughout the day.

Sleep is a beautiful thing, but people do not get enough of it. It is a time for the body to rejuvenate and process the events of the day. Sleeping is something that we seek out. Getting the recommended amount of sleep allows our body to function properly the next day. Without it, there could be detrimental consequences. The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that without sleep, neurons could be “polluted with byproducts”. In severe cases, people who get very little sleep often experience mood swings, hallucinations and cells do not continue to reproduce.

This source was produced by The Media Production Group at Dartmouth and Dr. Carl P. Thum, Director of the Dartmouth Academic Skills Center. Carl Thum himself works with students at Dartmouth University in which he provides coaching for students suffering from ADD and also leads various workshops, mini-courses, and coaching sessions for students as well. In this video, several students and faculty members are interviewed on the relationship between sleep and being a college student. In the various interviews, the students admit to the struggles they have in being able to function when suffering from sleep deprivation and how severely the lives are affected from it. The faculty members themselves admit to the several instances in which they have witnessed students suffer as a result of sleep deprivation in their testimonials. I will be incorporating this video to indicate the varying degrees at which sleep deprivation can affect students and will include quotes from other students in this video in order to create more relatability for the reader when hearing from students besides myself and how they have learned to address sleep.

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

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 researchers often attempt to uncover methods permitting humans to sleep less, but still function at an acceptable level. One example of researchers finding ways to cheat sleeping is the study of polyphasic sleep patterns. Research on polyphasic sleep patterns asserts that a person can break up their sleep into portions, thus having extra time to be productive. Articles that encourage polyphasic sleep also ambitiously play with the title’s diction, trying to spike interest, but instead misguides students to develop a delusion and assume sleep is unimportant. Even with scientists denouncing polyphasic sleeping as a myth, students still consider sleeping as a waste of time, and can be more productive by staying up all night doing homework. Although students misconceive that depriving sleep enhances work efficiency, not enough sleep is detrimental to health, because it stimulates loss of physical health and decreases brain function.

The amount of sleep a person gets each night affects the mental and emotional sides of the human body as well. Lack of sleep will increase the risk of depression and other serious mental problems. Most of these problems could be solved with just a few extra hours of sleep. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that a good amount of sleep for an active student is between 9-10 hours. (Walker 1) Mary Carskadon, PhD, listed just a few out of the many benefits to gaining more sleep, them being reduced likelihood of absenteeism and tardiness, receiving better grades, and having less of a risk of metabolic and nutritional deficits like obesity. Carskadon is the director of the Chronobiology and Sleep Research Laboratory at the Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, and she is also a Professor for the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University School of Medicine. (National Sleep Foundation 2) A couple times out of the year, I will be tardy to my first hour class for accidentally sleeping through my alarm because my body naturally doesn’t wake up for two or more hours. It is a common problem for other students at my school as well. The University of Minnesota’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement collected data that states that “more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies.” (Richmond

Sufficient sleep is a biological necessity for the normal functioning of humans, it allows the body to rest and to replenish itself so that it is able to serve its function of living. In addition, mental and physical health depend on the amount of sleep we get. Most adults and students value work and college much more than sleep, this is due to the academic, career, and materialistic demands. Researchers have noted a positive correlation between lack of sleep and decreased physical health, mental health, and academic performance. Sleep consists of two cycles: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM), which are sleep patterns that alternate throughout the night. Firstly, sleep begins with non-REM sleep lasting about 90 minutes followed by REM sleep lasting 10-30 minutes, then the cycle repeats itself. REM sleep is the most important phase of sleep because the body is internally awake, with waking-like brain activity, yet asleep and externally calm. Thus, an uninterrupted REM phase of sleep is necessary for integrating previously learned material, and giving the individual a feeling of being well rested and refreshed. Many individuals will put sleep off so that more work hours, and school work can be fit into the day in order to get a better outcome such as job promotions or better academic grades, but I believe that sleep deprived people show a low performance in daily tasks due to suffering from mental, and physical health disorders.

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.

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.