Are the effects of skimping on sleep worth it?
You hear it all the time. Friends talking to other friends, friends complaining to you, or you complaining to your friends about a recent bout of sleep deprivation. “I’m so exhausted! I only got 4 hours of sleep last night” or “I haven’t gotten more than five hours of sleep every night this week” are just a few of conversation tidbits I picked up from sleepy students around campus.
Why are we so tired? While it is certainly true that giving up some sleep is part of being a college student, are we putting enough effort into making sure that we get proper amounts of shut eye? While asking around campus, a trend emerged in people’s top reasons for forgoing sleep.
Homework. This is the number one reason students like you and me decide to stay up late instead of hitting the sack. Whether it’s for an upcoming exam or paper deadline, doing work for classes seems to take priority over beauty sleep. The second reason is surfing the internet or watching TV. Many students freely admit to skipping valuable hours of slumber while scanning Facebook or catching up on their favorite shows. Is it worth it?
Sophomore Paige Ruch (pictured at right) says, “No. Staying up late for anything other than homework is definitely not worth it. I always regret staring at Twitter or watching that extra episode of Grey’s Anatomy when I can’t get out of bed in the morning.”
The last thing that prevents students from sleeping is worry. From worrying about things as small as fitting gym time into a busy schedule, to freaking out about an important exam looming on the horizon, the problems that follow us around during the day are also keeping us awake at night.
Sleep is important for many reasons, some of the most important being our heath, general happiness and yes, academic success. According to a 2006 Institute of Medicine Report, people who consistently get less then seven hours of sleep per night tend to be more obese. Sleep is an important rest and digest period for our bodies. Depriving ourselves of it could tip our hunger hormones out of balance, leading to poor food choices the next day.
Also, people who don’t get enough sleep just aren’t as nice to be around. Have you noticed that after an all-nighter you feel a bit cranky and out of sorts? Well according to Sarah Ann Balduff and Angela Haupt from the US News and World Report, sleepless nights not only make us more “irritable, impatient and unable to concentrate” but also make us more prone to depression. As if that isn’t enough, not getting enough rest can negatively impact our smarts. The Harvard Women’s Health Watch stresses that sleep promotes learning, and not getting enough of it can actually mean doing worse on the tests we sacrifice sleep to study for. In cases like this, less isn’t necessarily more.
So how do we combat sleep starvation? If you’re a chronic worrier and find yourself staring at the ceiling instead of the insides of your eyelids, here are a couple of things you can try.
Sophomore Maddy Levasseur (pictured at right) recommends writing out a to-do list for the next day because “knowing you have a plan will make you less stressed and help you fall asleep”.
You can also try counting backwards from a hundred by three’s since it’s complicated and boring enough to knock anyone out. As far as television goes, no one is suggesting you deprive yourself of entertainment. There is nothing more rewarding after a long, hard day than kicking back and tuning in to watch your favorite characters. But before you get lost in the drama, set a timer on your phone for bedtime and when the timer goes off, don’t ignore it. And last but certainly not least, our biggest hurdle: studying. Let’s face it, doing our homework is a necessity, and sometimes losing sleep for the sake of our grades is unavoidable. However, less procrastination during the day can occasionally gives us a break from the endless sleepless cycles we sometimes find ourselves in. And to all those high achievers out there (yes, that means you!) sometimes the best way to prepare for an exam is by getting a good night’s sleep.