The Effects of Sleep Deprivation in College Students

2194 Words5 Pages

Introduction

Most people believe that stress is only caused by day-to-day actions such as a working on a difficult exam, getting suck in traffic on your way to work, or even just forgetting your phone at home. Although there are the more thought-of methods of stressing oneself out (such as leaving things for the last minute or having a long discussion with someone), it is less commonly known that lack of sleep can cause significant stress on the human body and mind, leading to cognitive impairment (Giese et al., 2013). According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults over the age of 18 should be sleeping anywhere from 7-8 hours of sleep per night while pre-adults from ages 5-17 should allow themselves 8.5-11 hours of rest (National Sleep Foundation). Despite these numbers, as many as 40 million Americans may suffer from a form of sleep disorder and deprivation, costing about $15.9 billion to the health care bill (Walsh and Engelhardt, 1999). These numbers are significant in beginning a discussion on forms of aiding those undergoing symptoms of sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation affects both children and adults in similar ways. Lack of sleep leads to crankiness, decreases in motivation, and higher cortisol levels in the body in both age groups (Maggio et al., 2013). Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body use sugar and fat for energy and helps manage stress levels (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). When someone doesn’t sleep for an appropriate duration, these hormone levels rise, causing a perpetual cycle of stress and no sleep. A study found that poor sleep among residents led to negative reactions to daily life-events (Williams et al., 2013). In this day and age, everything must be done quickly, efficiently and well. It ca...

... middle of paper ...

...their beds affected sleep quality and quantity. Another factor that should be taken into account is that in this study, participants were asked to self-report their own sleeping habits. It would perhaps be of value to future studies to have participants sleep in the laboratory and stay there during the daytime as well. This study is vital not only for college students, but also for older adults and even adolescents because it will help them understand why they aren’t able to perform at their best after repeatedly not sleeping enough. It is vital for people to know why sleep is so crucial to living a healthy life and the long-term effects it can have on one’s life. High schools and universities could also use the results from this study to find ways of educating students on taking care of themselves so that they can succeed not only in school, but in life as well.

Open Document