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Research paper on sleep deprivation on college students and performance
How a lack of sleep can affect academic performance
Research paper on the effects of sleep deprivation among college students
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Your time in college should be a filled with having many exciting experiences from receiving new knowledge, and skills, to gaining more independence to chart your own future. However, it is hard to have any of these experiences if you are struggling with one of the greatest obstacles that a college student can face, that is, the high prevalence of sleep deprivation, and the subsequent patterns of irregular sleep schedules among college students.
In the article titled “Nature and Science of Sleep,” it talks about the effect of sleep deprivation and irregular sleep schedules are highly visible among college students, it says that as many as “50% report daytime sleepiness and 70% attain insufficient sleep”. The consequences of sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are especially problematic for almost every college students and can and do result in lower grade point averages, the heightened risk of academic failure, and can even compromise learning new information. It is imperative that college faculty go out of their way to promote policies and class schedules that strongly encoura...
In order to function normally, “adequate sleep is a biological necessity” (Austin 34). College is a transition for many students, and without prioritizing many can become sleep deprived. There are various reasons that college students could become deprived of sleep. Reasons include loud roommates, sororities/fraternities, late night jobs, and procrastination. Additionally, a student could be struggling financially or academically, and this could be possible causes for keeping one up late at night. Little to no sleep could affect how young adults function leading to multiple effects. Depression can be a result of not getting enough rest, and the “longer this
Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
It is true that sleep deprivation is a widespread issue, generally resulting from early start times. It is also a serious one; according to a study by Harvard Medical School, sleep deprivation can lead to issues such as obesity, heart disease, difficulty learning, and can genuinely shorten a person’s lifespan. As Robbins explains, teenagers have a different internal sleep clock than other age groups. It is most healthy for students in high school to go to bed around 11 and wake up around 9. Since school often begins as early as 7, students are told they simply need to go to bed early, around 8 or 9 PM. This contention does not take into account the fact that humans are biologically not wired this way, and it's virtually impossible for most teens to fall asleep this early. It also doesn't take into account that with clubs, sports, church, volunteering, other extracurriculars and hours of homework, students often struggle to start their homework before their suggested “bedtime”. It is contended that students can control their own schedules so that they can get more sleep. However, pressure from parents and peers to get into a “good” college can cloud students’ perceptions of what is right for them, making them choose to overwork themselves in order to build impressive resumes. I myself can identify with this phenomenon. During the weekdays alone, I volunteer two nights a
Sleep deprivation is a commonplace occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended period of time. While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false (1). Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person's behavior. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not sleeping so long as they are resting. This could involve lying awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Even though cognitive functions might not seem necessary in this scenario the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is not able to rest but rather remains semi-alert in a state of "quiet readiness" (2). Certain stages of sleep are needed for the regeneration of neurons within the cerebral cortex while other stages of sleep seem to be used for forming new memories and generating new synaptic connections. The effects of sleep deprivation on behavior have been tested with relation to the presence of activity in different sections of the cerebral cortex.
Sleep deprivation (SD) is a common phenomenon encountered by many individuals with different professions. [3] These professions include healthcare, security and drivers working at night. [1] The average length of sleep that an individual needs is between 7 and 8.5h per day. [quoted in 1] However, this varies between individuals with different age and gender. Pilcher and Huffcutt found that both total and partial SD give adverse effects on human functioning. [2] Researchers have concluded that sleep deprivation affects cognitive performance [1,2], motor performance and mood of an individual. [2]
Another reason that causes the negative relationship between sleep deprivation and academic performance is the impact of high-stress level that is caused by sleep deprivation. As mentioned earlier, sleep deprivation could decrease a student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, it can also make the students feel more stressful. According to the survey conducted in Ball State campus, there are 15 students that often do their homework before they go to bed. 10 students play video games, computer games, and mobile games before they go to sleep. 8 students use their electronic devices to do social activities. 5 students watch movies and television series and 2 students read books before they go to bed. This information proves
Imagine being awake for at least a week straight. In the US military, many actions of suffering are given to their prisoners. These can include punishments such as sleep deprivation are put upon the prisoners until they crack under the pressure. During this punishment the prisoners are not given any food, humiliated, threatened, and mentally tortured. This action mentally and physically “destroys” the person. So, the question is, why are teenage students being treated the same way? All around the world high school are suffering at some point in time of sleep deprivation. They go to school for 8 hours, come home, do some homework, go to extracurricular activities, and then go home and do more homework. Then before they know it, they look at the clock and it is already
Though there are many facets to the subject of sleep, our team has decided to focus on the vital role sleep plays in people’s lives, specifically college students, as well as the numerous methods that can be used to make sleep more effective. Research has consistently proven the importance of a regular sleep schedule. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute promotes this idea, and offers several tips for getting enough sleep while leading a busy life.[1] For instance, it helps to keep the same sleep schedule on weeknights and weekdays. Also, avoiding heavy exercise and artificial bright lights within an hour of going to sleep ensures a more restful sleep. This is especially true for devices like computers and cellphones, the light of which interrupts melatonin production, thus disrupting sleep. Avoiding heavy meals, alcoholic beverages, nicotine, and caffeine within a couple hours of sleeping helps prime the body for a more restful sleep, as well. In fact, the effects of caffeine can last
If all of these important activities occur during sleep, why is it that people are so willing to short themselves of this vital activity? Although much about sleep still remains a mystery, research and experiments continue to show how important sleep is to each and every person. Throughout this paper, I will discuss sleep and the effects that it has on performance and health, especially among college students. A college student’s sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator of their level of performance in the classroom and other school-affiliated activities, as a lack of sleep leads to decreased performance. Sleep is directly related to the level of performance and health of an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 2006).
Sleep loss and shifting sleep patterns are known to be widespread across college campuses throughout the United States and the world at large. Yet, while many studies exist relating sleep to performance, a much smaller amount of studies focus on the Through analysis of these sources as they would prove useful when researching and writing upon the idea of sleep and its correlation to academic performance it was found that a paper titled “Sleep-Wake Patterns and Academic Performance in University Students”, which was presented to the European Conference on Educational Research, is overall the most useful source represented to research the topic.
In the world of higher education, students at the collegiate level are highly likely to be overwhelmed with course load, in addition to sports and extra-curricular activities (Jacobs & Dodd, 2003). These factors have the potential to lead to various amounts of sleep deprivation, and as the research of Nilsson, Sunderstrom, Karlsson et al. (2004) has shown, sleep deprivation is correlated with higher levels of fatigue, impairments in speed and accuracy as well as limitations in cognitive and physical performances. One way to cope with this fatigue that has shown to have very positive results on people of all ages is taking naps. In addition to reducing sleepiness, Milner & Cote (2008) have determined that “napping may lead to considerable benefits in terms of mood, alertness and cognitive performances”. It is these benefits that nappers seek when engaging in napping activities.
Many times people think they can accomplish more if they could eliminate so much sleeping time. However, they are only hurting their productivity if they lose sleep. Two articles deal with the issue of sleep deprivation. The College Student Journal published an article about the grade-point average of college students and sleep length, while U.S. News & World Report produced an article dealing with the lack of
Introduction Sleep studies have been conducted since as early as 1913. However, the impact of school start times on student academics is often overlooked by most schools. In reality, start times can significantly affect academic performance by disrupting adolescents' normal sleep cycle, leading to a lack of sleep that impairs learning, and hindering academic performance. These theories have been tested through sleep studies, and most of them have been found to be true. Sleep Cycle Changes When children transition from primary school to middle or high school, it can significantly affect their learning due to changes in their sleep cycle.
Sleep has always been a popular subject among humans. There have been many studies that examine sleep and its correlation with a wide variety of variables, such as depression, energy levels, and grades. Students, as a group, are widely studied. As the world’s future leaders and thinkers, there is great importance placed on their achievements. In this study the effect of student sleep habits on perceived academic performance is investigated. Many things may affect students’ academic success among these variables are sleep habits.
Preliminary Thesis Statement: Sleep deprivation has detrimental effects on the health and academic performance of students.