Many college students pull all-nighters or run on little sleep due to demanding course workloads. But deprive yourself of sleep, and a bad test grade or late assignment will be the least of your worries.
As I write this column, a quick glance at the clock tells me it is already one in the morning. My first class requires me to get up at 8:30 a.m., reminding me I will not be getting the recommended eight hours of shut-eye tonight. Yet, as I continue to work through my sleep debt, I do not think twice of the time ticking away. As a college student, my internal clock seems to have permanently set itself back. 1 a.m. feels like 10 p.m.: allowing me to continue slaving over abundant amounts of homework into the early morning. Sometimes, I could go to bed early, but I am also guilty of surrendering to distractions and staying awake instead. I try to justify my late nights with the excuse that four hours of sleep is as good as eight. But waking up the next morning reminds me how poorly that reasoning is.
We have all felt the effects of sleep deprivation: mornings that come too soon, wandering to class with eyes too heavy to open and sleeping away 50 minute lectures like they are nothing. We sometimes stay awake at night to ensure our preparation for the next day. Yet, our actions are counterproductive. A lack of sleep directly affects our concentration, reaction time, and comprehension, according to http://ia.essortment.com/sleepdeprivatio_rgyw.htm. As our body cries out for sleep, we perform our daily activities, but our performance suffers. It does not take long to realize staying awake to finish studying, or to do nothing productive at all, was not the most sensible idea. The next day we always pay.
A lack of slumber takes a larger toll on a person, though, than just feelings of fatigue. Sacrificing a good night’s sleep could also be potentially detrimental to our health. The amount of sleep a young adult should get varies, but according to www.uchospitals.edu/, an average of eight hours per night is beneficial. Any fewer will bring ill effects: many of which can set in within a week of creating bad sleeping habits.
Denying our bodies their necessary rest can slow basic metabolic functions, such as storing and processing carbohydrates, as well as alter our glucose and endocrine levels, according to www.uchospitals.edu/. In less technical terms, interfering with such natural bodily processes can lead to problems resembling early aging, weight gain and the early stages of diabetes.
Reducing our levels of sleep also lowers our body’s defenses. According to http://ia.essortment.com/sleepdeprivatio_rgyw.htm, because our bodies are forced to work harder keeping us awake, we become more susceptible to illness. We get sick more often, despite other precautions to stay healthy. When it comes to fighting off illness, because our body’s self defense system is running on overdrive, we have trouble warding off bacterium and viruses. Even with the common cold, recovery becomes a prolonged process. In short, though a person may lead a healthy lifestyle, reduced levels of sleep put him or her at risk for many health problems.
But the effects of sleep deprivation are not irreversible. A person has many options to correct bad sleeping patterns or to avoid becoming rest deprived at all. According to www.cureinsomnia.homestead.com, this may simply entail avoiding certain things before going to bed. Any food/drink that is caffeinated, contains alcohol, or is consumed in large amounts will interfere with sleeping patterns. It is also important to avoid using a bedroom or any other sleeping area as a workplace. The body will subconsciously correlate this space with stress: making it harder to relax and fall into deep slumber.
To encourage good sleep, www.cureinsomnia.homestead.com recommends using a comfortable mattress and pillow, listening to soft music if rest is hard to come by and surrounding oneself in darkness. Pair these measures with others, such as deep breathing, light exercise in the early evening, and different relaxation techniques and a bad sleep should be hard to come by. But out of all the methods for treating, or preventing, sleep deprivation, the most beneficial is to go to bed at similar times each night, for at least eight hours. It is a foolproof way of maintaining good health and keeping a sharp mind.
We would never purposely expose ourselves to sickness, speed up our aging process or reduce our concentration skills. Yet, intentionally or not, cutting back on sleep produces such ill effects as these. So the next time we are tempted to pull all-nighters, or pretend 4 a.m. is a fine time to go to sleep, think of the consequences and remember the importance of a good night’s sleep. We will thanks ourselves in the morning.
Becky Martins is a Collegian columnist.
