Sleep deprivation in college students is very common with consequences that affect their physical and mental health. Peer pressure from friends or roommates and the demands of school and jobs leave many teens and college students chronically sleep deprived. Many college kids don't think they need the required hours of sleep necessary for good physical and mental health. In error many think that their youthful energy is enough to keep them going rather than a good 8 hours of sleep.
What is sleep deprivation? The best definition of sleep deprivation is found by WebMD. "a sufficient lack of restorative sleep over a cumulative period so as to cause physical or psychiatric symptoms and affect routine performances of tasks." Sleep deprivation is a lack of sleep or not getting enough sleep, unlike insomnia which means a person has trouble falling and staying asleep.
Much of society suffers to some extent from sleep deprivation. But ignoring the advice to "get plenty of sleep" has an exaggerated impact on the bodies and minds of college students. Faced with the famous dilemma: "Study, friends, sleep -- pick two," it is often "sleep" that students delete. Sleep deprivation, especially during exam periods, is a way of life for students. A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation (National Sleep Foundation, 2009) )found that “63% of college students do not get enough sleep.” Fifteen percent of college students admitted that they fall asleep in class. Those students who studied hard all week, but who then stayed up all night partying on the weekend, forgot as much as 30% of what they had learned during the week. (JACOB, 2010) Most students attending college suffer from sleep deprivation. A leading cause is a daily schedule that is too crowded to permit eight hours of sleep a night. Besides their class loads, many college students hold down jobs as well. With difficult classes and long hours at work, students don’t get enough rest. For example, college students may start class at 8:30 and finish at 3:00 -- and then have to be at work an hour later. After work they stay up doing homework. Many students try to get by on as little as six hours of sleep a night, and some get only four. With busy schedules like these, students can’t get the required eight hours of sleep.
Besides a crowded schedule, another cause of inadequate rest is the unwise use of drugs. For example, caffeinated drinks such as coffee, soda, and energy drinks can cause excessive wakefulness. Consuming caffeinated drinks just before bedtime amplifies their deleterious effect on sleep.
Besides caffeine, students seeking to avoid sleep sometimes use prescription drugs intended to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. These include Ritalin and Adder all, which can have serious health consequences "and should not be taken without a doctor’s consent,”. Other drugs college students may take that can affect sleep include certain anti-depressants, diet pills, illegal drugs (such as cocaine and methamphetamines), nicotine, oral contraceptives containing hormones, and steroids. These drugs have many side effects, including irregular sleep cycles.
Alcohol also impairs sleep. After stressful classes, students sometimes consume alcohol to relax before bed. While drinking alcohol causes a feeling of drowsiness, it also reduces the quality of sleep. In addition, consuming alcohol before bed can lead to an increase in the number of time students wake up at night.
The consequences of sleep deprivation hit students hard. The immune system is weakened by insufficient sleep. The number of white blood cells decreases, as does the activity of the remaining white blood cells. This may mean that students who are always tired are also liable to be sick more often than their well-rested classmates. Along with an impaired immune system, lack of sleep also causes a decrease in the level of growth hormone. When the level of growth hormone decreases, the body's ability to metabolize sugar declines, so sugars are turned into fat.
But a lack of sleep impacts the mind as well as the body. According to an article by Sarah Ledoux, "Sleep deprived test subjects have difficulties thinking of imaginative words or ideas. Instead, they tend to choose repetitious word or clichéd phrases.” This may imply that students will be insufficiently creative to benefit from their courses. Lack of sleep can also cause students to be unable to react to unpredictable changes in routine, to lose their ability to focus on several different tasks, and to decrease the speed and efficiency of their actions. Students who are suffering from lack of sleep are unable to solve complex problems, and even if they can solve them, the solutions will not be original.