Biological Clock Essay

Sleep has a very important role in a person’s physical health and wellbeing, yet in the U.S., only 56% of Americans get recommended amount of sleep. The average sleep requirement for students in college is around 8 hours. If students don’t reach that amount, they have created a sleep debt. A sleep debt is when all lost sleep accumulates to create a larger sleep indebtedness. The sleep debt does not disappear or decline; you can only reduce your debt by obtaining extra sleep above the daily requirement.

Without the proper amount of sleep, it can make an individual sleep deprived, which is extremely dangerous. With inadequate rest, we experience fatigue, have a short temper and less patience, and lack of focus. After continuing more sleepless

I have also been a potential victim of these dangers, whether it is staying up late to catch up on study or watching too many TV shows, I too have put myself in danger for the upcoming day from my lack of rest. A biological clock, also known as the body clock, is an internal mechanism that controls the body’s various functions and activities such as: metabolic changes, hormone secretion, fluctuations in body temperature, and other bodily activities. It regulates the daily cycle of sleeping and waking and it provides a wake-up signal to the rest of the brain. Because of my large sleep debt, and sometimes from jet lag or night classes, I tend to be more of a night person than day person. Sleepiness can affect your learning abilities for it can cause you to fall asleep in class, thus making learning impossible, and it can make you lose focus of what is being taught. Your ability to solve problems, listen, learn, and concentrate is limited. Constantly drowsy in classes back when I attended high school, I have forgotten important dates, names, and location of important people or events, thus making tests more strenuous from the lack of information I had failed to pick up. Being tired to the point of exhaustion means that you are less likely to perform at your