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Effects of sleep deprivation essay
Effects of sleep deprivation essay
Psychological research on sleep deprivation
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Sleep is an essential of basic human functioning. Sufficient sleep duration is necessary for the best possible performance. There are three types of sleeping patterns. “Monophasic is sleeping once for more than 6 hours every 24 hours, biphasic (sleeping twice every 24 hours) and polyphasic (taking multiple naps per day)” (Saeed, 2015). These varieties in sleep patterns can affect memory, affecting students in their studies. The purpose of the study was to see what sleep pattern of students produced the most passing grades. To test the relationships between sleep patterns and academic performance Dr.Zeba Saeed surveyed 347 medical students to see which student’s sleep pattern performed the best academically. Students with biphasic sleep habits …show more content…
The Importance of Sleep “Sleep is a state of physical inactivity and mental rest in which conscious awareness, thought, and voluntary movement cease and intermittent dreaming takes place” (Thompson, 2015). Sleeping is an important part of everyone’s day. Many health issues can be solved by sleeping more. Colleges seem to be designed for sleep deprivation. Demanding classes, social issues and work are all competing for a college student’s time. Universities are filled with college kids sleeping on couches and other various places around campus. It has become such a large issue that the many schools are giving “nap lessons” (Pope 2012). It affects our stress levels and motivation (Saeed 2015). There are four stages of sleep,followed by REM, or rapid eye movement sleep (What is Sleep?,2007). Stage one sleep is very light and can be easily disrupted. Stage two sleep, eye movement stops and brain waves become slower.Stage three produces very slow brain waves, called delta waves. …show more content…
These students were also the most likely get an adequate amount of hours of sleep in a day (Saeeed,2015). “Biphasic sleep matches the body’s instinctive circadian rhythm, hormonal regulation and memory creation” (Saeed 2015). However, biphasic sleepers were more likely to oversleep than monophasic students. Polyphasic students have to wake up more frequently than monophasic and biphasic sleepers. This gives them more opportunities to oversleep, which may be why the percentage is so much higher.Saeed never predicted one group would outperform the other, but wanted to study the relationship between sleep patterns and academic performance. Polyphasic sleepers got the least amount of REM sleep, which is important for memory formation. REM sleep comes after Stage three of sleep. “REM sleeps mediates the prioritized processing of emotional memories within the hippocampus” (Hutchinson and Rathore, 2015). Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the most important, deepest part of sleep (Thompson, 2014). “ Body tissues heal and regenerate during non-REM sleep and brain tissue heals during REM sleep” (Thompson, 2016). There are many other factors that affect sleep. Some participants may be more physically active, while others spend any free time on the computer or at social gatherings. College student are not the only group who are feel the effects of a demanding schedule. Night shift
Sleep deprivation is a common condition that occurs if you don’t get enough sleep. In case of sleep deprivation people have trouble falling and staying asleep for a long period of time. In order to understand how serious sleep deprivation can be, one must need to know causes and consequences of sleep deprivation, how much sleep do we need? What does sleep do for us? And how we can cure sleep deprivation.
When most people think of sleep, they think of it as a relaxed but yet not a very important part of our daily lives. What most people don’t understand is although we are not up and moving around and getting tasks completed, our brains are still very active. Without sleep our bodies do not function correctly on a daily basis, and our mental state is at risk.
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.
We live our entire life in two states, sleep and awake1. These two states are characterized by two distinct behaviors. For instance, the brain demonstrates a well-defined activity during non-REM sleep (nREM) that is different when we are awake. In the study of sleep by Huber et. al., the authors stated that sleep is in fact a global state2. It is unclear whether this statement means that sleep is a state of global behavioural inactivity or the state of the global nervous system. The notion that sleep is a global state of the nervous system served as basis for sleep researchers to search for a sleep switch. The discovery of the sleep switch, in return, provided evidence and enhanced the notion that sleep is a global state of the nervous system. The switch hypothesis developed from the fact that sleep can be initiated without fatigue and it is reversible1. It was hypothesized that there is something in the brain that has the ability to control the whole brain and initiate sleep. Studies have found a good candidate that demonstrated this ability3. They found a group of neurons in the Ventrolateral Preoptic (VLPO) nucleus. It was a good candidate because it was active during sleep, has neuronal output that can influence the wakefulness pathway, and lesion in the area followed reduce sleep3. The idea that there is something that can control the whole brain and result sleep state supports the idea that sleep is a global state of the nervous system.
One of the many arising problems of America’s students is they are becoming sleep deprived. The busy daily schedules of children and teens are not allowing them to get enough sleep. “Less sleep is unhealthy especially with the new research that as teenagers move through teenage years, they need increasing amounts of sleep. Nine hours per night is the necessary amount to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation” (Final Report Summary, 2001). Among other things, sleep deprivation is causing students to sleep during class instead of being awake and aware. When the students are sleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that the majority of adolescents retain more information later in the day. Contrary to this information, America’s school systems are programmed to begin early in the day, which according to the sleep rhythms of most teenagers, they should still be sleeping.
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
Sleeping is something that is an essential part of human nature and is a must in order for one to be a functional human being. Sleep is an idea that is accompanied by many wives’ tales, including the ideas that one needs seven to eight hours of sleep each night and alcohol helps one fall asleep and sleep more soundly. One myth about sleep is that during sleeping, one is in a state of nothingness. In truth, however, it has been discovered that during sleep the brain is active, variations in heartbeat and breathing occur, and the eyes and ears are active throughout the time of sleep. These activities during a person’s sleep are important because they help that person be more aware, awake, and alert during consciousness. 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 in college students. A college student’s sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator to 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 the level of performance and health in an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 2006).
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.
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.
The four stages of sleep are REM (rapid eye movement sleep), NREM1 (non-rem), NREM2, and NREM3. During the REM stage “your heart rate rises, your breathing becomes rapid and irregular, and every half-minute or so your eyes dart around in momentary burst of activity behind closed lids” (Myers, 2014, p. 96).
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.
Sleep is a very important factor in the human function. Our body and brain is able to reset itself and rejuvenate while we sleep. When we do not get the required amount of sleep, we start to feel lethargic and foggy minded, because our mind and body wasn’t able to replenish itself. Sleep is imperative that an insignificant rest deficiency or lack of sleep can affect our ability to remember things; decisions and can affect our temperament. Chronic sleep deficiency can get the body to feel agitated and it could lead to serious health problems such as, heart problems, stress, acne, and obesity.
Sleep plays a vital role in a person’s mental well-being. Sleeping affects how well people think, react, work, learn, and get along with others. While a person is sleeping, his brain is preparing to help him learn and remember information. A good night’s sleep enhances learning and problem solving skills. It is very important for the students to have sound sleep as it can improve their concentration, memory and creativity. Furthermore, having enough sleep increases the ability to m...
Maynard, W., & Brogmus, G. (2006). Safer shift work through more effective scheduling. Occupational health and safety, 16.
Suen, L.K., Hon, K.L. & Tam, W.W. (2008). Association between sleep behavior and sleep-related factors among university students in Hong Kong. Chronobiology International, 25, 760-775.