The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation In College Students

Sleep deprivation is prevalent throughout a college students’ career. The difference between a student that gets an “A” over a “B” can be the amount of sleep they receive. In other cases, we can jeopardize ourselves from sleep deprivation without realizing it. Even instances where some students may stay up to complete an assignment or play video games, only to succumb to sleepiness the following morning. Sleepiness is the inadequate amount of sleep which can cause drowsiness. It is prominent in fifty percent of college students, while it is only predominant in thirty-five percent of adults and adolescents (Hershner & Chervin 73). In other words, people exhibit symptoms from sleep deprivation, which in turn affects them in college. The symptoms

For a sleep deprived college student, it can have unexpected consequences. Depression, for example, is common in college, resulting in over fourteen point eight percent of college students diagnosed (Hershner & Chervin 79). Depression can then cause insomnia; however, studies have shown addressing insomnia through sleep can greatly improve treatment (Owens e926). Though it is not the consistent lack of sleep that has a profound effect, but the irregularity of sleep that can create mood changes (e927). This means that mood can change if you pull an all-nighter, rather than if you take intermittent naps, which can provide a temporary relief from sleepiness. To help students regulate their mood, it is imperative that students prioritize sleep to keep them safe and

However, the lack of sleep can come from our environment or from ourselves. Cornell graduate student, Rebecca Robins, found that when she researched how students talk about sleep, it was mainly in negative terms over eighty percent of the time (Pope 1). College students have some influence over their sleeping habits, but so can universities. The University of Louisville, for example, is having a “flash nap,” which is like a group of people having a quick nap and some universities even have sleep seminars (Pope 1). Participants in a sleep study took an eighteen-week course on sleep, then were evaluated for sleep improvement, but this test only had a limited number of subjects meaning it was not a reliable study (Hershner & Chervin 80). Furthermore, spreading awareness of sleep does provide a positive outcome, though on a university scale it would be different. Considering that there are thousands of universities all across the country where students are sleep deprived, it is necessary for students to learn how to use their time to receive an adequate amount of