The sleep schedules of college students across the country are becoming more and more harmful to ones health. Many students have classes at 8 or 9 am and only get a few hours of sleep because they are up all night doing last minute homework. Studies show college students get around 6 hours of sleep per night, while the recommended amount is 8 hours. Our bodies need the sleep to function properly. Instead, we are turning to coffee and energy drinks to keep us energized throughout the day. This is not only harmful for us, but these drinks are very unhealthy, as they are filled with sugar.
Mental health issues can develop when one does not get the sleep that is needed. Some of these health issues include insomnia, depression, constant fatigue, and emotional issues. As college students, it can sometimes be hard for us to find the time to sleep, since we are surrounded by constant social interactions and large amounts of homework or studying. A study from Brown University gives tips to get a better nights sleep. Some of these tips include regular exercise, naps that aren’t too long, and going to sleep around the same time every night. This study also recommends staying away from sleeping pills, as your body will become dependent and the pills will not work as well in the long run.
http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/common_college_health_issues/sleep.php
I strongly agree with your article. Students have turned to caffeine and energy drinks to keep them awake which is not only mentally unhealthy, but physically unhealthy as well. In one of my previous blogs (http://sites.psu.edu/siowfa14/2014/09/08/the-freshman-15-and-eating-disorders/) I spoke about the Freshman 15 and these drinks could really contribute to it. So not only are you getting less sleep, you are slowly gaining weight as well. The only thing I do not agree with is the “too much homework” complaint that you gave. It’s college. A big part of college is not only to do well in school, but to also learn how to plan out your day. Before college, mommy and daddy planned out everything for you, but in college you are all on your own. I personally am using college as a way to teach myself how to plan out my schedule, not just to teach myself educational facts to do well on my exams/quizzes. With that being said, if you planned out your day well enough, you should rarely even be up that late doing work. I really liked your article though!
I can definitely see how lack of sleep can cause such things as insomnia. I already have an extremely poor sleeping schedule and it’s only the third week into the semester! With the amount of work and studying that one must do in order to do well in school sleeping is our last priority. Even though that’s all we want to do half of the time, it’s hard trying to fit sleep into our schedule. I thought you might find the article below quite interesting so check it out!
https://www.uhs.uga.edu/sleep/
I completely agree. This blog actually goes very nicely with my previous blog called, “Effects of Cramming for Tests.” Because college (and even some high school) students have so much work and activities during the day it is impossible to go to bed at a decent hour. Unfortunately our society has turned to caffeine to help us stay awake which is extremely unhealthy. You make a great point by saying that we take naps during the day in order to stay up at night, which ultimately starts the cycle all over again. This happens to me all of the time.
Amanda, you make excellent points in this blog. Most students with early classes find themselves coming back in the middle of the day to take long naps, and then leaving all of their work to do at night. This starts the process all over again by getting to bed late and waking up early and having a bad sleep schedule. I agree with Brittney about the early start of classes. This article has a few tips on how to survive early morning classes. Although, some students just cannot learn as efficiently that early in the morning.
Amanda, I think that you have strong points and I agree with them. This article from the Harvard Health Publication says as much. I think another important issue to consider when we’re talking about sleeping habits in college is the affect sleep has on our cognitive abilities. This article talks about how sleep deprivation can negatively affect your working memory (short-term memory), attention, and long-term memory. So for students that argue they have to stay up because of the amount of work, they might be hurting themselves almost as much as they’re helping. Much better to get a good night’s sleep, wake up early and work efficiently during the day.
Hi Amanda, your blog does a good job in raising the point of college students insane sleeping schedule. I would like to raise the point that not only do early classes contribute to our loss of sleep but they also can possibly do more harm then good in our learning process. This article does a good job of describing the issue and provides an example of a school doing something about it. http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/education/2014/08/25/done-dawn-teens-need-sleep-time/14596985/
I feel that lots of times college students end up getting so little sleep because of the procrastination that they do. If most were able to manage their time better and just get ahead on their work I believe the average hours of sleep would be just where they need to be. A little ironic that I am posting this at midnight but at least my first class isn’t until 11:15 tomorrow! Check out this link for some helpful tips on how to not procrastinate http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/overcoming-procrastination