The sleep cycle of an average college student is never consistent. Instead, it seems to be constant cycle of under sleeping, followed by days and nights of sleeping far too much. Such a poor cycle begs the question of how does this effect health in the long run?
People are constantly told that 8 hours of sleep is what is needed to be healthy, yet new studies are suggesting that 7 hours would be more beneficial. Although this seems like a minuscule difference, sleep is a very sensitive process. Studies show that even getting twenty minutes less sleep than a person needs can impair thinking abilities, and cause symptoms from under sleeping. This is why these new studies are so controversial.
Shawn Youngstedt of Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation suggests that more than 8 hours of sleep could be hazardous. He is not the first to think this, as many doctors caution not only the effects of under sleeping, but over sleeping as well. Some symptoms of over sleeping include anxiety, restlessness, loss of appetite and memory problems, which are similar to the effects of sleeping too much. Daniel Kripke had a similar opinion with the outcome of his own study, which monitored 1.1 million cancer patients who participated in a large study. Kripke unknowingly monitored their sleep habits, so they would not change them in order to fit the study. His overall results showed that those who slept 6.5-7.4 hours each night had a lower mortality rate than those who slept more or less.
Another case for the benefits of 7 hours of sleep was conducted by the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which monitored 160,000 users of Lumosity, a cognitive training website. 127,000 of those 160,000 logged their sleep schedules into the site, without knowing it was being used for an observational experiment. The study found that among the people who took arithmetic tests, people who slept around 7 hours each night were most successful. The subjects who slept less or more than this had worse test results collectively.
Individually, these results are not very compelling. The amount of sleep someone should get is very controversial, and one study would not necessarily change a person’s course of action. However, multiple studies put this idea on the right track. With so many emerging statistics that show the benefits of 7 hours of sleep, this may become the norm instead of the usually recommended 8 hours. Timothy Morgenthaler, the President of American Academy of Sleep Medicine, however, feels differently, stating that “The problem with these studies is they give you good information about association, but not causation,” and he is certainly correct. With so much different information from studies across the board, people are hardly going to change their sleeping patterns. Instead, it is recommended that individually, people find what is most beneficial for them. By finding out how much sleep is necessary person by person, the effects that over sleeping and under sleeping will not wreak havoc on the people who change their sleeping patterns in order to conform to a study’s findings.
Sources: http://online.wsj.com/articles/sleep-experts-close-in-on-the-optimal-nights-sleep-1405984970
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/05/health/upwave-sleep-too-much/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/scary-sleep-deprivation-effects_n_2807026.html
As you said, most students have inconsistent sleep hours in college due to many reasons. Did you know that disrupted/ inconsistent sleeping pattern can increase the risk of diabetes and obesity?
The inconsistent sleeping habit has a negative impact on body’s biological clock that slows down the metabolism.
researchers found higher connection between sleep patterns and diabetes and metabolic syndrome to night shift workers. Researchers reported that healthy life style: eating healthy foods, and keeping sleeping patterns can reduce the risk back to normal.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/disrupted-or-inconsistent-sleep-heightens-risk-diabetes-and-obesity-240115
I agree that getting an adequate amount of sleep is important, however I think what’s equally as important is sticking to a consistent sleep schedule. From being in college, my sleep schedule is nowhere near where it should be. I am not getting enough sleep during the week and to make up for it, I oversleep on the weekends. Not to mention, each night I go to bed at a different time so the time that I spend sleeping is never consistent. According to an article on sleep, a consistent sleep schedule is critical to normal functioning and concentration. In other words, establishing a sleep schedule can improve your performance in school. While the study you mentioned suggests that 7 hours of sleep is actually more beneficial than 8 hours of sleep, this may not always be the case for everyone. According to the article that I have linked below, the average sleep needed is different for every person because of their age. Younger children need more hours of sleep than adults, for example. Therefore it is inaccurate to say that EVERYONE should be getting 7 hours of sleep every night.
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-much-sleep-do-you-need.htm
http://www.statepress.com/2010/05/03/sleep-schedule-consistency-may-lead-to-success-on-finals/
Coming from someone who is completely sleep deprived, I found this blog post extremely interesting! According to this article, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep/ , it’s possible to catch up on your sleep debt, but not all in one night.
Great post! I have found that since coming to school, I have lost a consistent sleeping pattern. I am always complaining about being tired during the week, however, I never fall asleep til at least 2 am. On the weekends, and the days I don’t have early classes, I sleep A LOT. However, with that, I still notice that I never feel “well rested”. I am kind of curious, if there is ever a real way to actually catch up on sleep?