Sleep is so important for the general well-being and functioning of the body, this is common knowledge. However, many students suffer from insomnia and lack the appropriate amount of sleep. I’ll admit that I, too, have been guilty throughout high school and college of not sleeping enough, and insomnia has always been a point of interest for me. Furthermore, I wanted to investigate specific statistics of affected college students, the effects on daytime and life functionality from insomnia, and its connections with mental illnesses and physical risks.

In one preliminary study that gave a questionnaire with three levels of choices to 191 undergraduate students regarding their sleeping quality, the results showed that approximately 11% of students were considered to have a good sleep pattern, approximately 73% had occasional difficulty, and approximately 15% suffered from poor sleeping quality. Also, women were found to be more inclined to sleep troubles and disturbances. While I was not surprised to find that this study supported my hypothesis that a majority of students do not sleep enough, I was very intrigued with the data, as it was much more than I anticipated.

The study went on to analyze sleep difficulties and it’s relation with academic performance. The study explains that most students that suffer insomnia will lost the last two hours of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Not only do these last two hours show to be the most significant for being able to process, understand, and retain new information, but it leads to a better performance on an exam. This explains how students with insomnia can be directly affected regarding academic performances. Additionally, students with insomnia symptoms are more likely to suffer from other mental illnesses, as shown in the chart below from a study of 373 students.

(The green bar represents students with insomnia symptoms and the black represents students without insomnia symptoms.)

 There are also numerous other physical risks that come with insomnia and a lack of sleep. One physical risk affects not just you, but can also endanger everyone else around you. Driving while tired is estimated to cause 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries a year on top of there being approximately 100,000 police reported car incidents, according to this source. I can personally attest to how dangerous it is to drive while tired. In September of last year, I fell asleep while driving home and crossed lanes on Route 30, which connects York to Gettysburg (if anyone knows where that is in Pennsylvania). Thankfully, no other cars were involved and I only hit a wooden pole on the side of the road. I was extremely lucky and suffered only minor injuries, but my car was totaled and it was a wake up call- literally- that I need to be more aware of my health and take care of myself.

A lack of sleep from insomnia is not only harmful to one’s own body but can also be dangerous to surrounding citizens. It is a serious issue in college students, and is only getting worse. Universities and colleges should recognize the poor sleep habits and their effect on students’ academic and athletic performances. If some kind of educational workshop or session helps one person, then it can still be considered successful. I also think it is a subject that be touched upon more in high school, as that can be when poor sleeping habits begin.