Most people require 6-8 hours of sleep per night which is about 1/3 of our lifetime experience. Sleep is restorative, it enables the body and mind to rejuvenate, re-energize, and restore. As a person sleeps, it is thought that the brain performs vital housekeeping tasks, such as: long-term memory organization; integration of new information; and tissue, nerve cell, and other biochemical repair and renewal. Sleep allows the body to rest and the mind to sort out past, present, and future activities and feelings.
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Sleep Deprivation and College Students
Many studies have shown that high school and college students are typically sleep deprived and that sleep is the first thing to be compromised when trying to juggle school, work and fun. The consequences of chronic sleep deprivation/sleep debt are serious. An average sleep-deprived student may experience impaired performance, irritability, lack of concentration, and daytime drowsiness. They are less alert, attentive, and unable to concentrate effectively. Additionally, because sleep is linked to restorative processes in the immune system, sleep deprivation in a normal adult causes a biological response similar to the body fighting off an infection. Persistent sleep deprivation can cause significant mood swings, erratic behavior, hallucinations, and in the most extreme, yet rare cases, death. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to an increase in motor vehicle accidents, deficiencies in short-term memory, focus and attention as well as depressed mood and a decrease in the ability to control appetite.
Many students make the mistake of “pulling an all nighter” before an exam only to find out that they could remember very little of what they had studied the night before. Sleep is an important part of learning retention so a good night sleep prior to an exam is just as important as actually studying for the exam.
Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco have identified a gene, that occurs in less than 3% of people, for which the people who have this gene require only six hours of sleep a night.
So almost everyone who claims they only need six hours’ sleep is kidding themselves. And the consequences of chronic sleep deprivation are serious, says Clete Kushida, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and director of Stanford University’s Sleep Medicine Center. Sleep deprivation has been linked to an increase in motor vehicle accidents, deficiencies in short-term memory, focus and attention as well as depressed mood and a decrease in the ability to control appetite.
Another common mistake is using alcohol as a way to help fall asleep. Alcohol may help a person fall asleep however the quality of sleep is compromised. Sleep follows five cycles that repeats itself throughout the night and alcohol impairs the natural progression of those sleep cycles. If a person falls asleep while intoxicated it’s unlikely that they will wake up feeling restored regardless of the number of hours spent sleeping.
Types of Sleeping Disorders
To find out more about sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, etc click on the following link:
