Sleep Deprivation Among College Students

David Lai

Once college students get into the groove of things, they figure out when they can party and when they must hit the books. To some the balance comes easily, but to others it may take a little while to reveal itself. Improper time management may lead to long nights of beer pong hand in hand with long nights of cramming. Unfortunately, improper planning plus wrong priorities is a good recipe for sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is a common issue of college students as they struggle to balance the heavy load of classes and the appeal of social activities.

Sleep deprivation has negative effects on grades, social life, and health. For example, students tend to pull “all nighters” before exams in hopes of making up for lost time and getting in every last bit of information that could possibly be on the exam. Sadly, this is not the correct method to take. According to the Department of Psychology at Bradley University “…sleep-deprived participants performed significantly worse than the nondeprived participants on the cognitive task” when referring to a study of forty-four college students who had eight hours of sleep or twenty-four hours of sleep deprivation and asked to complete a task. During sleep, the body rests and rejuvenates itself. A lack of sleep can put a person at risk for diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and many more health problems. A new study suggests that, “the nation's obesity epidemic is being driven, at least in part, by a corresponding decrease in the average number of hours that Americans are sleeping, possibly by disrupting hormones that regulate appetite.”

Some colleges and universities have taken action against sleep deprivation among their students. UCLA has a 10-week course that helps their students with insomnia, and Duke University has constructed The Oasis—a stress free room to help students relax. The University of Maryland and Rice University have also taken action to help their students manage their time better to ensure that they are getting to bed early and waking up feeling rested. Hopefully this attitude will spread throughout the world of higher education, because everyone would benefit.