FOREVER YAWNING1
Forever Yawning: The Importance of Sleep for
College Students (First Draft)
Student A
Name of University
Forever Yawning: The Importance of Sleep for College Students
To sleep or not to sleep— that is the question college students have to ponder every single night. For most college students, sleeping is not a top priority. With a full schedule of classes, work, and trying to keep something of a social life, the night is the only time available to finish homework or study for the upcoming test. It is also the only time any event actually worth going to happens. Although college students know sleep is important, they push the limits of how much they really need to function. With their “you only live once” attitudes, energy drinks, coffee, and other caffeinated items readily available who needs sleep? College students need to concern themselves with getting a good night’s rest because it is essential to being healthy during college and for the rest of their lives.
Sleep deprivation is a major concern in the United States. A large percentage of Americans do not get the required amount of sleep they need. College students fall into this category. College students know that their bodies need sleep to function properly, but what they do not know is how important sleep is to their overall health and well-being.By not getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep the body needs, students are putting themselves at risk for developing many health problems now and later in life. One of the major effectssleep deprivation can cause is an increased chance of becoming obese. Obesity is the biggest health care concern that America faces today (Kolodoinsky, Green, Michahelles, & Harvey-Bernino, 2006). This is because obesity can lead to many other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular diseases. Even though it may not seem like a big deal to stay up late and enjoy life, sleeping is vital.
To understand why getting a good night’s rest is necessary for college students, it is important to look at the benefits sleep can have on students’ health. Sleeping is valuable because it can help relieve stress. Although a little bit of stress is a good thing, having a lot is not. This is because stress can cause emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical symptoms.Students live a very challenging lifestyle. Between work, class, homework, and other obligations,students are under a lot of pressure. To deal with the demands of college life, it is not unusual for them to grab an energy drink or other caffeinated beverage and stay up past midnight. Even though they may think they are getting rid of their stress by not going to bed and finishing homework, they arereally not.They may be even causing themselves more stress. Pettit and DeBarr (2011) found that the use of caffeinated drinks, such as energy drinks, can cause students to have more stress. The body needs sleep as a way to deal with the pressures of everyday life. It uses sleep as a way to sort out events that took place throughout the day and relax. In one study(Yoo, Gujar, Hu, Jolesz, & Walker, 2007) researchers discovered that when people do not get enough sleep, parts of the brain that help regulate stress do not work properly.This is why people are easily agitated and feel anxious when they do not get a good night’s rest.
Another way sleeping eliminates stress is through academic performance.When I look around at my roommates and peers, the partiers are not the only ones lacking sleep. The majority of students that are sleep deprivedare the ones who are concerned about their grades and the night is the only time they have to complete homework. Trockel, Barnes, and Egget (2000) found that sleep plays a major role in a students’ grade point average. Using 200 college students, the authors hosted an experiment to see what effect health behaviors such as eating, exercising, sleeping, etc.had on GPA. Out of all the variables studied, sleeping was the main contributor to students increased or decreased GPA’s.Students who had a regular sleeping schedule and went to bed at a descent time had higher GPA’s, while students who stayed up late, slept in longer, and had irregular sleeping schedules had lower GPA’s. This information is interesting to me because I have an academic scholarship. In order to keep my scholarship, I have to maintain a GPA of 3.7. After reading this information, I thought about my own sleeping habits. If I optimized my schedule so that I could get to bed earlier, I would have an increased chance of receiving a higher GPA. This would certainly help me decrease my stress levels.
In addition to decreasing stress, sleep helps students stay healthy by strengthening their immune systems.Cohen, Doyle, Alper, Deverts, and Turner (2009) found that if a person receives less than seven hours of sleep, he or she is three times more likely to develop a cold than someone who received eight or more hours of sleep.In other words, getting the right amount of sleep can help students avoid sickness.Students should be concerned with this because college is a breeding ground for bacteria and infections. Students are in constant contact with germs. With roommates, classmates, cafeterias, and classrooms that have possibly been used by thousands of other students, germs are sure to spread. Students cannot afford to be sick. School is already hard enough to stay up onwhen a student feels well. There is no way that a college student could miss class without being lost or falling behind. Sleeping is the easiest way to avoid getting sick.
To sleep or not to sleep—that is the question students should not have to ponder any longer. This is because sleeping is one of the most important and easiest things students can do to remain healthy in college and later in life. Although it may be difficult to put everything aside and go to bed, research shows it is worth it in the long run. Sleeping can help students manage their stress and increase their grade point averages. It can also help them fight off illnesses. Furthermore, developing the habit of getting a good night’s rest now can decrease the chance of developing many diseases in the future. Students should make sleeping a top priority.
References
Cohen, S., Doyle, W.J., Alper, C.M., Deverts, D.J., & Turner, R.B. (2009). Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold. Arch Intern Med, 169(1), 62-67.
Kolodinsky, J., Green, J., Michahelles, M., & Harvey-Berino, J. R. (2008). The use of nutritional labels by college students in a food-court setting. Journal Of American College Health, 57(3), 297-302.
Pettit, M. L., & DeBarr, K. A. (2011). Perceived stress, energy drink consumption, and academic performance among college students. Journal Of American College Health, 59(5), 335-341. doi:10.1080/07448481.2010.510163.
Trockel, M.T., Barnes, M.D., & Egget, D.L. (2000). Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: implications for sleep and other behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 49(3), 125-130.
Yoo, S.S., Gujar, N., Hu, P., Jolesz, F.A., & Walker, M.P. (2007). The human emotional brain without sleep—a prefrontal amygdale disconnect.Current Biology,17(20), 877-878.