The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on College Students

Paris Lee 818732706

BSC101: Fundamental Concepts of Biology Fall, 2013 November 09, 2013 Arthur Solomon Lab Section: 47

Have you ever wondered why coffee or energy drinks are in the hands of a lot of college students? Most of the time it is not because they like the taste of the beverage but because they did not get a full eight hours of sleep the night before and it causes people to feel they need to load up on sugar to stay awake. Sleep plays a big role in being a successful college student. Failure to get the proper amount of sleep can have serious consequences for college students. This semester, many students have consumed lots of drinks containing sugar and caffeine. The effect of caffeine and sugar on the body has been researched. A more important question that must be asked is what is the overall effect upon the human body and mind from not getting enough sleep? This paper will explore the research that lack of sleep has on college students mental and physical health as well as academic performance. One of the most dangerous effects of sleep deprivation can result in mental health problems. Poor sleep quality is linked to increased tension, irritability, depression, confusion, and generally lower life satisfaction (Buboltz, Brown, Soper, Jenkins. 2002, 231). These serious mental problems that result from a lack of sleep can cause life-long problems. A college student needs to be mentally prepared for the daily schedule related to academics. Another problem that results from a lack of sleep for college students is that they start having anxiety attacks and find that they are always stressed out. Diminished sleep quality has been associated with anxiety, depression, and stress (Vail-Smith, Felts, and Becker 2013, 925). These three effects were personal problems I experienced as a junior high and high school student. The anxiety attacks came from a lack of sleep. From the research and personal experience, students should get the proper amount of sleep to prevent these problems. A second problem related to sleep deprivation in college students is poor academic performance. Students that do not get enough sleep could have low-test scores, incomplete assignments, and lower grade point averages. Researchers found that sleep deprived students performed significantly worse than students who had a normal nights sleep (Buboltz, Brown, and Barlow 2001, 131). Sleep deprived students also go through memory loss. Most students have the minimum of fifteen credit hours per semester, so not getting the right amount of sleep can lead to a student getting poor grades. Studies have found that sleep is also critical for memory consolidation, learning, decision making, and critical

thinking (Gilbert and Weaver 2010, 296). Without sleep, students can be in class and not paying attention. If a student cannot concentrate in class then they can expect to have lower grades and possibly be placed on academic probation. All of these academic issues are caused by sleep deprivation. A final problem that might result from sleep deprivation is the physical effect it has on students. When students do not get enough sleep they are taking a risk with their health. Both men (23 percent) and women (25 percent) rated sleep difficulties as the third most common impediment, after stress, and illness such as colds, flu and sore throats (Forquer, Cambian, and Gambiau 2008, 563). For college students this could result in missing classes and not learning the important information that was given in class on any particular day. Another physical effect that a student can face due to lack of sleep is being overweight. Recent studies have invested sleep as a potential behavioral contributor to increase in weight and obesity. Researchers found nationally representative cross-sectional sample that sleep-related disturbances and sleep duration are associated with both abdominal and overall obesity (Melton, Langdon, and McDaniel 2012, 430). College students are developing physically at this point in their life. If lack of sleep causes them to become overweight they may stay like that for the rest of their life. Is the human mind and body affected by the lack of sleep? From the research that was found, sleep deprivation can result in college students becoming sick, overweight; suffer anxiety attacks, low scores in school, and memory loss. In order for college students to be able to have a successful school year, they need to get sleep. With that being said, it might be worth colleges and universities considering pushing all class start times to nine a.m., or later. It is clear that sleep deprivation negatively affects college students mentally, academically, and physically. This is a serious problem that probably needs more research in order to prevent college students from suffering the effects of sleep deprivation.

References

Buboltz, Walter, Brown Franklin, Soper Barlow, and Jenkins Steve. "Treatment Approaches for sleep difficulties in college student." Counseling Psychology Quarterly. no. 3 (2002): 229-237. Buboltz, Walter, Franklin Brown, and Soper Barlow. "Sleep Habits and Patterns of College Students: A Preliminary Study." Journal of American College Health. no. 3 (2001): 131-135. Forquer, LeAnne, Adrian Camben, Krista Gabriau, and Merle Johnson. "Sleep Patterns of College Students at a Public University." Journal of American College Health. no. 5 (2008): 563-565. Gilbert, Steven, and Weaver Cameron. "Sleep Quality and Academic Performance in University Students: A Wake-Up Call for College Psychologists." Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. (2010): 295-306. Melton, Bridget, Langdon Jody, and McDaniel Tyler. Sleep Trends and College Students: Does It Connect to Obesity? College Student Journal. (2012): 429-436. Vail-Smith, Karen, Felts Michael, Becker Craig. "Relationships between sleep quality and health risk behaviors in Undergraduate college students." College Student Journal. no. 3 (2013): 924-930.