Importance of Sleep for College Students

Sleep is an important aspect of overall health, and it is often overlooked in today's society. We often sacrifice sleep due to the increased workload and do not realize the damage we are doing to our bodies. This is especially prevalent in college students. College students are renowned for not getting enough sleep, which results in a decline of physical, cognitive, and mental health. According to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, college students get an average of six and a half hours of sleep per night, which is below the recommended seven to nine hours per night (Lund et al., 2010). In this article, I hope to highlight the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation and the importance of keeping a balanced state of body and mind.

One of the most significant benefits of sleep is its role in maintaining good physical health. Sleep plays a critical role in the proper functioning of the immune system, which helps the body fight off infections and diseases. A lack of sleep has been shown to impair immune function, making individuals more susceptible to illnesses (Besedovsky et al., 2019). Lack of sleep decreases the body’s metabolism rate and increases inflammation, resulting in cell death. This weakness in our bodies makes us more susceptible to bacteria and other allergens, increasing the risk of diseases like diabetes and neurodegeneration. Sleep is also crucial for repairing and maintaining tissues and organs. When we sleep, our body takes the time to repair any damage and helps maintain homeostasis. It is true that college students are more resilient to these effects due to their age, but that type of resistance isn’t sustainable for a long-term lifestyle. Those who experienced sleep deprivation during adolescence see a heavier decline in health at later stages in life.

Sleep doesn’t only affect physical but also cognitive health, as both rely on each other. Sleep helps consolidate memories and information that were learned during the day, making it essential for retaining new information. This applies greatly to college students as they have to retain and process vast amounts of information on a daily basis.  Research has shown that sleep deprivation can impair memory, attention, and decision-making skills-all of which are important in doing well in an academic setting. The review article mentions an experiment conducted between two groups: group one which was a control group that got an optimal amount of sleep and group two was kept awake for 36 hours (Rasch 2013). Group two did considerably worse than in the cognition exam compared to group one, and displayed errors in decision making. This is why college professors emphasize getting a good amount of sleep before a big exam: simply cramming and sacrificing sleep will not help with overall performance, it will only hinder an individual’s ability to attentively answer logic-based questions. So next time college students sacrifice sleep to cram for exams, consider that most of their hard work will not yield results due to decreased memory retention and will lead to an overall decline in your problem-solving abilities during test day. It is more efficient to study the material prior to and rest before an exam in order to calmly rationalize through each question. Sleep will allow for memory consolidation and improve the chances of understanding a certain topic.

  In addition, sleep is essential for the brain's ability to regulate emotions and mood, with a lack of sleep being linked to depression and anxiety (Baglioni et al., 2016). Have you ever wondered why you are in such a bad mood if you did not get a good night’s sleep? The reason is that the lack of sleep causes an increase in cortical levels and a decrease in serotonin which regulates our mood and emotional resilience. Cortical levels are related to stress and a consistent increase in them can cause anxiety and disruption to emotional balance (Hirotsu 2015). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and overall emotion, similar to cortisol. Decreased serotonin levels can cause depression, irritability, and mood swings which affect overall mental health and give a negative approach to daily life. Serotonin also plays a major role in wound healing which relates back to the maintenance of physical health; major wound healing happens during sleep (Cleveland Clinic).

Sleep is essential for maintaining physical, cognitive, and emotional health. This is very important for everyday life, especially college life. College students need to find that balance between remaining in good health and performing their academic duties. It is important to develop good sustainable habits as it will help with long-term longevity. Getting enough sleep is critical for the proper functioning of the immune system, maintaining good health, and promoting cognitive function.

 References

Baglioni, C., Nanovska, S., Regen, W., Spiegelhalder, K., Feige, B., Nissen, C., … Riemann, D. (2016). Sleep and mental disorders: A meta-analysis of polysomnographic research. Psychological Bulletin, 142(9), 969–990.

Besedovsky, L., Lange, T., & Haack, M. (2019). The sleep-immune crosstalk in health and disease. Physiological Reviews, 99(3), 1325–1380.

Serotonin: What is it, function & levels. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22572-serotonin#:~:text=Sleep%3A%20Serotonin%2C%20together%20with%20another,regulates%20your%20sleep%2Dwake%20cycle

Hirotsu, C., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2015). Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 8(3), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002

Lund, H. G., Reider, B. D., Whiting, A. B., & Prichard, J. R. (2010). Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(2), 124-132. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.06.016.

Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep's role in memory. Physiological reviews, 93(2), 681–766. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012