Sleep Deprevation

Sleep Deprivation

Sleeping is something that is an essential part of human nature and is a must in order for one to be a functional human being. Sleep is an idea that is accompanied by many wives' tales, including the ideas that one needs seven to eight hours of sleep each night and alcohol helps one fall asleep and sleep more soundly. One myth about sleep is that during sleeping, one is in a state of nothingness. In truth, however, it has been discovered that during sleep the brain is active, variations in heartbeat and breathing occur, and the eyes and ears are active throughout the time of sleep. These activities during a person's sleep are important because they help that person be more aware, awake, and alert during consciousness. If all of these important activities occur during sleep, why is it that people are so willing to short themselves of this vital activity? Although much about sleep still remains a mystery, research and experiments continue to show how important sleep is to each and every person. Throughout this paper, I will discuss sleep and the effects that it has on performance and health, especially in college students. A college student's sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator to their level of performance in the classroom and other school-affiliated activities, as a lack of sleep leads to decreased performance. Sleep is directly related the level of performance and health in an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 1986).

One question that people seem to be unsure about is exactly how much sleep is enough sleep? In Inside Insomnia: How to Sleep Better Tonight, Dryer tells that the ideal amount of sleep may vary from person to person. She states that while seven to eight hours may seem to be the accepted average, there are no fixed norms. Some people sleep two hours nightly, while others sleep nine to twelve hours nightly without complaint. She goes on to say that as long as the hours of sleep that one has gotten leaves them feeling energetic and alert the next morning, then that person has met their sleep needs. Sleeping in excess does not always allow the person to feel more awake the next morning. Dryer believes that trying to sleep longer than needed will lead to hours of tossing and turning, and not necessarily feeling more awake the next morning. Basically, the ideal amount of sleep is whatever the amount is that leaves the person feeling awake and alert the following day. Regardless of the amount of time spent sleeping, if one wakes up feeling tired and experiences this tiredness throughout the day, that person is not providing him or herself with enough sleep and is experiencing sleep deprivation. No fixed guidelines exist as to how much sleep a person needs. This varies in the individual and will also vary throughout that individual's lifetime. Although there is no clear cut definition, sleep deprivation is referred to as a condition of not having as much restful sleep as on needs (Dryer 1986). It is strongly believed that being rested and awake are vital in order for a person to be able to perform at their maximum potential throughout their day to day activities.

When examining sleep and college students, many unusual sleeping patterns are observed. It is not unusual for a student to go to bed at 2 or 3 a.m. and sleep until 12 p.m. This sleeping pattern can be disturbed when a student is overloaded with work and either stays up later than usual, or gets up earlier than usual. Here, the student's normal sleeping pattern is disturbed and the student may experience extreme tiredness throughout the day. With the demanding schedule that many college students have, their sleep patterns may vary greatly from night to night, greatly affecting the way that they feel from one day to the next. College students are at a high-risk for sleep deprivation. Many factors of a college student's life can lead to sleep deprivation, including living with roommates, excessive homework, a busy schedule, and partying at night. Many college students drive themselves to succeed, with little regard for the amount of sleep that their body needs. They put their academic and social obligations in front of their body's sleeping needs and oftentimes, are affected negatively from this. There are many precursors that can lead to sleep deprivation. These include caffeine, noise, irregular hours, job and work stress, money worries, pain, depression, alcohol, and medications. Almost all of these are active in a college student's life. College student's often have lots of work to do and feel that they do not have enough time to do it. This leads to stress, irregular hours and often a diet that consists of caffeine. Furthermore, many college students do not have the time to work as much as they would like and often face financial difficulties. Also, the use of alcohol is greatly increased during an individual's time in college, which can also lead to a lack of sleep (Dryer 1986). All of these causes can lead to a person being deprived of the necessary amount that they need to perform throughout the day.

Inadequate sleep is endemic in societies that prized irregular hours and view sleep as a time that an individual could be using to work. This attitude leads to a lack of sleep and a decreased performance level. In society today, people often feel as though there is not enough time in the day to accomplish what they want to. "Time is money." People in our society do everything that they can to save time, whether it be driving fast, eating breakfast or lunch on the run, or spending more time working and less time sleeping. This can also be seen in college students, as they often feel that they do not have enough time in their day to balance all of their priorities. Many college students find themselves juggling academics, athletics, and social lives. This can leave little time for sleep and students often look as sleep as a waste of time. They want to get as much work or socializing done in one day as possible, and feel that many times sleep takes away from what they want to do. When students put other activities over adequate sleep, they may see a decline in performance and/or health. Sleep is a necessity and should not be sacrificed. Rather than not sleeping, an alternative that students can pursue is better time management. Students need to sleep enough for their bodies to feel rested in order for them to perform to their potential mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Timothy H. Monk, author of Sleep, Sleepiness, and Performance, elaborated on this correlation in his writings. During almost all of the tests he administered or studied, he said that five elements existed. He said that all subjects that were tested experienced some sort of

...