Sleep, at least for me, is
definitely a novelty since starting college. Even in high school, I kept myself
very busy and often traded in a good night’s sleep for homework, soccer
practice, or my job. I knew that I should probably be getting more sleep, but
how much? And how important is it to get the suggested amount? The National
Sleep Foundation recommends that teens (14-17) get 8-10 hours of sleep each
night, while adults (18-64) only require 7-9 hours. However, a 2009 study conducted by the NSF
predicted that the average American only gets 6.7 hours of sleep during the
week.
As you can see, the average amount
of time people have been sleeping each night has been steadily declining. Dr.
Raj Kakar, a medical director at the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders,
believes that stress is the main culprit of sleep loss. His findings correlate
with the American Psychological Association’s survey in which 52% of
respondents (out of 7,000) reported losing sleep at night due to stress. Stress isn’t the only culprit of sleep loss;
day-to-day distractions also play a role in sleep loss. With the advancement of
technology, distractions like cell phones, tablets, and other devices keep
people awake and busy longer than before. The blue light emitted from devices
can prevent the pineal gland from releasing melatonin, a hormone associated
with sleep onset. Therefore, even when people finally get to bed, it is harder
to fall asleep.
The big question is, how much does
lack of sleep affect our daily lives – and possibly long-term health? The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a
cause in 100,000 car crashes in the U.S., with the problem being greatest among
people under 25 years old. Additionally, sleep plays a large role in critical
thinking and learning. Therefore, a lack of sleep has shown to impair
alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. Shockingly, sleep
loss can be linked to weight gain. A peptide hormone called ghrelin, also known
as the “Hunger Hormone”, stimulates hunger, while leptin, the “Satiety
Hormone”, inhibits hunger. Shortened sleep time has been associated with an
increase in ghrelin and a decrease in leptin. Finally, sleep loss can have an
effect on long-term health, as it can be quite harmful to the brain. An
interesting graphic to the right shows a variety of harmful side effects of sleep
loss, perhaps the most worrisome being brain damage as a result of pulling too
many all-nighters.
Get some sleep!
Power down, calm down, and lie down!
Works Cited
1. Fisher, Theresa. "What Sleep Deprivation Does to Your
Brain, in One Stunning Infographic." Mic. 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Mar.
2016.
2. "NSF Recommends New Sleep Times." National
Sleep Foundation. 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
3. Park, Madison. "Why We're Sleeping Less." CNN.
Cable News Network, 6 Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
The infographic is smaller than I thought so here is the link if you wanted to see a bigger version of it!
ReplyDeletehttp://mic.com/articles/104472/what-sleep-deprivation-does-to-your-brain-in-one-stunning-infographic#.YNR7HaccB
It's daunting looking at the list of side effects sleep deprivation can cause. I whole heartedly agree with you that sleep has become a novelty for me since starting college and did not really care for sleep in high school. Even though people, especially teenagers and young adults, need more sleep, with the increase of technology use before bed, it is no wonder that young people are losing the essential sleep they need to replenish the body before another day of hard work. Hopefully we all find a way to balance homework, technology use, and sleep before we all experience the terrible short term and long term effects of sleep deprivation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I think it's hard for people to put down their technology before sleeping. Although it's hard to say that because after a hard day of working, I feel most people see it as a relaxing tool or just catching up on what they missed while busy during the day. Whether it's the blue light coming from the screen or just losing track of time, technology definitely affects amount of sleep.
DeleteEspecially with exams, homework, maintaining a social life, and working two jobs, the amount of sleep I get on average is probably 6-7 hours maximum a night. I have found that on nights where I get less than six hours of sleep I wake up insanely hungry and not at all prepared for my classes. I have also noticed that late night study sessions don't really help me because that means that I'd be staying up a lot later than normal and not getting any sleep which means that I wouldn't be any more prepared for the exam that I had anyway so I'd end up hurting myself physically and mentally.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely agree with this post and say that I get seven hours of sleep or less. It's hard to get sleep when school is so time consuming along with the other stresses of life, wanting to have a personal life, etc. It's so hard for me to fall asleep because I stress over the things I should have done that day or the things I have to do tomorrow. Fatigue is definitely a scary things, especially when performing something so powerful as driving a car. I thought this was a very interesting and relevant topic!
ReplyDeleteThis is probably a rude awakening for all of us. When you're up all night studying or up late binge watching netflix, there is of course that understanding in the back of your mind that this cannot be good for you. However, not that I have these statistics in front of me, I am really starting to understand how the lack of sleep can impact me in the long run. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this in mind next week while studying for exams!
ReplyDeleteQuality of sleep is very important to me, as well as quantity. You can spend a long time sleeping, but it may be restless with constant awakenings during the night. It is interesting to me how research has found that REM sleep is just as important as deep sleep; the body needs it. But I have also read articles about people only sleeping 2-3 hours a night, are in great health, and are able to maximize their time by sleeping less.
ReplyDeleteI always want to cry a little whenever I see my dorm's bulletin board proclaiming the benefits of a good night's sleep. I often find myself awake into the wee hours of the morning working on homework, studying, or just having a mental breakdown. I've actually found myself feeling guilty when I get more than seven hours of sleep a night because I feel like I'm wasting my time, even though sleeping more improves the overall quality of my work. Getting nine hours of sleep a night is now a goal I'm trying to strive for.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is a wake up call to get more sleep.Usually before big assignments or tests I will pull an all nighter. Maybe I should try this the night before. Ideally, I should space myself and not procrastinate.This would help with my work, later recall and my health
ReplyDelete