Sleep deprivation has become an increasingly common problem in today’s society, as many people tend to underestimate the importance of having quality rest. Sleep deprivation can be defined as a condition that affects an individual if they don’t have enough quality sleep. This could result from sleeping late, shifts in sleeping patterns, high-stress levels, work shifts, using stimulants like caffeine, and bad sleeping habits. This condition mainly affects the youth, especially college students who sometimes do not value their sleep hygiene or may be subject to situations that require them to forego their little sleep time. Sometimes it may also be as a result of lifestyle. Some college students consume a lot of time watching movies up to the late hours and leave very little time for them to get rest (Rosen et al., 2016). They may also spend more time on academic work, revising, researching, and completing their assignments, thus decreasing their sleeping time. However, the students should balance their sleeping hours and other activities to avoid risks that may result from sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation may have a number of effects on college students. First, sleep deprivation may increase stress levels. Students who tend to have less amount of sleep may sometimes find it difficult to concentrate and manage their emotions as compared to their peers who had a good rest. This gambling to manage their emotions may automatically raise their stress levels and cause irritability, making it hard for the students to interact with others, thus denying them the enjoyment of college life. Another effect of sleep deprivation among college students is poor academic performance. Once a person denies themselves to have a good rest, they are doing injustice to their brain, which helps them make judgmental decisions. Once one has less sleep, their cognitive skills tend to function slower, resulting in difficulties in understanding and completing tasks (Patrick et al., 2017). Their alertness is also reduced and attention span is reduced. The memory also becomes poor as one cannot comprehend and retain what they are taught by their lectures. This makes it hard for them to concentrate in class and handle assignments. Lack of good sleep can also cause poor decision making skills as the individuals mind is tired therefore experiencing poor judgments. This may lead to increased injuries as the reaction is slower.
In addition, sleep deprivation can lead to impaired physical and mental health. Lack of enough sleep is associated with altering hormone levels and neurotransmitter activity in the brain which may subject one to the risks of depression, anxiety, and obesity (Dinis & Bragança, 2018). Sleep deprivation leads to hunger cravings which pushes them to eat a lot and end up adding unnecessary weight. The immune system is also affected, and it loses its ability to fight off infections and illnesses. This leads to health issues such as; stroke, high blood pressure and heart diseases. It can also result to lower fertility rates and psychiatric disorders. Sleep deprivation may also lead to loss of physical strength as the body has not reenergized itself. This also leads to less physical inactiveness as it can sometimes lead to drowsiness as physical energy is important to carry out our day to day activities.
For the college student, it is important for them to check out on the amount of sleep they are having to avoid sleep deprivation. For the students to determine if they are experiencing sleep deprivation or they are at risk they should check out on the following signs; drowsiness, less physical strength, memory problems and difficulty in concentration. It is also important to ensure that one gets enough sleep to help maintain good physical and mental health. To ensure this, one should have a regular sleep schedule sleeping each night for a good number of hours. If one has difficulties in sleeping, they may try engaging in physical exercise during the day and engaging in relaxing activities before bed. For example avoiding screens and having a warm bath.
References
Dinis, J., & Bragança, M. (2018). Quality of sleep and depression in college students: a systematic review. Sleep Science, 11(4), 290. doi: 10.5935/1984-0063.20180045
Patrick, Y., Lee, A., Raha, O., Pillai, K., Gupta, S., Sethi, S., … & Moss, J. (2017). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive and physical performance in university students. Sleep and biological rhythms, 15, 217-225.
Rosen, L., Carrier, L. M., Miller, A., Rokkum, J., & Ruiz, A. (2016). Sleeping with technology: cognitive, affective, and technology usage predictors of sleep problems among college students. Sleep health, 2(1), 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2015.11.003
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