By
Justin Ecung
At colleges across the nation, students and professors alike are quickly realizing the importance of a good night’s sleep. Not only can sufficient sleep help students increase their academic abilities, but it can also improve the athletic performance of student athletes. However, it is difficult for a college student to get enough sleep every night.
Maya Dukes, a junior studying at Utah State University, has experienced sleep deprivation and the stresses that come along with it.
“I usually get 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night during the school week because of how much I work and all the studying I have to do,” Dukes said. “It’s rough because I find myself getting tired in the middle of the day, and I won’t have the motivation to go to the library and study. I’ll just want to go home and catch up on some sleep.”
A 2007 study at St. Lawrence University in Canton New York on sleep-deprived students, found that staying up late to study isn’t quite as effective as most college students believe. All-nighters have actually been proven to diminish an individual’s ability to learn effectively.
Psychology professor Pamela Thacher, wrote the SLU study and researched the sleeping patterns and grades of 111 students.
“You can’t do your best work when you’re tired and sleep-deprived,” Thacher said. “Many students believe that it’s a rite of passage to stay up all night during college and, think it’s kind of fun. But if you use all-nighters, your grade point average is slightly lower than those who choose not to.”
In a study that appears in the 2009 “Journal of Adolescent Health,” professors at the University of St. Thomas found that only 30 percent of 1,125 students sleep at least 8 hours a night: which is the recommended amount for young adults. Furthermore, 60 percent of these students have disturbed sleep wake patterns, and 68 percent admit that the stresses of school and life keep them awake at night.
The stress and pressure students place on themselves can affect more than just their daily routines, but their quality of rest as well. Some college students assure themselves before an exam by staying up late to study.
Aja Johnson is a sophomore studying mathematics at the University of Southern California. Johnson sometimes struggles to effectively prepare for her exams and consequently looses sleep.
“Before a big exam I’ll get really bad test anxiety and loose sleep over it at times. Therefore, I’ve decided to stay up all night to study for exams because it makes me feel good knowing that I’ve really spent time preparing for the test,” said Johnson.
However, Johnson’s attempt to reassure herself of performing well on her exams isn’t an effective way to study.
Roxanne Prichard, co-author of the UST study and assistant psychology professor, feels that enough emphasis is not being placed on the importance of sleep on college campuses.
“Students underestimate the importance of sleep in their daily lives. They forgo sleep during periods of stress, not realizing that they are sabotaging their physical and mental health,” Prichard said.
The benefits and gains of a restful night can’t only improve the grades of students, but are most notably seen on the athletic field.
In a recent study conducted at Stanford University, Cheri Mah, a graduate researcher, worked with several players on the school’s basketball team. Mah recommended that 6 players get at least 10 hours of sleep a night, while the others continued their usual sleeping habits. After a 2-week period, Mah noticed that those individuals who got more sleep made more shots and ran faster.
Athletes who get an extra amount of sleep are more likely to improve their performance in a game,” Mah said. “It’s not common knowledge, because if people understood how much of a difference getting more sleep could make, they’d incorporate it more into their lives.”
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