Whether it is late night partying or all night studying, college life does not seem to leave much room for sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 63 percent of college students aren’t getting enough sleep. Heavy workloads, jobs, poor time management, partying, living with others and early classes all seem to contribute to this predicament.
Sleep is essential for any body to function, especially in doing schoolwork. However, this does not seem to be a primary concern since students continue to reach for that extra cup of coffee as they cram for their tests in the wee hours of the morning.
Eight-and-a-half hours is recommended for optimal performance during the day, yet students frequently get much less than this.
“There just aren’t enough hours in the day with all the work I get from classes to get a full night’s worth of sleep,” said Heather Jones ’06.
Consequences that occur as a result of inadequate sleep time are numerous. A weakened immune system, poor academic performance, mood disorders (such as depression), susceptibility to substance abuse (i.e. caffeine or nicotine), and development of sleeping disorders are just some of the consequences of lack of sleep listed by Jeanne C. Di Muzio, director of health and prevention.
One specific sleeping disorder that students have an increased risk for is sleep apnea, the second most common sleeping disorder after insomnia.
Sleep apnea causes excessive daytime sleepiness that may “decrease cognitive functioning and impair performance at school or on the job,” according to Susan Sagusta of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It also causes difficulty in breathing while sleeping.
This disorder is more rampant than many realize. While between 15 and 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, more than half of them remain undiagnosed. This leads us to wonder how many Fairfield University students could be unknowingly suffering from sleep disorders such as this.
Rather than remedying this problem by hitting the sack earlier, students often turn to sugary foods or caffeinated beverages such as coffee and Red Bull to help burn the midnight oil. While these may seem like temporary solutions to the problem of sleepiness, they are far from answering the body’s natural need to rest.
Not only does the body need its determined hours of sleep, but it must be consistent.
“Pulling the ‘all-nighter’ has a significant impact on the sleep cycle. It is important for students to understand the longer you deprive your body of sleep, the more sleepy your body will become each day,” said Di Muzio.
Thus, establishing an eight-hour sleeping pattern is key to staying healthy. Students seem to acknowledge that this is true, but admit that this amount of sleep simply is not always possible.
“Realistically, if you plan on doing all your schoolwork and still have a decent social life, the amount of sleep you can get each night is minimal,” said Julianna Tarantola ’08.
“I probably average about seven hours a night. However, when I do get a full night of sleep I always feel so much better!” said Jones.
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