Among the seemingly endless health-related issues regarding college students, as well as the general population, is undoubtedly each individual's pattern of sleep and sometimes lack thereof. Whether sleep is lost over late-night studying, homework, personal issues and etcetera, sleep is not held nearly in as high a regard as it should be. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the Harvard Medical School found that the number of people who only sleep for six or fewer hours has grown in recent years. The study also found that generally, 75% of the general population reported having difficulty sleeping.
In addition to the obvious lack of cognitive functioning and overal low energy levels that can be attributed to not getting enough sleep at night, there are also various other problems that may arise that most people do not take into consideration. For example, lack of sleep has the potential to have a negative influence on both metabolism and weight. This is true considering that an extreme lack of sleep affects not only hormone levels that affect appetite, but also affects the way the body stores and processes carbohydrates. Another of the wide varieties of complications that may be blamed by sleep deprivation is the weakening of the immune system, thus making individuals more susceptible to developing ailments.
Though there are many issues related to sleep deprivation, the bottom line is that sleep is an essential part of life in which the body rests and recovers from the wear and tear of everyday life, and should be treated with the utmost importance.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health.htm
In addition to the obvious lack of cognitive functioning and overal low energy levels that can be attributed to not getting enough sleep at night, there are also various other problems that may arise that most people do not take into consideration. For example, lack of sleep has the potential to have a negative influence on both metabolism and weight. This is true considering that an extreme lack of sleep affects not only hormone levels that affect appetite, but also affects the way the body stores and processes carbohydrates. Another of the wide varieties of complications that may be blamed by sleep deprivation is the weakening of the immune system, thus making individuals more susceptible to developing ailments.
Though there are many issues related to sleep deprivation, the bottom line is that sleep is an essential part of life in which the body rests and recovers from the wear and tear of everyday life, and should be treated with the utmost importance.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health.htm
13 comments:
Your blog caught my eye because I worry a lot about my Dad who is sleep deprived and gets about 4 hours a day. I say day because he works nights. He has been doing this now for the past 7 years. His shift is 10 pm- 6 am at the Logan Airport. He then comes home from a 45 minute drive and sleeps from about 8 am to 12 pm. He then does things around the house, works as a volunteer, and makes sure he attends all of his children's extracurricular activities. I love having him available for me at all times, but I really wish he would sleep more. Even on the weekends when he has work off, he only sleeps about 6 hours because his circadian rhythm has been messed up for so long now.
This is a realyy interesting, and important topic. I myself get plenty of sleep, I know it sounds crazy but I think some nights I get too much sleep. I am a person that no matter what I have to get done, if I am tired, I'm going to sleep. Many people do not have this mindset. Also, it seems that college students get on a schedule of being up late. Personally, I would rather get up early, have the whole day, then go to bed at a descent hour. I had no idea that lack of sleep could cause such a variety of health issues either, great topic!
Really interesting and important topic. I get plenty of sleep because i am an athlete so i like to get as much sleep as possible.
I knew sleep was very important but I didn't know it affects the way the body stores and processes carbohydrates. I wonder if a napping throughout the day can help make up for the lost sleep in the sense of all those issues, or it has to be a long continuous sleep.
I have a hard time sleeping almost every night. I am a very light sleeper and wake up to just about everything. If I am stressed about things or I have a lot to do then this becomes even worse. In turn I try to get about 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night. I know sleep is important, but never knew that it helps with digestion and hormones so much. I will try harder to go to bed earlier. Good info!
I knew that most people probably don't get enough sleep but i was shocked to see that the number is as high as 75%. It is hard for some people to sleep but a lot of people, certinally college students don't think sleep is all that important, but it clearly is.
good blog. this is good for me because i love sleep. i probably get too much cause during the day i am constantly busy , so when i get home i hit the sack asap.
Interesting blog! I definitely do not get as much sleep as I should and my sleeping pattern is so off because of work. Then, I just get overtired and cannot sleep in general. It is crazy how many health issues sleep is related to.
My roommates and I all have the same sleeping pattern, which is go to bed at three or four and wake up at seven for class. The same thing happened last year at college and I definately noticed I am sick more when I don't get sleep. Even though we are in college we should be trying to get more sleep so we could function better during the day. I liked your article because I'm sure a lot of people have the same problem with sleep.
This is good information for me because I do not sleep as much as a should. For now on I will get more sleep and hopefully it will help me to become healthier. Good Blog.
Sleep is really important. I feel a lot better when I get at least 7 hours. I have also heard that you cannot make up sleep. Like if you only get 3 hours of sleep one night you can't make up the other 4 or 5 hours the next night. So it's important to get enough sleep every night. Good blog.
This is a great and very important blog! I know some people who are so sleep deprived, a friend of mine will stay up until she finishes her work and sometimes only gets 1-2 hours of sleep! I try and make sure I get plenty of sleep, which isn't a problem because I love sleep. I'm the opposite of my friend because if I haven't finished an assignment I'll go to bed and finish the next morning because it's just not worth the missed sleep. Great blog!
Sleep is something that a lot of people now a days dont get enough off. I work full time and go to school full time and i find that to get everthing i need done is impossible to do if i try to get 8 hours of sleep a night. once school is over and i am only working full time i hope for this to change because i love sleep.
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