Sleep deprivation in college students is a leading cause of academic failure and poor social functioning during daytime. According to research conducted in the United States, up to 35% of adolescents are sleep-deprived for reasons, such as heavy use of media ( Andersz & Bargiel-Matusiewicz, 2018) . Additionally, studies show that in the country above, 41% of adults aged between 39 and 20 years have insomnia and other sleep-related problems ( Andersz & Bargiel-Matusiewicz, 2018) . Characterized by infrequent sleep patterns and having less than 7 hours of sleep, lacking adequate sleep is detrimental to learners. Sleep deprivation upsets normal cognitive functioning, logical reasoning, planning, and social relationships. However, studies ascertain that sleep deprivation is curable but mandates unlearning negative sleep patterns and replacing them with a positive sleep regimen. The extensive analyses of poor sleep quality in college students propelled by sleep problems shows how it affects mental and physical health negatively.
Impacts of Poor Sleep Quality on Mental and Physical Health
Several studies show that sleep deprivation is a significant causative of poor mental and physical health in college students. According to Colletta (2020), most students do not get adequate sleep, which challenges their ability to solve problems during the day. When learners do not enjoy enough sleep at night of between 7 and 8 hours, they tend to perform poorly in their examinations the next day. Students who sleep for 2 to 3 hours on the night of their final examinations perform poorly because of the negative effects of sleep deprivation they experience during daytime. Sleep-deprived examinees tend to have lower GPA than their counterparts who get up to 8 hours of sleep before they sit for examinations the next day. Colletta (2020) also emphasizes that inadequate sleep inhibits brain disposal of waste, which results to impaired reasoning in learners as they sit for their end of term, year, or course examination. The author asserts that when human beings sleep, their cerebrospinal fluid flows uninterruptedly, an essential functioning that promotes quality examination performance during the day.
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In a separate study, Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) assert that sleep deprivation affects college students’ health negatively. The authors note that when an individual is sleep-deprived, their normal body and mind functions are impaired and interconnectedness of the two biological aspects is impaired. According to Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015), most learners have problems in maintaining a regular sleep pattern because of heavy media use. Further, the authors mention that sleep deprivation is an issue experienced by college students globally, with negative impacts on their well-being and learning. Furthermore, sleep deprivation in learners constrains teachers’ ability to dispense lessons efficiently, because sleep-deprived learners are often excessively drowsy and do not conceptualize concepts in class quickly. According to Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015), Mathematics teachers experience challenges in explaining concepts in class when they have to also handle sleepy learners affected by low sleep quality propelled by their home environment. Further, a research by the authors revealed that in the United States, 58% of eighth grade mathematics learners were unable to understand classroom instructions because of sleepiness promoted by low quality sleep during the night.
Further, Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) note that sleep deprivation impairs social and cognitive functioning in college students significantly. The authors also indicate that sleep-deprived learners perform poorly in academics. For instance, according to a research the authors conducted, learners who slept for less than 7 hours daily experienced challenges in reading, mathematics, and science compared to their counterparts who enjoyed quality sleep. For the authors, sleep deprivation was a significant causative of low academic achievement. Moreover, Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) write that sleep deprivation causes attention deficit, risky behaviors, poor memory, and child obesity in learners. Additionally, the authors ascertain that sleep deprivation propels depression onsets, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse problems in affected individuals.
Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) also indicate that sleep deprivation in students is caused by heavy media use. According to the authors, adolescents who are allowed to use smartphones, tablets, laptops, and game consoles to check social media sites, send text messages, listen to music, play online games, and make late night calls are often sleep deprived. Additionally, the authors write that sleep deprivation is caused by excessive intake of caffeinated drinks before bedtime, noisy sleep environments, after-school jobs, and extracurricular activities learners engage in after school. For Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015), excessive screen time is a major reason young adults experience sleep-deprivation. The authors write that according to a survey conducted by National Survey of Children’s Health in the United States in 2007, 26% of young adults aged between 17 and 12 indulged in excessive screen time. The authors write that heavy media use is wrong because it causes sleep deprivation embodied by disturbed nervous systems and interrupted movements of the circadian system. Therefore, when children and young adults are allowed to use media advanced by excessive screen time, they become sleep deprived.
In another study conducted by Andersz and Bargiel-Matusiewicz (2018), sleep deprivation is mentioned as the primary reason for mental and physical health problems in students. The authors begin the study by indicating that adolescents tend to engage in behaviors geared towards sleep deprivation because of their intrinsic Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). The BIS responsible for preventing self-punitive behaviors, but the result of the system’s actions is sleep deprivation. Similarly, BAS propels sleep deprivation through promoting engagement in rewarding and pleasurable activities that are geared towards sleep deprivation. Andersz and Bargiel-Matusiewicz (2018) note that sleep deprivation propelled by human BIS and BIS harms their mental and physical health. Learners may engage in BIS sleep deprivation behaviors through studying even during sleeping hours to avoid the punishment of failing examinations or working even during late night hours to avoid the consequence of being fired. Further, BAS students may indulge in BAS activities by attending late night parties and entertainment joints for pleasure, but will in turn experience sleep deprivation. Furthermore, Andersz and Bargiel-Matusiewicz (2018) assert that learners may engage in BAS activities by studying late into the night for the reward of passing examinations. According to the authors, when learners engage in BIS and BAS activities for self-pleasure or to avoid punishments, they self-sabotage their health. BAS and BAS actions cause sleep deprivation, which in turn causes poor academic and social life success. Finally, students who engage in BAS and BIS actions repeatedly experience poor cognitive functioning, elevated stress, low quality of life, and mood disorders.
In a different study, Ranasinghe, Gayathri, and Priya (2018) assert that sleep deprivation affects students’ academic performance significantly. The authors write that for a learner to enjoy a healthy life, they should sleep for between 7 and 8 hours daily. Ranasinghe, Gayathri, and Priya (2018) note that when learners sleep, they experience Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM).If the student is sleep deprived, they experience REM, which is typically accompanied by fast breath movements, rapid movements of the eyelids, and interrupted dreams. The learner who sleeps for shorter than recommended duration is often fatigued and may experience anxiety and mood disorders throughout the day. Additionally, Ranasinghe, Gayathri, and Priya (2018) write that sleep deprived students have short spans of attention, poor memory, and depression. Consequently, sleep-deprived learners perform poorly in class compared to their peers who sleep for between 7 and 8 hours daily.Lastly, the consequences of poor sleep quality advanced by sleep quality are examined extensively by Pace-Schott et al. (2009). According to the authors, sleep deprivation affects the performance of a student’s neuropsychological functioning. When learners accumulate a sleep debt by sleeping for less than 8 or 7 hours daily, they also perform poorly in school. Further, Pace-Schott et al. (2009) indicate that sleep deprivation is a primary causative of impaired cognitive functioning, flexibility, planning, and decision-making. The sleep-deprived individual cannot think logically, has poor memory, and impaired verbal fluency. Therefore, poor sleep quality impacts students’ mental and physical health, as explained.
Solutions for Poor Sleep Quality
As explained extensively, poor sleep quality affects the mental and physical well-being of students significantly. However, the mentioned issue can be remedied through various ways. Firstly, Colletta (2020) suggests that learners should sleep for at least 6 hours on the eve of their final examinations for them to have a high functioning memory, needed to pass their tests. However, the author emphasizes the need for learners to be shown real-life survey and research results showing the relationship between having regular high quality of sleep and school grades. When students see that they can perform better in their examinations if they sleep for at least 7 hours the night before, they will create a regular sleep pattern, which remedies the problems advanced by poor sleep quality. Similarly, Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) recommend that students sleep for up to 8 and for at least 7 hours to avert the negative consequences of sleep deprivation they may be experiencing, such as depressive disorders or poor academic performance that promotes stress. According to the authors, quality sleep is essential because it helps the learner think, concentrate, conduct educational research, and learn concepts easily and quickly. When learners enjoy quality sleep, their teachers also have fewer constraints teaching subjects mandating high concentration, such as science and mathematics.
Further, Zhang, Tillman, and An (2015) write that students can enjoy quality sleep if they limit their screen time to 2 hours daily. According to the authors, for students to have high performance at school, they should also avoid caffeinated drinks before going to bed and using their tablets, laptops, and smartphones for prolonged periods past their bed times. Further, the authors recommend that educational institutions create programs that teach parents and students the importance of high sleep quality and its positive impact on learners’ physical and mental well-being. Andersz and Bargiel-Matusiewicz (2018) also assert that sleep deprivation in students can be remedied through learners regulating their BIS and BAS activities. Students should avoid punishing themselves by studying late into the night because they are afraid of failing examinations. Instead, learners should allocate themselves adequate study hours during the day to help them enjoy quality sleep at night. Further, the authors suggest that learners can solve sleep quality issues by regulating their BAS and BIS activities.
Furthermore, Ranasinghe, Gayathri, and Priya (2018) recommend that students should sleep for up to 8 hours and for at least 7 hours if they want to enjoy physical and mental well-being. According to the authors, quality sleep is characterized by NREM sleep, which results to restoration of the immune, muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems. Lastly, Pace-Schott et al. (2009) write that if students do not get quality sleep through the listed ways, they will continue suffering from low mood, depressive disorders, poor school performance, and child obesity. Therefore, sleep disorders can be solved using the mentioned ways.
Conclusion
Low quality sleep is a primary causative of poor cognitive functioning, mood and depressive disorders, poor school performance, and child obesity. As discussed, when learners sleep for less than 8 hours, they tend to have compromised biopsychosocial and psychological mechanisms, which are detrimental. Nevertheless, sleep deprivation is treatable. Learners should avoid indulging in excessive screen time before bed time and drinking caffeinated drinks. Further, students should allocate themselves adequate study and leisure time during the day to help them sleep for at least 7 hours at night. Therefore, as explained, sleep quality is highly correlated with sleep problems that cause mental and physical well-being problems, but can be remedied through the discussed techniques.
References
Andersz, N., & Bargiel-Matusiewicz, K. (2018). Gray’s personality dimensions and reasons for voluntary sleep deprivation among college students. Frontiers in Psychology , 9 , 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02316
Coletta, V. P. (2020). To Study or to Sleep: How Seeing the Effect of Sleep Deprivation Changed Students’ Choices. Physics Teacher , 58 (4), 244-246. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5145469
Pace-Schott, E. F., Hutcherson, C. A., Bemporad, B., Morgan, A., Kumar, A., Hobson, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2009). Failure to find executive function deficits following one night's total sleep deprivation in University students under naturalistic conditions. Behavioral Sleep Medicine , 7 (3), 136-163. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402000902976671
Ranasinghe, A. N., Gayathri, R., & Priya, V. V. (2018). Awareness of effects of sleep deprivation among college students. Drug Invention Today , 10 (9), 1806-1809.
Zhang, M., Tillman, D. A., & An, S. A. (2015). Global prevalence of sleep deprivation in students and heavy media use. Education and Information Technologies , 22 (1), 239-254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9440-2
