Nursing major Amber Hernandez is a current Mercer student and a mother.
“What is sleep?!” she exclaimed while laughing in the hallway.
With a teenager at home and a full load of classes she says, “I’m lucky to get 6 hours of sleep a night.”
Even with a strong drive to succeed, it can be hard to pencil in the 8 hours necessary for top cognitive performance, and to most students, it can seem like a better idea to stay up late to study versus go to bed early and sacrifice the extra study time.
Asked about attempting to stay up all night to prepare for an exam Hernandez says, “Either way I ended up failing…Regardless of if sleep was a factor in me getting the failing grade or not, I don’t really know.”
Situations like Hernandez’s are incredibly common on college campuses. Which in short means, students aren’t getting enough sleep.
This is a problem because of the effects that sleep deprivation has on us cognitively. Sleep deprivation is a ruling factor in failing classes, having a low G.P.A, feeling tired throughout the day, and even an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents.
If students decide to try and run off less sleep than their bodies need, they are not only putting themselves at risk but are risking the lives of those around them.
In a Sleep Foundations article on circadian rhythms–the patterns that regulate human sleep–the authors write, “When properly aligned, a circadian rhythm can promote consistent and restorative sleep. But when this circadian rhythm is thrown off, it can create significant sleeping problems, including insomnia. Research is also revealing that circadian rhythms play an integral role in diverse aspects of physical and mental health.”
Science shows that some of the cognitive effects of sleep deprivation are comparable to being drunk. This includes, decreased reaction time, memory problems, daytime drowsiness, decreased alertness, and concentration. Sleep deprivation impacts those factors that are critical for the making of a good student.
“Catching up” on sleep is also not possible as many people think it is.
In New Jersey in 1997, Maggie McDonald’s car was struck by a driver who hadn’t slept in over 24 hours. Due to this accident, the young girl died, and lawmakers started putting things into action to create, “Maggie’s Law.”
This law states that anyone who knowingly drives after being awake for more than 24 hours and gets into an accident they may be charged with vehicular manslaughter.
In an Observer article titled Sweeney: Morgan crash underscores importance of Maggie’s Law, Senate President Steve Sweeney was quoted saying, “The effects of sleep deprivation can be just as hazardous as those of drugs and alcohol. When people go without sleep and get behind the wheel, they are putting their lives and the lives of everyone they encounter on the road in danger.”
Scientists recommended people set a normal sleep schedule and stick to it. Go to bed and rise at consistent hours. For students, this means ensuring time management matches course load.
Staying up late to study will not help you pass the test; in fact, it can make your odds of retaining the information you studied worse, and the benefits of having a healthy sleep schedule are significant.
