College
students are among the most sleep-deprived people in the country.
This may be due to the irregularity of their sleeping habits. According
to a 2001 study, only 11% of college students have good sleep quality,
and 73% have occasional sleep problems. This same study found that
18% of college men and 30% of college women reported suffering from
insomnia within the past 3 months, and over half reported feeling
sleepy during the morning.
Most
people need to sleep about 8 hours each night. This is especially
true for college students, since the deep sleep that occurs early
in the night and the dream sleep that occurs later in the night
are both required to learn. But the necessary amount of sleep varies
from individual to individual. This is one case where quality is
more important than quantity - if you feel alert and rested during
the day, you've probably gotten enough sleep.
On the
other hand, pulling all-nighters can interfere with your ability
to learn new material. You can memorize facts during an all-night
study session and recall the information through short-term memory
for a test the next day, but you will most likely have to re-learn
the material for a later cumulative exam.
What
happens if I don't get enough sleep?
Sleep debts result from not getting enough sleep for several nights.
Building up your sleep debt results in a decrease in daytime function.
It can affect your physical health by weakening your immune system.
It can affect your mental health by resulting in tension, irritability,
depression, confusion, and generally lower life satisfaction. These
mood changes may also result from irregular sleeping patterns, including
sleeping in on the weekends.
It's
well documented that sleep deprived students perform significantly
worse than students who regularly get a good night's sleep. REM
sleep is particularly important for consolidating newly learned
information, and a large proportion of REM sleep occurs towards
the end of the night. So studying most of the night for a test,
and then sleeping only a few hours, decreases your ability to remember
new information.
Not getting
enough sleep also seriously impairs your ability to drive. Driving
while tired is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated - more
than 40,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths each year result from traffic
accidents involving sleepy drivers.
How
can I get a better night's sleep?
Here are a few things you can do to make falling asleep easier and
to make sleep more restful:
Relax!
An alert mind may make it difficult to sleep. Try to slow the
pace of your activities in the evening. Do some light reading
or watch TV until you become drowsy, and then try to fall asleep
naturally. If there's a lot on your mind, try writing down a detailed
list and then forgetting about it.
Avoid
or limit caffeine and nicotine, which are stimulants, and alcohol,
which can cause unrestful sleep and frequent awakenings during
the night.
Exercise
and stay active. Twenty to 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity
enhances deep sleep, but avoid exercising in the 6 hours before
bedtime since it increases alertness.
Avoid
long naps. Naps of less than 30 minutes can actually be quite
refreshing during the naturally occurring mid-afternoon slump,
but napping for much longer than this can make you drowsy and
interfere with a good night's sleep.
Try
to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. A regular
sleep pattern reduces insomnia, and increases your alertness during
the day.
What
about sleeping pills?
Sleeping pills may be prescribed by a doctor or bought over the
counter. Prescription sleep aids can lead to dependence and become
less effective if used for long periods of time. There are basically
three types of prescription sleep aids:
The
benzodiazapines are the traditional sleeping pills and their effects
can last from 3 to 25 hours. These longer acting drugs can build
up in your system, causing increased sedation, confusion or other
problems.
The
newer sleep aids such as Ambien and Sonata are similar to the
benzodiazepines, but leave the system in 1 to 5 hours.
The
tricyclic antidepressant drugs are helpful in inducing sleep and
are less damaging when used for longer periods of time.
Many
over-the-counter sleep aids contain antihistamines to induce sleep
and may result in residual drowsiness the next day. They are usually
only effective for 2 or 3 nights.
What
about natural sleep aids?
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that helps calm you down and
is found in most protein-containing foods and dairy products. Adding
honey or other carbohydrates helps facilitate the entry of tryptophan
into the brain. B vitamins, especially B6, also help in the absorption
of tryptophan. Calcium is also a natural calming agent and is found
in all dairy products. Some herbal teas are especially calming,
including chamomile, lemon verbena, lemon balm, passion flower,
peppermint, and red clover.
Melatonin
is a hormone naturally produced by your body during the night. Studies
have found that melatonin supplements may improve sleep for 5% of
people with sleep disturbances. Valerian, chamomile, kavakava, California
poppy, skullcap, St. John's Wort, and hops are some of the other
herbal supplements being promoted as sleep aids, but they haven't
undergone the rigorous testing required of prescription drugs. When
using herbal sleep aids, it's important to use them as infrequently
and in as low a dose as possible, and to check with your doctor
for possible interactions with any medications you're taking.
Links
You Can Use
This site has information from doctors and experts about sleep disorders
and what you can do to ease them. Learn tips for sound sleep, facts
about melatonin, causes of insomnia and more.
What if you just can't get a good night's sleep? This site gives
some helpful tips on coping the day after a poor night's sleep,
and also includes helpful relaxation, visualization and other techniques
to make sure it doesn't happen again.
This site has an interactive quiz for you to test what you know
about sleep disorders. You can also read fact sheets on insomnia,
narcolepsy, apnea and a variety of other sleep disorders.
Disclaimer: Health Education is part of Health Services at Brown University. Health Education maintains this site as a resource for Brown students. This site is not intended to replace consultation with your medical providers. No site can replace real conversation. Health Education offers no endorsement of and assumes no liability for the currency, accuracy, or availability of the information on the sites we link to or the care provided by the resources listed. Health Services staff are available to treat and give medical advice to Brown University students only. If you are not a Brown student, but are in need of medical assistance please call your own health care provider or in case of an emergency, dial 911. Please contact us if you have comments, questions or suggestions.
