Sleep, food, and water are the three components the human body needs to survive. If this is the case, then how come so often we forgo sleep in favor of something else? Between classes, meals, meetings, clubs, sports, parties, and homework, college student’s struggle to get everything done in time.
To make up for what little time we have, our solution is to skimp on a good night’s rest. After all, when we have a twenty-page paper due tomorrow we can’t afford to waste eight hours of our night just lying in bed doing nothing.
Gif courtesy of giphy.com
The average college student college student gets between six and seven hours of sleep per night, compared to the six to ten hours of sleep that adults are recommended to get. While one bad night of shut-eye might be acceptable, too often we make it a habit of getting less and less rest each night.
Aside from the obvious exhaustion of the next day, sleep deprivation causes great harm to the body. Insufficient sleep impacts our health, our moods, our GPA, and our safety. Sleeping restores our energy, fights off illness, strengthens our memory, and allows us to think clearly and creatively.
Gif courtesy of giphy.com
Consequences of too little rest include, as follows: a decrease in academic performance, higher susceptibility to illness due to a lowered immune system, increase in stress, increase in weight gain and obesity due to intensified hunger levels, decreased performance in athletic activity, and an increase in mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
So think twice before pulling that all-nighter. Despite what you’ve led yourself to believe, you will be more productive if you get some shut-eye and wake up early to finish a project than you would missing out on an entire night’s worth of sleep.
The key to staying healthy starts with getting a good night’s rest, so plan ahead and stay organized. Time slows down for no one.