Sleep is often the neglected part of students’ schedules due to all of the responsibilities which they must accomplish throughout the day. Though many may only feel tired from a lack of sleep, science suggests that it can have more detrimental effects on our bodies. Some of the impacts that a lack of sleep can cause include weight gain, personality shifts, memory trouble, and dangerous behaviors during the day.
According to Jakke Tamminen, a psychologist specializing in sleep and memory, a lack of sleep can lead to irritability, depression, anger, and anxiety. These reactions are due to the fact that, when individuals are tired, the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls emotions, is unable to properly communicate with the medial prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for mediating emotional responses. Thus, a lack of sleep heightens individuals’ adverse emotional reactions. In addition to unwanted irrational behavior, a lack of sleep can cause more risky behavior. A statistic by rodale.com, a company that produces health and wellness content, states that people are 32% less aware during the day by just missing 1 to 1 ½ hours of sleep. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also reports that being tired behind the wheel can cause slower reaction times, which can lead to accidents. Research by the American Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety supports this claim by adding that people who sleep for five or six hours nightly are two times more likely to be in a car accident than those who sleep seven hours or more.
An additional side effect of a lack of sleep is memory loss. When people sleep, the brain makes repairs and processes the memories from the day. However, when individuals do not get adequate sleep, the brain is unable to handle everything and starts to delete some of the day’s memories. Research by Michele Bellesi of the Marche Polytechnic University has found that a lack of sleep can cause the brain to eat itself. In Bellesi’s study, there were three different test groups of rats: rats who could sleep as much as they wanted, rats who were woken up at random points, and rats who were forced to stay awake for five days. The results showed that astrocytes, the brain cells responsible for clearing excess nerve connections, were 13.5% more active in the chronically sleep-deprived mice than in their counterparts. In layman’s terms, the increased activity of astrocytes meant these rodents’ brains were eating themselves. Another surprising side effect of a lack of sleep is weight gain. A study by the University of Chicago shows that within four to six days, patients in a study who did not sleep enough could not regulate their blood sugar and had symptoms similar to those of prediabetes.
Taken together, there are many different side effects of not getting enough sleep. However, the question is, how does one get more sleep? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one can improve one’s sleep by improving one’s sleep hygiene. Items that would be considered components of sleep hygiene include not drinking caffeine or other stimulants six hours before bed, exercising during the day, and controlling the environment of one’s bedroom, such as temperature and darkness. Furthermore, to help one go to sleep, one should practice relaxing one’s brain with imagery to calm one’s mind and clear the thoughts which prevent one from sleeping. In conclusion, though it is difficult, it is important that students endeavor to make adequate sleep a priority.
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