High-school and college students share a common mental affliction that results in consequences such as frequent irritability, depression-like symptoms, constant or incredibly frequent high levels of stress, and an overall demoralizing mood. What makes this affliction so sinister is that it is most often seen in adolescents or young adults: the perfect victims. They’re at the age where they are beginning to be more independent and autonomous, which allows them to independently and autonomously commit blatant acts of tomfoolery; and so the cycle begins.
Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is an affliction caused by the accumulation of sleep debt over time. If you are between the ages of 14 and 17, you should preferably be averaging 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Similarly, if you are 18 or older, you should be averaging between 7 and 9 hours. Unfortunately, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 72.7% of high-schoolers and 60% of college students receive inadequate sleep per night (“High-school,” 2020; “College,” 2022). The glaring problem in these statistics is that every hour of sleep lost contributes to your sleep debt.
The Brilliance of Liquidation
I am using “liquidation” in this context as a colloquial term to describe how the brain begins to eat away at itself as a consolatory snack to pay off accumulated sleep debt. During non-REM sleep, the brain rests and repairs any damage to neurons that may have occurred during wakefulness; so, in more scientific terms, receiving inadequate sleep will eventually lead to the deterioration of neuronal receptors.
The brilliance is that—most of the time—the sleep deprived individual won’t even be fully aware it’s happening. Neurotransmitters, which are transported and received by neuronal receptors, regulate a multitude of functions, such as “thoughts, memory, learning and feelings,” (“Neurotransmitters,” 2022). Therefore, when your neurotransmitter receptors are deteriorated, it subsequently has a negative effect on the transmission which affects regulation of your thoughts, memory, etc. This causes the following symptoms:
- Difficulty maintaining attention and awareness
- Difficulty learning and remembering information/memories
- Increased levels of stress hormone
- Issues with managing and processing emotions and thoughts
- Issues with reaction time and processing flexibility
- Difficulty in decision-making
All of this means that a sleep deprived individual won’t be able to properly process their sleep deprivation and how it affects their function, let alone figure out how to adequately pay their sleep debt (and by this, I mean sleeping, rather than allowing the brain to liquify itself to pay off the debts). Sleep deprivation devastates basic functioning and then perpetuates itself by not allowing the brain to recognize any of the symptoms it causes. This leads to a cycle of not getting enough sleep and unawareness of the inadequate functioning as a result, thereby the sleep deprived individual won’t be able to correct their own deficiencies.
Your Changing Bodies: Toeing the Line
The best thing about this affliction—sleep deprivation—is that it’s probably your fault! You are a developing adolescent or young adult, and your body and brain are still in the process of maturing. This means that you are capable of adopting new sleep habits and getting yourself on the right track before you reach full maturity and you gradually become less flexible. To further motivate you, here are some benefits of proper sleep:
- Increased motor coordination
- Proper growth and metabolic functioning
- Proper immune system functioning
- Increased capacity for creative thinking and language learning
- Improved problem solving skills and emotional management
- Healthier blood pressure and cholesterol (decreased chance of other health issues)
To get better sleep, start by figuring out a schedule; try to pinpoint what time you should go to sleep in order to get the recommended hours for your age group. Sticking to this schedule will sync your biological clock to your bedtime and will allow your body to produce sleep hormones at the designated times. Another way to sync your biological clock to your environment is by getting plenty of sun and light during your waking hours and dark during the night. Try to sleep in a cold, dark room, and limit your blue light exposure before bed. If you still can’t sleep, try to exercise earlier in the day and limit your caffeine intake. So, do yourself and everyone around you a favor, and get some sleep!
For more information on how sleep benefits you, use the following links:
- The Stages of Sleep: Overview
- Benefits of Sleep
- How to Deal with Sleep Disorders
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References
Brain Basics: The Life and Death of a Neuron. (2024, July 29). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Retrieved October 8, 2024, from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-life-and-death-neuron
Brown, M. (2024, May 1). Get Enough Sleep – MyHealthfinder | health.gov. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved October 16, 2024, from https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/healthy-living/mental-health-and-relationships/get-enough-sleep
COD Library: Consumer Health Resources: Sleep–When you DON’T snooze, you lose! (n.d.). COD Library. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://library.cod.edu/consumer/sleep
Eugene, A. R., & Masiak, J. (n.d.). The Neuroprotective Aspects of Sleep – PMC. NCBI. Retrieved October 8, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651462/
Liquidate – Definition, Meaning & Synonyms. (n.d.). Vocabulary.com. Retrieved October 8, 2024, from https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/liquidate
Neurotransmitters: What They Are, Functions & Types. (2022, March 14). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved October 8, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22513-neurotransmitters
Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency – What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? (2022, March 24). NHLBI. Retrieved October 13, 2024, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation
Sleep Deprivation: What It Is, Symptoms, Treatment & Stages. (2022, August 11). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved October 13, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23970-sleep-deprivation
Sleep Disorder Treatments – Sleep Disorder Treatments. (2022, March 24). NHLBI. Retrieved October 16, 2024, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-disorder-treatments
Sleep in Middle and High School Students | Healthy Schools. (2020, September 10). CDC. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/features/students-sleep.htm
Sleep: What It Is, Why It’s Important, Stages, REM & NREM. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved October 16, 2024, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/12148-sleep-basics
Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Module 4 States of Consciousness. In Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/4-2-sleep-and-why-we-sleep
Villalobos, N. (n.d.). Sleep deprivation: Causes, symptoms, and treatment. MedicalNewsToday. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307334#risk-of-accidents
Vincent, Y. P. (2022, September 15). Psychosocial Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students. CDC. Retrieved October 9, 2024, from https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2022/22_0060.htm
Whitney, P., Hinson, J. M., & Satterfield, B. C. (2017, November 22). Sleep Deprivation Diminishes Attentional Control Efectiveness and Impairs Flexible Adaptation to Changing Conditions. Scientific Reports, 9. https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/531/2017/12/Sleep-deprivation-diminishes-attentional.pdf
