Christina Bauert
cbauert@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

This may sound like old news, but the truth is that college students are not getting enough sleep. They tend to deprive themselves of sleep quite regularly, and the blaming factors are as usual: homework and social life. Although I am a junior at CMU, I must admit my sleeping habits have not improved since I became a freshman. I find myself sleep-deprived at least twice a week. I stay up late doing homework, and when I get a chance to socialize with my friends, I end up going to bed after midnight. I have been telling myself for a long time that I need to get my sleep habits under control. I am tired of always feeling tired in a classroom and not having any energy.
In “Stressed Out College Students Losing Sleep,” an online article on abcnews.go.com, Kevin McKeever writes that stress is the primary culprit in sleep deprivation. Because students get stressed out about school and life in general, less than a third of them get eight hours of sleep each night.
McKeever illustrates, “Students underestimate the importance of sleep in their daily lives.” Many health problems arise from lack of sleep, such as weight gain, immune system failures and cardiovascular problems. Drugs or alcohol are regularly used to either stay asleep or stay awake. In addition, use of stimulants or sedatives increases chances of addiction. Poor sleepers report that they skip classes at least three times a month and regularly fall asleep in a class.
I want to raise awareness among CMU students about sleep deprivation and its detrimental effects, not only on their academic performance, but also on their lives as well. Sleep is the last priority in a busy student’s life, but the fact is, it should be the first priority.
Every time I deprive myself of a decent sleep, I pay the price. I feel exhausted, irritable and, frankly, my whole day is ruined. In addition, I keep putting my physical and mental health at risk. It is absolutely imperative to make significant changes in one’s daily schedule.
I know many of you think this is old news and everyone knows about sleep deprivation. However, the reality is that most of us are not doing anything about it. Let’s all make sleep our number one priority. We can all make little changes in our daily schedules, such as managing our time better, keeping socializing at healthy amounts of time and most importantly, finding time to relax.
This might seem like a lot of work and an intrusion on our daily schedules, but it will all pay off. See it for yourself – try practicing good sleep habits for one week and see how much better you feel. Once you realize how priceless a good night’s sleep is, the only regret you’ll have is why you didn’t make these changes earlier. Time to get tucked in and get a good night’s rest.