Introduction
The general public tends to describe sleeping as the process of just closing your eyes and letting your body rejuvenate. However, researchers have been able to come up with a comprehensive definition of sleep and it has been stated that sleep is a simple action of an individual being relatively unaware of whatever’s going around in their environment. However, this definition has been met with various contradictions due to the fact that this definition may incorporate various conditions such as hibernation or instances that the person may be in a coma whether it is medically induced or brought about by the various health complications. However, this definition has be modified to state that the behavioral change in the individual’s movement and hence the individual will always be in certain stereotypic posture (DeHaan 753).
At UCSB, the issue of poor sleeping habits is an issue that has been addressed over time and these effects are clearly seen when one keenly examines the students. These may include various issues such as sleeping less than the prescribed hours, waking up in the middle of the night or having troubles sleeping (Lund 124). So this essay will tend to address the issue of the various causes of poor sleeping habits, the effects it has on the students and the various ways that this issue can be addressed in the most appropriate manner.
Causes of Poor Sleeping Habits
Poor sleeping habits have been realized to be caused various issues and factors which may be caused either due to the environment the student is in or at times the student’ behavioral changes.
Behavioral changes
Various researches have been carried out and able to show that the student’s behaviors are a major cause of their poor sleeping habits. This may include;
Poor planning for their examinations
This has been realized to be the main time that the students have been deprived of their sleep. During these times it has been realized that the students tend to at times Trans night with the aim of covering the syllabus before they go to tackle their cats or examinations. From the survey, it has been realized that the most of the students tend to alwaysTrans night more during the final exam period as compare to the cat season. This is mainly, due to the fact that the students tend to have a larger amount of work that needs to be covered before they go tackle their exams as compared to the times that they go to sit in for their cats. In addition to this, the problem is mainly caused by procrastination.
This may be visible in various situations, this is due to the fact that these students will always be all in parties and be watching movies all throughout the semester or the time required for them to hand in their assignment. However, a week or a fortnight or the night before, the library will always be packed and the student’s will be running up and down looking for a way that they will be able to finish their assignment.
They will always tend to engage in a lot of the social effects rather than sleeping
The students will in most cases tend to be more engulfed in the social activities such as playing video games, chatting with their friends all through the night or watching movies all through the night instead of getting their sleep as prescribed. With the prevalence of social media amongst our generation, in most cases the students will in most instances be caught up all night chatting with their friends. This is mainly a problem to the international students who have family and friends in different time zones. This will in most cases mean that the students will try to keep track of their friends and family at odd hours when they are supposed to be asleep. So during traces of fatigue may be visible when one looks at the way the student carries himself or herself.
In addition to this, the sports enthusiasts who always tend to always want to be up to date with the latest in terms of the games played by the various teams, May in most instances stay out late watching the games or participating in the games and hence they will be unable to adequately get the rest that they need. This is the same case with the students who are video game addicts. They will always tend to be so engulfed in the games that they would go for a couple of days without getting any sleep or they play their video games until late at night and hence get minimal sleep.
So with all these causes of poor sleeping methods, it is clear that this lack of sleep will in turn have various negative effects on the student.
Drug abuse or intake of certain drugs right before they go to bed
It has been realized that drugs are a major cause of sleep deprival among the student’s. Poor sleeping methods have been realized to be a trait evident among the students who abuse various stimulants such as nicotine or caffeine. Taking of mild stimulants such as coffee, energy drinks or tea may not be really a cause for sleep deprival, but the major problem that may be encountered may be the instances that they take these drugs moments before they go to bed. These drugs have been realized to cause the individual to feel drowsy or at times stimulated hence they may be unable to get the sleep that they require.
Effects of Poor Sleeping Methods by the Students
Lack of sleep may have various effects on the student. These effects may include;
Health Complications
Enough sleep has been realized to boost an individual’s immune system and in instances that individuals are constantly deprived of sleep, they will always be prone to various health complications such as flu and migraines. This lack of enough sleep has been realized to affect the body’s immune system due to the fact that when one sleeps, then the body will always be rejuvenating and hence its deprival will inhibit this rejuvenation and hence the student being prone to the various diseases (Carskadon and Dement 17).
Lack of sleep has also been realized to be among the major causes of obesity amongst the students. This has been realized that the students who always sleep late or few hours will always produce higher levels of the hormone, ghrelin which in turn causes more release of proteins in the body of the student hence these students may always tend to be obese.
In addition to this, sleep deprival has been realized to come with its set of mental and psychological issues such as stress, depression or anxiety. These psychological issues have been r realized to be caused due to the fact that the brain needs a time to rest and this rest only occurs when the person sleeps(Carskadon and Dement 19).. These mental issues have been realized to have very critical effects on the student and at times these have been realized to have fatal effects on the student. Research has shown that the major cause of suicide among the American population is anxiety or stress. Other than suicide, these problems may in turn lead to the students losing appetite or being unable to eat and this will in turn lead to various problems which are normally caused by starvation.
The Student will always tend to have a short attention span
Lack of sleep leads to the student always having a difficulty to keep awake and hence they will be unable to be attentive be it in class or during their extra-curriculum activities such as sports. This has been realized to be due to the fact that their brain will always be tired or rather overworked with no enough sleep or time that the brain can rejuvenate and hence ensure that their attention span is improved. In addition to this, the survey has been able to show that in instances that the student does not get enough sleep; they will spend the most of the day fantasizing and wishing of the time that they are able to go back to their hostels or homes and just get some sleep. This will in turn mean that these students will always be unproductive throughout the day.
In addition to this, the general rule pertaining to sleep is that one can never cheat sleep. However, the students may tend to try to go and attend class even during nights when they did not get enough sleep. This in turn may reciprocate in them not only losing concentration in the class but they will always be spotted dozing in class. When the lecturer spots the student sleeping, they will always wake the student and in most cases these students will always tend to try everything in their powers to stay awake all through the lecture and hence this may be inferred that these students are just wasting time in class and learning will be sad not to have taken place.
Lastly, this lack of concentration may tend to be a major cause of accidents on our roads today. Sleep deprival is one of the other causes of accidents on our roads today and it is not a new issue amongst our students. Research has been able to show that out of every 10 accidents, more than half have been caused by one of the drivers losing concentration. Among the UCSB students, these accidents are always caused by the students going for long road trips with only one driver and at times, the driver tends not to have had enough sleep the night before and he or she may end up sleeping on the wheel causing the accident in turn.
Poor performance in class and lower GPA
Research has been able to show that the students who sleep longer tend to have a higher GPA as compared to his or her counterparts who sleep for minimal hours at night. This is mainly due to the fact that the students will always give their brains adequate rest and they will always be attentive in class and hence they will be able to understand whatever the lecturer is teaching and further they will be able to replicate that in their test and classwork. This is the opposite when it comes to their counterparts who lack enough sleep due to the fact that in most cases, they will always try to read and understand whatever they have been able to be taught throughout the semester in one night or hence they may be confused and unable to answer the questions accordingly. This may then reciprocate into panic amongst these students and hence they will try to do everything in order for them to pass their examinations. This will then bring ideas such as cheating in the examination and in most cases when it has been discovered; it leads to disciplinary action being taken on the student.
How to address this issue of poor sleeping habits
Actions that can be taken by the institution
The school can help the students get enough sleep by changing the various policies in the school. These may include actions such as;
Encouraging the students to have enough sleep
This may be achieved by the institution having in place the various programs such as having seminars and workshops that will instill the knowledge on the students pertaining to the benefits of having enough sleep. This will in turn help change the mentality of the students and hence they may be able to get enough sleep in the long run and hence it may better their health and their GPA in the process.
These forums may further be used to be able to ensure that the students understand the importance of naps in their lives. This is due to the fact that research has been able to show that naps are very effective to make an individual to feel reenergized and hence be able to be more successful in whatever they will be doing from then on.
Having Various Designated areas where the students will be able to get sleep
This is an action that has been able to be successful in Japan at the Meizen High School where the institution has set these designated areas in order to allow the faculty to get some power naps in order to rejuvenate themselves. This is an action that if adopted in UCSB it may be very successful. However, these rooms must be monitored in order to curb the various students who may use these rooms to lazy around.
Actions that may be taken by the student in order to change their sleeping habits
The students may be able to counter this change in their sleeping habits by them carrying out the various actions. These may include;
Changing their sleeping ritual
It has been realized that in instances that an individual carries out an action for 21 days, it becomes a habit. This means that in instances that the student tries to sleep early for a period of about 8 hours a day, then they will then be able to make this an action that will be entrenched in their day to day activities and hence they will be able to always sleep for those required hours each and every day
Doing away with activities,that may inhibit their sleeping patterns.
As earlier stated, sleep may be inhibited by various behaviors that the students engage in. So in instances that the student refrains from taking various stimulants some few minutes before bed time, then they will be able to effectively have the prescribed sleep. So this is an issue that may only be successful with the cooperation of the students.
Proper time management
Lastly, this deprival of speech has been realized to in most instances be caused by the students not adequately managing his or time and trying to eat the sleep time in order to compensate for the time they wasted during the semester.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sleep is a vital action that each and every one of us must perform. However, the sleeping habits have been realized to be affected with an individual’s behavior and this is no different when it comes to the UCSB students. So in order to change these sleep depriving habits, it is the duty of each and every stakeholder in the institution.
Work Cited
Carskadon, M.A., & Dement, W.C. Monitoring and staging human sleep.“Principles and practice of sleep medicine,” 5th edition, Elsevier Saunders. (2011): 16-26
DeHaan, Reno, et al. "Definition of sleep state in the newborn infant by heart rate analysis." American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 127.7 (1977): 753-758.
Lund, Hannah G., et al. "Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students." Journal of adolescent health 46.2 (2010): 124-132.
Murugappan, Aarthi. "Student nap time might help boost test scores, productivity." 19 September 2006. The Augusta Chronicle. 19 July 2016 <http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/09/19/xtr_97182.shtml#.V44PXlR97NO>.
