health & wellness
No More All-Nighters
Poor sleep habits in college can tank your GPA WRITTEN BY CATHERINE CARRERA
What keeps a college student awake at night ?
If it ’ s their grades , then they ’ re digging an even bigger hole for themselves . Poor sleep habits in college can have adirect negative impact on astu- dent ’ s GPA , research shows . That ’ s right : One of the more widespread traditions of college life — pulling the “ all-nighter ” to study more — is counter-productive .
Many stressors affect college students : socializing , classes , studying , figuring out how to pay for books and tuition , juggling work and school , relationships , and problems at home .
“ When does ababy sleep ? When everything else is OK — they ’ re dry , fed and the stressors are off ,” says Jodi Bailey , associate vice president for student affairs at New Jersey City University . “ It ’ s the same with our students . They ’ re not going to sleep if all these other things are affecting them on aday-to-day basis .”
But ifacollege student doesn ’ t get adequate sleep , the struggles they face could get worse ; their academic performance will be in jeopardy , and their overall health could beatrisk .
“ Once you have chronic sleep deprivation , not only will you not do well in school , but you ’ ll develop more serious physical and mental health issues ,” says Xue Ming , a professor and doctor of neurology at Rutgers University . Ming has studied sleep health for 14 years and has been practicing pediatric neurology for 21 years . She says students could develop cardiovascular problems , higher cholesterol levels , and
“ ONCE YOUHAVECHRONIC SLEEP DEPRIVATION , NOTONLY WILL YOU NOT DO WELL IN SCHOOL , BUTYOU ’ LL DEVELOP MORE SERIOUS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES .”
XUE MING PROFESSOR AND DOCTOR OF NEUROLOGY AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
increased anxiety and agitation . Ming and a team of experts surveyed New Jersey high school students in 2015 to study the relationship between a student ’ s bedtime and sleep duration , and instances of chronic headaches and hypersomnolence ( excessive daytime sleepiness or nighttime sleep ), as well as their academic performance . The findings , which were published in The Japanese Society of Child Neurology , were consistent with other studies that showed a higher occurrence of headaches and hypersomnolence with lack of sleep . But the most important results showed that those with sleep deprivation were likely to do poorly in school , Ming says , adding that students don ’ t perform well in school when the sleep state known as REM — an acronym for rapid eye movement — is interrupted .
The natural sleep cycle for most adolescents and young adults in college starts later in the night , around midnight , and ends around 8 or 9 a . m . During that sleep time , REM
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24 FALL 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE