All students have been sleep-deprived because of school at least once. Ask any person on campus if they have ever lost sleep because of homework and they will all give the same answer. When an individual is sleep deprived, it affects them in many different negative ways apart from just being tired.

Sarah Templeton, nurse practitioner and interim director at the Health Center, says that lack of sleep, among other things, can lead to “decreased awareness, irritability, low energy, poor judgement, increased susceptibility to infection and high blood pressure.” Templeton expresses that many college students deal with sleep deprivation, since busy schedules and copious amounts of homework can prevent a student from getting a full night’s sleep.

IMPACTS OF LACK OF SLEEP

Other factors like having a job can also impact the amount of sleep, or lack thereof, an individual gets. A lot of students have off-campus jobs that end at 10 or 11 o’clock at night, which means they have to stay up even later to do homework or study. This not only affects the amount of sleep they get, but this also adds unnecessary stress.

THE PROBLEM WITH BUSINESS

Having a busy schedule can also affect one’s relationship with God. Sadly, it is all too common in today’s culture to be too busy to spend a significant amount of quality time with God.

Freshman music composition major Anatolia Kozinski explains that there are “too many different things pulling my attention, and that leads to loss of sleep because the more sleep you lose, the harder it is to get up early. So, if you feel like you cannot get up early, then the only way to make sure you get your work done is to stay up late.”

This can be a main cause of sleep deprivation with college students—the more homework they have, the longer they have to stay up. Kozinski also mentioned that she gets “extremely loopy” and very emotional when she gets too little sleep, which can definitely affect the quality of her work.

In order to avoid these negative side effects, Templeton suggests that students should prioritize their agenda and “schedule time for self-care.” College students often forget or altogether dismiss this important factor. It can definitely be hard to take care of oneself when there is so much work to be done. But it is crucial to keep one’s own well-being and relationship with God in mind, and to put mental and spiritual health above any homework. Being at Biola, teachers are likely to be more understanding. Remember, having mental stability and being well-rested is the key to writing a good essay. When students get more sleep, there is a better chance their mental and physical condition will be more stable.