Before I became a college student, I knew there were 3 things that I had to balance as a student; Academics, Social Life, and Sleep. I was told that out of the 3, only 2 could really be prioritized. Once coming and experiencing the culture of being at college, I started to become aware of how much sleep was not prioritized. Academically, we have a lot of work to do within our classes, and this causes us to stay up late to study or complete assignments. Socially, because we have work during the day, people go out at night to have fun which results in coming home late and getting worse sleep. These reasons really cause students to lack sleep, but plenty of studies show how sleep is an essential part of not only life in general but student life. In her talk, Dr. Zee mentioned that sleep is an orchestra of internal functions that ultimately is a crucial part of our health in general. Plenty of studies can back up how having a consistent circadian rhythm is essential for a thriving college student.
Firstly, let's discuss the effects of sleep on social life. Published in September of 2022, “Psychological Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students” Mbous et al discuss the relationship between mental health and sleep disorders. The study surveyed a sample of college students who were screened for various behavioral and mental health conditions, and made correlations between these and insomnia. They reported that 26.4% of the participants had insomnia, with 41.2% and 15.8% having depression and ADHD symptoms respectively. Significantly, 78.2% of the students experiencing insomnia also had experienced depression, 9.54 times higher than students without it. For ADHD, it was 3.54 times the frequency for students with ADHD to experience insomnia compared to kids without it. The amplification of behavioral mental health issues among students with insomnia shows how important being able to get good sleep and maintaining a balanced circadian rhythm is to a student's mental health. Depression is a mental health hurdle for people trying to be more involved socially, so keeping a good circadian rhythm by trying to reduce insomnia is a step in the right direction.
Next, let's discuss the effects of circadian rhythms on Academic Performance. In the article “Circadian Rhythms in Attention”, Valdez discusses the impact attention has on cognitive performance along with how circadian rhythms play a background role in it. Having a controlled and balanced circadian rhythm can result in optimal performance in academic-related activities. Typically, attention acts well around the afternoon, with it increasing during later afternoon stages and into part of the evening before later evening/exhaustion. He also mentions that with a shifted and consistent circadian rhythm, optimal performance can happen with consistency. This consistency with a circadian rhythm not only affects attention but other cognitive processes that can improve academic performance such as working memory and executive functioning. This article is another source that implies the importance of sleep, and how sleep is essential for putting our best foot forward academically.
The articles I mentioned display how sleep can be a major player in optimizing a college student for the better. Discarding sleep as a college student takes us two steps backward when having a consistent circadian rhythm is only making our social lives and academic performance better. When studying for an exam or deciding to go out, choose consistency by getting good sleep.
References:
Mbous YPV, Nili M, Mohamed R, Dwibedi N. Psychosocial Correlates of Insomnia Among College Students. Prev Chronic Dis 2022;19:220060. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd19.220060
Valdez P. Circadian Rhythms in Attention. Yale J Biol Med. 2019 Mar 25;92(1):81-92. PMID: 30923475; PMCID: PMC6430172.
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