Many students find it difficult to balance school, their social lives, and part-time work, and they end up sacrificing the one thing that keeps them running—sleep.
Natalie Pressman, a second-year journalism student at Carleton University, said life is a balancing act and sleep rarely comes out on top.
“[Sleeplessness is] a result of me trying to balance too many things . . . I just want to do it all,” Pressman said. “Then the thing I do end up giving up is sleep, so trying to have a social life, go to the gym, and make nice meals takes over.”
“Could you imagine someone saying, ‘Oh I have not eaten in three days’? But we treat sleep that way, and it is really detrimental for our mental ability, our physical and emotional wellbeing.”—Timothy Pychyl, Carleton psychology professor and director of the Centre for Initiatives in Education
All-nighters and other sleeping habits
According to a study by the University of Michigan, students are the most sleep deprived segment of the population.
The study found that 19 per cent of university students report academic effects of sleep deprivation, while 75 per cent admitted to not getting enough sleep five or more nights per week.
“During exam time last year, I became nocturnal and only woke up at night,” said Richard Vicente, a second-year aerospace engineering student at Carleton.
Other students have healthier sleeping habits, but admit student life makes it tough to get a full night’s sleep.
“I like to be in bed pretty early, but due to a lack of flexibility with my required courses, I need to be at school until often nine at night,” said Brittany Wade, a second-year Carleton criminology student.
Why are students sleep deprived?
Timothy Pychyl, a Carleton psychology professor and the director of the Centre for Initiatives in Education, a learning-support service at the university, said students undervalue the importance of sleep.
“[The] number one key-stone habit for any person is a good night’s sleep,” he said. “Could you imagine someone saying, ‘Oh I have not eaten in three days’? But we treat sleep that way, and it is really detrimental for our mental ability, our physical and emotional wellbeing.”
Zack Kiiffner, a second-year Carleton criminology student, said for him, losing sleep can be a result of cramming for finals and spending too much time with friends.
“There are times where a lot of stuff has come up at once and I have been kind of forced to pull all-nighters,” Kiiffner said.
“It definitely can be a little self-inflicted by putting things off until the last minute,” he added. “I wound up pulling an all-nighter when I easily could have avoided it.”
The physical effects of sleep loss
According to Alistair MacLean, a psychology professor at Queen’s University, sleep deprivation causes irritability, memory lapses, a loss of motivation, and more.
“Some of the most consistently documented effects of sleep loss include . . . the occurrence of microsleeps, which are brief periods of [a] lack of awareness of the environment and [an] inability to respond to external stimuli,” MacLean said via email.
He added that sleeplessness causes a “loss of the ability to think creatively and the ability to adapt to changing situations, [and] cognitive slowing—a reduction in the speed with which information is processed.”
The academic effects
“I did not get much sleep the first semester of university because I was doing first-year things, living on residence,” Wade said.
“My grades plummeted down,” she added. “Sleep 100 per cent had a real impact.”
Pychyl said there is a relationship between procrastination and student sleeping habits.
“What breaks down when we don’t get enough sleep is what we commonly call willpower—you give in more easily because you have less energy to draw,” Pychyl said. “So you procrastinate because you’re tired, and with students I see binge-working, like the all-nighters and then they completely collapse.”
He added that when students are sleep deprived, they see decreased productivity because they have little to no energy.
“All of your self-care skills go down the toilet, you start eating comfort foods, you don’t exercise, you don’t have the energy to do things,” Pychyl said.
Kiiffner said he noticed increased productivity when he had a sufficient amount of sleep.
“In terms of attentiveness in class, I definitely perform better when I have enough sleep,” he said. “I have nodded off a few times during class because I hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before.”
Daniel Forger, a researcher at the University of Michigan, also found that working when sleep deprived is equivalent to being inebriated.
Pychyl also said work performance is compromised after several nights of suboptimal sleep.
“I have heard other professionals say that after three days of five hours at night, you’re less effective than someone who is illegally impaired,” he said. “So that’s the kind of thing [when]you’re working less than par.”
75% of students don’t get enough sleep five or more nights per week—According to a study by the University of Michigan
Sleep or study?
But even knowing these effects, Kiiffner still said he sacrifices his sleep to study.
“I honestly can’t recall the last time I did an exam with a full night of sleep,” he said. “I try to jam as much studying in at the last minute even if I studied beforehand.”
But not all students are willing to change their sleeping habits.
Mat Fontaine, a third-year Carleton sociology student, said he prefers to work at night.
“[I’m] definitely a night owl,” he said. “[I’m] probably not changing my habits until I graduate—it doesn’t seem to affect my health or productivity.”
How to get a full night’s sleep
According to the Canadian Sleep Society (CSS), good sleep begins with promoting relaxation.
“Avoid strenuous exercise, studying, and computer games before bedtime,” the CSS recommends. “The flickering light from television can delay falling asleep.”
MacLean said students should aim for seven or more hours of sleep per night to remain well-rested.
“For healthy young adults, the average desirable sleep length is about seven to eight hours in a 24-hour period,” he said via email. “It is also important that sleep is taken at regular hours from night to night, [because] variation in times of sleep can have profound effects . . . [like] reducing the length of sleep.”
Ruqayyah Bobat, a second-year psychology student at Carleton, said she is particularly conscious of creating healthy sleeping habits, like banning electronics before bedtime.
“I work on what they call ‘sleep hygiene,’ ” Bobat said. “This includes only using your bed for sleeping, no eating, watching TV, studying, etc. Also limiting use of electronic devices in bed.”
But she admits creating new habits is always tough at first.
“Working on going to bed at a good time and getting up without ten alarms is a constant struggle,” Bobat said.
“During exam time last year, I became nocturnal and only woke up at night.”—Richard Vicente, second-year Carleton University aerospace engineering student
