You’ve probably heard that America is a sleep-deprived nation. But our youth seem to be getting hit the hardest with what is being called “The Great Sleep Recession.” A recent article published in the Pediatrics Journal by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that teens are getting an average of seven hours of sleep per night when they need nine.
According to a Dec. 19, 2013 Gallup Poll article, 40 percent of all Americans get less than seven hours of sleep a night, which raises some mental flags. As college students, we are just exiting our adolescent years, and we aren’t getting enough sleep either. As you’re reading this, you’re probably strung out on about three hours of sleep and a large cup of coffee, struggling to keep your eyes open as you squint to read the fine print. You may be part of the 40 percent that sleeps less than seven hours a night, because you’re busy with other things such as schoolwork or Netflix marathons. At least 40 percent of America stays up with you.
Being sleep deprived can be a serious problem for most people while others just shrug it off and catch up when they get the chance. That chance may come when you least expect it, sitting in a lecture or meeting or at the steering wheel while barreling down a highway. You just never know.
So while you’re drooping through the day on your personal college sleep schedule, you overhear another dead-eyed person talking about how they only got a mere three hours of sleep the night before. Instead of ignoring and forgetting about the random ramblings of a perfect stranger, you step in to tell them that you only got two hours of sleep last night, and you’re the one who deserves all the sympathy. You then walk proudly away, having won the contest.
If you’ve ever said anything in public about how tired you were, this has probably happened to you. Someone always has to turn sleep deprivation into a contest, as if winning will somehow make all those hours of insomnia mean something. This may not be surprising, but nobody is going to give you a medal or even a sticker for your ‘accomplishment’ in staying awake.
Being constantly tired is one thing, but there is a deeper problem besides the chance of passing out in history class: you love sleep. You can’t get enough of sleep. You’d sleep as much as possible if you had the chance, but sadly, you seldom get that chance.
In this case, you have to choose between sleep and other aspects of daily life. You may choose to abandon some bland and optional activities such as walking or even feeding your dog in exchange for your warm, soft bed. You don’t need that real life because you can spend a whole day dreaming of doing trivial tasks, but with a hundred times more excitement.
On the flipside, sleeping too much or too long could come back to haunt you because when you wake up, everything comes back to you. Maybe that’s why sleeping is sometimes much more favorable than being awake. Other than nightmares, there really are no troubles or worries that exist in your sleeping world.
Being sleep deprived is a real issue, and you should take sleep seriously because failing to do so can result in harm to not only yourself, but to other people. Obviously, you don’t want your doctor operating on you on three hours of sleep, and you definitely don’t want your bus driver falling asleep at the wheel. Nobody wants themselves, or you to be tired, so do your best to get enough sleep (and not complain about it) as often as you can.
Even though much of the country is being deprived of precious sleeping hours, it’s hard to blame any individual person for not getting enough sleep. Being tired is not totally harmless, but it is relatable, and there are ways to deal with it. Some of the time, you do have to just keep your eyes open long enough to find your way back under the covers while other times you want to be as wide awake as possible to enjoy whatever’s going on. Just make sure to get up to feed your dog every once in a while.