Why are college students not sleeping? Is it the mass amounts of coffee everyone drinks? Is it the overload of homework? Does it have something to do with the social life of a student? The answer to all these questions is simply yes. What a person does and what they consume can all contribute to their sleeping schedules.

When students get the correct amount of sleep they start to perform better in all aspects of their lives. Grades go up, moods gets lighter and our health increases. Sleep is not just an activity to do in your free time, but something the body truly needs.

It’s a time for the body and brain to heal after a day of work. Next time you are feeling irritable or more stressed out than usual, maybe the answer is to go to bed early that night and get that extra hour of sleep you know you need. On the flip side of the benefits of sleeping, too much sleep could also cause some problems. 

Sleeping for more than ten hours each night can cause a person to be in a constant state of
drowsiness.

Regulating a good time to get up in the morning and a good time to go to bed can be a good way to
start out.

Ah naps, the greatest thing under the sun…

Or are they?

Taking three hour naps during the day does not increase the chances of feeling rejuvenated. Long naps will confuse the body into thinking it is time to sleep when in reality it is going to have to wake back up halfway through the sleep cycle. Instead, try taking shorter naps that last anywhere from 15-30 minutes.

But where does the idea that only those who don’t sleep survive in the competitive world come from? In today’s society, it is deemed normal for a person to always be tired. “Why would college students not be tired, all they do is study late at night and stay up partying even later,” exclaims the rest of
the world.

What happened to our culture where being sleepy all day long is the norm? We watch our favorite shows until the early morning, and lay in bed on our phones surfing social media until the
sun rises.

If the business world never sleeps, why should we? But what happens when our grogginess catches up to us? How does a person live without meeting one of the body’s simplest
commands?

Getting a sleeping schedule down pat is hard. It can be even harder for college students who are constantly busy. At the end of the day, however, your body will thank you for dropping that one extra class that was eating up your sleeping time.

Maybe cut back on hours at work, or just do homework during the day. Whatever the case be our bodies need sleep.

Our health should come first. That does not mean we should drop all of our activities, I mean college is a time to try new things.

The stories that make up the late nights at college are usually worth it, but next time you feel stressed, moody or just plain sick, take a step back and go sleep on it. I am sure you will feel loads better in the morning.