Lack of Slack
~A blog on the journey of college and its relationship with sleep or the lack thereof by Devanshi Vashisht
According to an online survey conducted in by a renowned hospital chain in July 2021, three out of every four adolescents have irregular sleep-wake cycles, and three out of every ten college students have problem of poor sleep quality. It hardly comes as a surprise that Indians are the second most sleep-deprived people in the world with an average night sleep of seven hours and one minute.
Often the exuberance and youthfulness of college life is associated with sleep deprivation with excess caffeine consumption and disregard for the “unimportant” aspects of life like sleep and good health.
It’s not surprising to see empty sting bottles lying around during exam week or have a bustling lounge area at 2 in the morning. Be it academic pressure or the demands of a social life, sleep just isn’t a priority or even considered a necessity for college students.
Insufficient sleep is becoming an increasingly common phenomena today with the average sleeping hours per day decreasing globally. There is nothing short of an intentional insomnia epidemic prevalent among college students with 70.6% of students report obtaining less than 8 hours of sleep and only 4% of students manage at least 7 hours of sleep at night with an average of 2.7 “all-nighters” per month.
The unrealistic and ultra-competitive academic workload in college doesn’t help as nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of the students are suffering from stress due to academic pressure, a major factor in decreased sleep duration as well as degraded sleep quality. I personally formed a pattern of only 3 hours of sleep per night for over two weeks during my first offline examinations post lockdown. The pressure that comes with an exam hall environment severely affected my sleep quality. At that time, I was quite proud of the efforts that I was putting in but quickly felt the brunt of playing with my health when I struggled to sleep for more than 4 hours even after the exams were over. It felt like my body couldn’t recover from continuous sleep deprivation. Though my sleep cycle improved when I returned home during the holidays, it was a clear reminder that hustle culture can not change the fact that the human body needs 8 hours of sleep every night.
Our mind and body need sleep to rejuvenate and relax itself as it produces cytokines and our brain forms new pathways between neurons while we sleep. This is necessary for productivity, athletic abilities, and heart health. Students tend to find time for fitness related activities such as gym, dance practises, sports only during the morning hours before classes often doing so while being under-rested and sleep deprived.
Lack of sleep is also directly linked with mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.
Internet addiction and social media consumption also play a major role with 32% of students considering social media as the main reason for their sleep disorder. Also, a rise in both electrification as well as mobile phone access has led unconsciously to increased sleep deprivation. Being part of the global lifestyle often pushes professional working hours and personal internet consumption including streaming, social media consumption and content release timings to later night.
Four years of college is definitely a time we won’t get back, so it’s understandable that we want to live it to the fullest. We all want to make memories that last forever and get marks that make our parents proud but it’s a biological lie to think that sleep and good health can be sacrificed in that process. Good quality sleep is vital to academic success as it is essential for concentration, information retention and linked to better performance in high pressure situations. The connection between sleep and improved life quality goes well beyond concentration and attentiveness. Not sleeping enough can result in a feeling of exhaustion, moodiness, lack of focus and short-temper outburst.
Long term sleep deprivation has even more harmful effects on the body, with sleep deprivation being one of the reasons behind the rising incidence of serious illnesses — diabetes, heart attack, hypertension, and cancer, among others — in young and middle-aged Indians. Sleep deprivation is also linked to weaker immunity, disturbed digestive system and heart ailments.
Factors like academic deadlines and sleeping arrangements with multiple roommates are beyond our control but simple habits like avoiding electronic screens prior to bedtime and making sure that our diet is nutritious with limited caffeine consumption can seriously improve our sleep health. Also, judicious social media consumption is essential for our mental and physical wellbeing, and we need to be mindful of feelings of FOMO, doom scrolling, procrastination etc.
Behavioural issues, substance abuse and family conflict can contribute to difficulty in sleep, so we need to destigmatize counselling and reaching out for help. In case of severe sleep disorders, one should seek professional medical help and not self-diagnose or self-medicate since over-the-counter medicines are often addictive and tough to monitor.
College authorities should also make the physical health of students a priority by having a more flexible attendance system.
It’s ironic that I write this article after taking a 2-hour nap since I was studying till late last night preparing for an 8 am exam. This is a scenario most college students can relate to but prioritizing sleep, nutrition and our overall health is key to a fruitful college journey. Now this could mean efficient studying that doesn’t involve all-nightery, downloading a sleep tracking app or saying no to that outing in friends by curbing our FOMO feelings and simply understanding our limits with how much we can push ourselves as we make this crucial transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Check Out The Author:
Instagram: @devanshivashisht
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devanshi-vashisht-10a931221
