Nowadays there are so many horror stories of college students having to stay up late to study for a test or finish a project or even staying up all night to finish work related to their studies. But exactly how detrimental is this? How much sleep are students missing out on by prioritizing their work? Should students have more time to do what professors expect of them or should students have more opportunities to rest?
There are many benefits to getting enough sleep, for starters, according to NORA, “Getting the recommended hours of sleep for college students has a direct impact on your cognitive abilities. When well-rested, you can enhance your concentration, memory retention, and problem-solving skills. Studies show that students who adhere to a consistent sleep schedule are more likely to perform better academically.” Getting enough sleep is essential for students to perform their best in their studies. Being in a time crunch to get everything finished is understandable, however, sleep shouldn’t be compromised to finish one’s studies.
Not only can one’s grades be improved by sufficient grades, but it helps with mental health and physical health as well. According to ROAM, “Sleep is integral for memory consolidation, a process vital for learning and retaining new information,” “ plays a critical role in stress regulation and mood enhancement,” “significantly enhances the immune system function, enabling the body to defend itself against infections” and “essential for maintaining good athletic performance.” Overall, both sleep and vigorous studies are essential for students to perform best in their studies and a balance of both should be achieved without prioritizing one over the other.
