2008 Woodie Awards
How Much Sleep Is Really Enough?
Emily Abbate
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Focus
Monday: an extra two hours spent finishing journals for English. Approximate bedtime: 3 a.m. Tuesday: Up until 4:30 a.m. after making the wrong decision to go out to the bar prior to working on physics worksheets. Wednesday: premier of new television show delays sleep until 1:00 a.m., when your 8 a.m. class is creeping up fast.
The amount of sleep that students get on a daily basis affects their overall ability to learn and function for the next day. At the time, cramming in that extra hour of studying for biology or staying up to finish the last half-hour of your favorite TV show might seem like a good idea, but there are always consequences. The question remains, how much sleep is enough?
""I'm always so busy, I have so much to do," said Michael Montalvo, a 4th-semester political science major. "I'd rather be chilling with my friends and having a good time then sleeping. You got to have fun while you can."
The average teenager needs seven to nine hours of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. An inadequate amount of sleep may limit your ability to concentrate, learn, listen and solve problems, according to NSF. Additionally, it can increase vulnerability to acne and skin problems, lead to aggressive behavior, instigate unhealthy eating that leads to weight gain and increase the effects of alcohol.
"People who say they only need five hours of sleep, usually only think they need five hours," said Daniel McNally, the Medical Director of Sleep Disorders at the UConn Health Center. "Someone functioning on five hours of sleep is equivalent to someone functioning after having two alcoholic beverages."
"The ballpark figure is eight hours. But the more important question is: Do you wake up feeling refreshed and full of energy or not?" according to webmd.com. "There are some people who seem to feel refreshed after only 61/2 hours of sleep, where others need 9 hours."
McNally compares college students to young children. Ten-year olds, according to McNally, get plenty of sleep every night and when they are watching something boring they get fidgety and they squirm. However, when college students see something boring they fell asleep, simply because they aren't getting enough sleep in the first place.
The amount of sleep that students get on a daily basis affects their overall ability to learn and function for the next day. At the time, cramming in that extra hour of studying for biology or staying up to finish the last half-hour of your favorite TV show might seem like a good idea, but there are always consequences. The question remains, how much sleep is enough?
""I'm always so busy, I have so much to do," said Michael Montalvo, a 4th-semester political science major. "I'd rather be chilling with my friends and having a good time then sleeping. You got to have fun while you can."
The average teenager needs seven to nine hours of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. An inadequate amount of sleep may limit your ability to concentrate, learn, listen and solve problems, according to NSF. Additionally, it can increase vulnerability to acne and skin problems, lead to aggressive behavior, instigate unhealthy eating that leads to weight gain and increase the effects of alcohol.
"People who say they only need five hours of sleep, usually only think they need five hours," said Daniel McNally, the Medical Director of Sleep Disorders at the UConn Health Center. "Someone functioning on five hours of sleep is equivalent to someone functioning after having two alcoholic beverages."
"The ballpark figure is eight hours. But the more important question is: Do you wake up feeling refreshed and full of energy or not?" according to webmd.com. "There are some people who seem to feel refreshed after only 61/2 hours of sleep, where others need 9 hours."
McNally compares college students to young children. Ten-year olds, according to McNally, get plenty of sleep every night and when they are watching something boring they get fidgety and they squirm. However, when college students see something boring they fell asleep, simply because they aren't getting enough sleep in the first place.
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