The general consensus coming into college seems to be that we all might as well kiss a healthy sleep schedule goodbye. Everyone jokes about it, and I know we’ve all been staying up late or even pulling all-nighters for school. While everyone obviously understands that this lack of sleep is not that good for you, it hardly ever stops them. One, because it’s the norm, and two, because most people don’t actually know how bad it can be for you. Here are a few reasons why you might want to rethink your next all-nighter and get some sleep instead.
- Your Sunlight intake. Sleeping late will most likely cause you to sleep in and wake up late, therefore lessening the amount of time you will be able to spend in the sun. According to Noma Nazish at Forbes, exposure to sunlight causes an increase in vitamin d and serotonin. This improves one’s mood and helps them focus better. So not only should you be making sure that you go out more and get some rays, but you should make sure that you are giving yourself the time to do that.
- You are risking becoming sleep-deprived. This is bound to happen if you are constantly staying up late to the point where you can no longer sleep at a reasonable time. According to Dr. Carl Rosenberg at Sleep Health Solutions, if you are constantly depriving yourself of sleep, you are at risk of suffering from hypertension, diabetes, heart attack & stroke, depression and anxiety, and memory Loss, among many other things. Clearly, the effects of losing sleep are much more serious than we think, and more often than not happen to be long-term; affecting one’s physical and mental health during and after.
- Your relationships will be affected. This is one that people probably don’t think about. But the truth is, if you continue letting this be a problem, it will begin to affect the people around you. According to Cassie Shortsleeve at Time, lack of sleep will seriously affect our ability to handle and react to conflict, as well as empathize with others. It is better to deal with these situations when one is well rested, otherwise you risk hurting others and even on occasion losing them.
I understand how difficult it can be to regulate one’s sleeping schedule, as it is something I struggle with too. Especially when I first came to college, I often found myself prioritizing my work over my sleep. I soon noticed that I would always end up feeling worse, and didn’t do well on my work. Going to bed at a reasonable hour and starting my work again in the morning was much better for me than trying to force myself to be productive late at night.
While some people think that as long as you make up for the sleep you lost by taking naps or sleeping in, they’ll be fine, that isn’t the case, as the research above supplied. Overall, it’s best if you avoid staying up late at all and start getting some sleep— if and when you can. Once you do, you will feel so much better physically and mentally.