Study, sleep or socialize - welcome to college, where you can only choose two. Unfortunately, the most commonly shafted "s" of the three is the only one that is physically essential to our health and well-being.
Though the exact functions of sleep are unknown, sleep is crucial for normal motor and cognitive function, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"Sleep is restorative," said Russ Federman, director of Counseling and Psychological Services. "Without sleep, we go crazy and our minds don't work as effectively."
Conditions associated with sleep problems include fatigue, loss of energy, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, memory lapses and emotional instability, according to the NIH.
Why, then, is sleep often neglected in the collegiate world?
"Students pour themselves into their course work, extracurriculars and social lives, dedicating too many hours to each one, without realizing that they compromise themselves in the process," Federman said.
Ironically, it is usually this over-expenditure of biological resources that causes students' sleep troubles in the first place. Most University students can speak firsthand about the far-ranging physical and mental implications after a poor night's sleep.
"Recently, I've been finding it more difficult to fall asleep ... I've had a lot of work piling up the last month or so. Hopefully once I knock it out, things will go back to normal," second-year College student Reedy Swanson said. "When I don't get enough [sleep] over a sustained period of time, I feel psychologically, physically and intellectually drained."
Second-year College student Anna Kushner noted that she has had similar experiences.
"I feel really weak and kind of sick and have trouble working out," she said.
Those effects, however, are relatively minor when compared to the dangers of prolonged sleep deprivation.
"Sustained sleep deprivation makes people more vulnerable to onset of depression," Federman said. "Temporary sleep deprivation tends to precipitate hypomanic states, which are a milder version of mania, and vice versa."
A good fraction of the student population actually experiences sleep deprivation, he added.
"It affects their mood and the general effectiveness of thought processes," he said.
For those with trouble falling asleep, the NIH recommends a cool, dark room as the best environment to cause the onset of sleep. Federman emphasized that sleep is just as important to students' health as eating right and working out.
"If you get good diet and exercise, you are less susceptible to illness," he said. "Sleep is the same - it is essential to good health"
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