Pramukh Blog 15 : Why We Need More Sleep
“I pulled an all-nighter and only slept 3 hours,” replied the sleep-deprived AP student whose eyes were swollen and already starting to close.
Sleep. Not in class but at home and preferably at a reasonable time. Many students today are in a highly competitive environment and too often fall into a hustle culture.
However, students disregard that sleep can help them finish work faster and obtain higher grades in school. The idea that one can sleep when they die is flawed and lowers the quality of their shorter life. If a student takes part in deep work mentioned in my previous blog, finding adequate time to sleep should not be a problem.
During spring break, I definitely slept more and saw many benefits in my energy and focus levels. Inspired by the advantages I received, I researched the topic of sleep and came across a book summary of Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
According to Walker, sleep protects your body by “lower[ing] food cravings, lower[ing] the risk of heart attack, and protect[ing] you from cancer and dementia” (One Percent Better). Studies show sleeping only 6-8 hours shortens your life span, and that sleep-deprived students have a “40% reduction to cram new facts into their brain” (One Percent Better).
How many hours do we need? According to this book, we need 7-9 hours of sleep “opportunity” a day or time we give ourselves to fall asleep.
While most of us understand the benefits of sleeping more, some of my friends have informed me they have difficulty falling asleep. To maximize one's sleep oppurtunity, it is best to avoid late exercise, large meals and drinks late at night, naps after 3 PM, and too much artificial light (One Percent Better).
As AP tests are approaching fast, students should engage in activities that can help reduce anxiety, like walking outside and talking to friends. Anxiety is one of the significant causes of insomnia and increases your fight or flight response. Once you start allowing yourself to sleep more, you will increase your focus capabilities, enhance your memory, and study more efficiently.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTh24mTWJx0&t=679s&ab_channel=OnePercentBetter
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-We-Sleep/Matthew-Walker/9781501144325
I actually read the book you mentioned in your blog post a few years back. I definitely agree with you that sleep is an underrated necessity. The book was slightly underwhelming because it did not present super unusual information and I usually get enough sleep anyways, but it was a nice read. The one piece of information I do actually remember from the book though is about how you cannot make up lost sleep and that even if you sleep more during a so-called holiday, it does not change that you have not slept in the past or does not compensate for sleeping in the future. It would be nice if there could be technology in the future where we could sleep and store some of that excess energy to use at a later time.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! I also got more sleep over break, and on top of that, I unintentionally fixed my sleep schedule. For the first time in many months, I slept before 12 on a school night a few days ago! I never realized how big of a difference sleep makes with focus and memory until experiencing it, but I will definitely try to maintain this healthy habit for the sake of both my lifespan and well being.
ReplyDeleteHey Pramukh, I have been trying to go outside more during the AP season to destress, but It's still hard to find sleep with so much work and studying piling up. I've been trying to sleep before 12 every day now to get my sleep schedule in a good position before AP exams, but it is hard to find a balance between the importance of sleep and the importance of knowing content. It is really tempting to just pull all nighters for two weeks and just tell yourself that you'll sleep after AP exams are over, but you do have a good point about how sleep deprivation is oftentimes much worse than the wasted time.
ReplyDeleteHello Pramukh,
ReplyDeleteIn my “I Believe” poem, I stressed how amazing sleep was. I believed in being able to sleep, dream, and allow my brain to calm down. When I wake up, I am sleepy. Throughout the day, I gain more energy and end up sleeping at 10:00. But ultimately, I cannot fall asleep until strangely 11:50. Over the week, my mind grows jittery as my body gets physically tired. Your blog reminded me to not think of sleep as the enemy. Even though we need to seem hyper productive, spending our time sleeping for time being half awake and cramming in a never-ending amount of work is not worth it. Like you mentioned, sleep heals and protects the body in the long term. I will certainly make sure I get a lot of sleep in the days prior to my AP exams.
Hi Pramukh! I really appreciate your research on sleep. Daily, I receive a comment from my parents to sleep earlier. A funny situation around this happened to me this week. I was talking to an adult regarding sleep, and they were talking about how they know teenagers who sleep very late. In my head, I was thinking that I sleep early, at least in comparison to many of my peers who sleep between 2AM to 5AM (which is incredibly unhealthy). But when the adult said that “late” is any time after 11PM, I laughed hesitantly. I’ve always known the importance of a sleep schedule on memory and academic performance, and slowly, I am trying to better my sleep habits and sleep earlier. Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! Honestly I never realized how important sleep is until this year for sure. Until 11th, I underestimated the effect sleep had on us. Sleep definitely gave me so much energy and I feel like it was the time when I was able to process all the information I had just learned which was very convenient as I feel like it was the time I didn’t have to learn anything new. Now that I have so much work, I sleep past 1am every day and the amount of information that I put in my brain is so much more with lesser time to process which has definitely taken a toll on my memory and on me just in general. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh! Sleep is quite an interesting yet confusing topic. I remember reading somewhere that the ideal amount of sleep is actually not 8 hours, but in fact 7.5 hours. When we sleep, we have sleep cycles. Each sleep cycle is around 90 minutes and a healthy night's sleep should consist of 4 to 6 of these cycles; hence, 8 hours of sleep would mean you are woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle, making you more sleepy and lethargic than you would like to be after such a long time of sleep. Now would be a great time to start practicing smart sleeping!
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh, I remember watching a podcast with the author of that book—his thoughts were very interesting. In my own experience, I have found that I am the most dazed and torpid when I deviate from my sleep schedule. If I sleep less or more—something that surprised me—I tend to feel off the entire day. Setting a healthy circadian rhythm is key so that you can enjoy an enjoyable night and productive day.
ReplyDeleteHi Pramukh, thank you for the helpful reminders. I only know a few people getting 7-9 hours of sleep, AP students aside. It’s really scary how we keep hearing about not getting enough sleep as the root of all illnesses and yet not many people know how to really balance the life of a student (myself included). I think I have maintained a late sleep schedule for so long that I don’t feel rested even when I do get a proper amount of sleep, so I definitely will be working on that (especially over the summer when I can really focus on resetting my circadian rhythm). I’m also aiming to get good rest before AP exams.
ReplyDelete