 "Photo: Photo Courtesy of Ryan Killiany, Laura Campedelli / Heights Photo Illustration")
A good night's sleep is a stranger to college students. Wander around during classes at any time during the day and glance into any lecture hall; it's guaranteed you'll see at least one person with a drooping head. But why are college students so afflicted? A new study commissioned to the Sleep and Human Health Institute (SSHI) two days ago promises to further explore an intriguing explanation for insomnia.
We cannot live without sleep. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends seven to eight hours of sleep a night. The precise amount of sleep truly necessary varies from person to person - some require as little as four, while others need nine hours per night. College students get on average 6.5 hours of sleep. A 2007 study linked sleep to wound healing and immune system health, noting a significant decrease in white blood cells after mice were deprived of sleep. Kept awake long enough, the rats' immune systems eventually failed. Sleep reinvigorates us by bolstering our immune system and refreshes our brain each night, but the precise mechanism by which it accomplishes this is a mystery still.
According to the NSF, 74 percent of all adults in the United States reported symptoms of insomnia in 2008. In a 2007 study in Texas A&M University, only 7 percent of students reported that they regularly get enough sleep to wake up rested every morning. But why, if sleep is so important, is insomnia so prevalent?
The causes of insomnia are as diverse as the people who experience it. According to the NSF and a variety of sources, younger adults have a later circadian rhythm than older adults: older adults naturally wake up earlier and go to sleep earlier than younger ones. Classes and schools with schedules built around the circadian rhythms of the older teachers are inherently incongruous with the younger students, and their grades suffer as a result.
In one 2008 study of the American Sleep Association (ASA), average student grades and sleep amounts from a school that convened at 7:10 a.m. were compared to those from another that opened at 8:40 a.m. every day. The students attending the 8:40 a.m. school received better grades and more sleep. This makes sense, considering a 2003 study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The study found a reportable decrease in cognitive function when subjects got less than eight hours of sleep. That says nothing about the decrease in cognitive function after getting five or six hours of sleep. The lesson: enroll in later classes.
There are many other contributors to insomnia. Delayed Sleep Cycle Syndrome is common. In this disorder, the patient's sleep cycle occurs later than socially acceptable; in rare cases, sufferers' circadian rhythms place natural sleep at such times as 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sleep apnea is a widespread contributor to insomnia as well, and studies are underway to explore just how much of an influence it can have on chronic insomnia. Sleep apnea occurs when an obstruction in the airway hinders breathing. This can produce snoring or even a complete halt in respiration, making sleep difficult.
On Feb. 10, the SSHI announced it had received $50,000 in funding to explore the links commonly pointed out between sleep apnea and insomnia. Instead of primarily analyzing patients who stayed at sleep centers, this study will focus on randomly selected patients in their primary care clinics - a much more scientifically viable method, but one that requires funding. In the words of David P. White, M.D., chief medical officer of Philips Respironics, this study "will be an important advancement in understanding the relationship between insomnia and sleep apnea."
In the meantime, before the results are out, how do we combat this? Sleep meds can become habit-forming and typically don't induce natural sleep - normal sleep cycles are disrupted under the influence of common pharmaceuticals. Cognitive-behavior therapy is one solution that has shown potential in combating aggressive forms of insomnia, but it is time-consuming and requires a large amount of time investment. For those of us in college, maintaining "sleep hygiene" is key. If you train yourself to associate the bed with sleep only and maintain a quiet, dark environment for an hour before bedtime, you will have an easier time falling asleep. Granted, this is close to impossible on a college campus because of homework and studying. But just a little sleep hygiene and discipline goes a long way. Bright screens and stimulating video games trick the body into believing it is daytime, delaying the onset of sleep. Even an extra hour per night of sleep would do wonders for your health, grades, and sanity.
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