Alaska Sleep Education Center

How Much Sleep Do Students Need to Be Successful in College

How much sleep does a college student need to be successful?  Read on to find out.

Youth is that time when you can walk all night long, and in the morning without a shadow of fatigue to show up for classes, and sit through the entire shift, successfully answering seminars and even passing exams.

But here the main thing is to observe the golden mean. After all, if you overdo it and deprive the body of a well-deserved rest, then you’re in trouble.

The Importance of Sleep

Knowing this fact, it is not difficult to guess why sleep plays such an important role for teenagers and students. The thing is that at this age young people experience tremendous physical and psychological stress. The huge academic work, as well as numerous homework assignments, takes a lot of energy. Fortunately, each student can turn to an online essay editor to get help with an assignment. Therefore, if you feel tired, it is better to entrust some of your papers to a professional service expert and rest for some time to have energy for other tasks.

Add to this the side effects in the form of long lines, traffic jams, and crowded public transportation, and you get an increase in stress levels. All of these factors affect sleep. Problems tend to pile up, and you can’t make up for the lack of sleep even on the weekends, because students have to make various preparations for the next week.

What Does Lack of Sleep Lead To?

And meanwhile, lack of sleep can lead to many problems:

  • a decrease in academic performance;
  • disruption of biological rhythms;
  • problems with the regime;
  • decreased duration of sleep;
  • deterioration in physical and psycho-emotional well-being;
  • depression;
  • impaired behavior;
  • impaired memory;
  • impaired attention span;
  • decreased concentration and much more.

Sleep deprivation leads to a decrease in the speed of psychomotor reactions, which leads to poor academic performance.

Do not forget about the fact that during the school and early university period students undergo biological maturation, which also takes its toll on the body.

To solve the problem, you need to understand what sleep standards are for a student. This information will help you decide if there is a problem with sleep deprivation.

Physiological Norms of Sleep for Students

Science has developed recommendations for student sleep patterns and other age categories:

  • Adolescents (ages 12-14) 9-8.5 hours
  • School students (15-18 years old) 8.5-8 hours
  • Students (ages 19-22) 8-7.5 hours

Doctors unanimously say that it is not only the number of hours of sleep that matters but also the time you fall asleep and wake up. The ideal time to wake up is 7 a.m. But what time to go to bed – here the information varies by age in the range of half an hour:

  • Teens (ages 12-14) 10 p.m.
  • High school students (ages 15-18) 10:30 p.m.
  • Students (ages 19-22) 11 p.m.

Physiological Norms for Student Sleep

There may be different reasons for disturbances:

  • transitional age,
  • high workloads,
  • part-time work at night/evening hours,
  • household chores, and the high pace of life.

<h2>Physiological norms of sleep for students</h2>

Often a student’s sleep is harmed by a session. After all, what else can a student do instead of sleeping? Of course, prepare for exams.

Scientists have noticed that students who spend little time on sleep have a high academic performance. After some observations, they concluded that this paradox occurs because students spend their intended sleep time studying.

<h2>Scientists’ recommendations to improve well-being</h2>

  • avoid nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine (tea and coffee, chocolate, cola) 6 hours before going to bed;
  • the room for sleeping should be dark, quiet, and cool (air temperature 16-24 degrees);
  • one hour before bedtime, relaxing activities: a warm bath, reading. Avoid watching TV, using a smartphone, and strenuous physical activity;
  • planning education and household activities so that they do not affect sleep;
  • giving up daytime sleep, as it negatively affects both your well-being and the length of your nighttime sleep.

The normal norm of the duration of night sleep of the student is considered the time from 11p.m. to 7 a.m. This is the natural biological rhythm of a person, in compliance with which the body has time to restore performance and health.

Now you and I know exactly what is the norm of sleep for students. Hopefully, after the materials given in the article, it is clear why sleep should be a priority for every student. So try to think about its organization, then life will be better.

Well, if studying is pushing you and starting to take up too much time, the best essay writing service will always come to your rescue.

Subscribe to our Blog
Alaska Sleep Education Center Email Subscription*
Previous slide
Next slide
Alaska Sleep Clinic's Blog

Our weekly updated blog aims to provide you with answers and information to all of your sleeping questions.

Brent Fisher, MBA, FACHE, FACMPE
President and Chief Executive Officer

“Alaska Sleep Clinic has a history of providing the most comprehensive sleep medicine services in the state of Alaska. Its potential has only begun. I am here to take these high-quality, comprehensive services to all Alaskans.”

Experience

Brent Fisher has held leadership positions spanning a wide variety of complex and start-up organizations: manufacturing (pharmaceutical & medical device), software development, hospitals (academic and community), medical groups, consulting, hospice, military, engineered devices, engineered plastics, and private equity.

Publications and Organizations

His writings have been published in various magazines, trade journals, and medical journals, including the Physician Executive Journal, Healthcare Executive, Modern Healthcare, Group Practice Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of Healthcare Management (Best Article Award).

He has served on the Board of Directors of professional associations, civic organizations, and businesses.

Hobbies and Activities

Brent enjoys being with his family, serving in the community, hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.