As a college student, we push ourselves to the absolute limit. We stress our bodies physically and mentally until it cannot handle anymore. Not to mention there are countless times we stay up all night, going out, partying or even studying for that big test or cranking out that paper. Although you might feel fine after this continuation of lack of sleep, I assure you, your body disagrees.

The average adult should get roughly eight hours of sleep a night. Raise your hand if you get eight hours or more of sleep every night. Don't worry, you're not alone. I average five or six hours of sleep a night and a lot of people I know get significantly less than that. Now think, if you average five hours a night every night, that is roughly 35 hours of sleep a week, but your body should be receiving 56 hours of sleep a week. That is 21 hours of missed sleep a week.

ALMOST AN ENTIRE DAY!

Our body's run on what is called a circadian rhythm which basically is the daily biological process that tells us when we need to sleep. Due to this rhythm, our body will begin releasing the sleep hormone melatonin around 9:30 pm which is when your body should start feeling tired and you theoretically should be starting to wind down.

But let's be honest, who goes to sleep at 9:30 pm at the age of 20-22, no one!

Although we may not go to bed immediately when our body says to, we definitely should listen to it when it says, it is tired and needs a break.

Not getting the adequate amount of sleep each night, and falling into that sleep deprivation stage has some very negative effects on the individual. They will experience increased irritability, inability to regulate mood and emotions along with difficulty maintaining healthy relationships (with family, friends and significant others).

While these effects may not seem major, there are more than become incredibly important to one's health and wellbeing.

Someone who is sleep deprived is at a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. You may think, how are these related? Well, in all honesty, your entire body correlates to one another, so when one part of the body is lacking, the entire body lacks. Sleep is responsible for all repair for any damage caused during the day, it also gives the body a break, your muscles and organs can relax and run at a slower rate. This prevents overworking of the body.

This was not intended to frighten anyone or make them concerned about their health, but to open their eyes to the importance of sleep. Especially when it comes to finals week in college and traveling long distances. There are thousands of injurious car accidents yearly that can be accredited to drowsy driving. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to increase your sleep each night.

In order to increase your sleep one can do a few different things such as do not drink caffeine or eat past 7:30 at night, only use your bed for sleep (meaning don't lay in bed and do homework, it is ONLY meant for sleeping) and turning off the phone, computer or television at least 30 minutes prior to going to bed. These are only a few options, they're not for everyone BUT there is definitely one for you.

Go get some more sleep!