Logical reasoning shuts down, stress levels rise, the mind is murky.
All result from a lack of sleep.
College students and working people alike, according to Doane University’s, Nurse Kelley Jirovec, are more likely to sacrifice sleep than any other aspect in their lives. Sleep goes before activities such as socializing, due to it being the easiest to give up. The consequences are detrimental to their health. She said frequent lack of sleep causes physical and emotional problems. According to the video, Sleep: Why We Need It and What Happens Without It, lack of sleep will shut down the part of a person's brain that controls logical reasoning. Instead your brain will turn on the part that makes a person feel panicked and stressed. This results in being cross with friends, family, or even anyone who talks to you. Another point the video made was that just one week of lack of sleep caused a 50% decrease in antibodies which can result in sickness.
The article, College Students: Getting Enough Sleep is Vital to Academic Success written by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said that students who pull all nighters to study actually have a lower G.P.A. than students who get the recommended eight hours of sleep. Another problem the article points out is that sleeping in on the weekends to try to make up for lack of sleep is also a harmful habit. This is due to disturbing a person’s internal alarm by waking at a time different than usual.
Jirovec said that energy drinks and caffeine are quick fixes that actually make the problem worse overall.
“If you just got more sleep you wouldn’t need to fix anything,” Jirovec said. “It wouldn’t be broken.”
When a person gets the right quality and quantity of sleep, miracles happen to their mind, body, and spirit. The video also gave several benefits sleep has on your day to day life. Not only does it improve good memories, but it clears out the junk in your brain including the memories that a person might like to forget or are not necessary to remember. It also stated the body heals itself and helps the brain rest while sleeping.
Not only does sleeping heal us, but it makes our day to day life more productive, energized and efficient. In my personal experience, going to bed before midnight has always led me to be productive and clear minded the next day. I don’t spend it thinking about when I could take my next nap. I woke up easier and my afternoons don’t drag on.
There are several tricks to getting more sleep every night.
Not looking at any TV, computer, or phone screens an hour before bed helps the falling asleep process because the blue light in those devices awakens the mind. Also the body associates light with staying awake and darkness with sleep. So when you are looking at a bright light, this will trick the mind into thinking it’s daytime.
Having lavender spray is a good way to calm the mind before bed. Lavender has calming qualities in it to help you relax and unwind.
Doing yoga and meditation is another way to get sleepy. Not only does it clear your thoughts for the night, but it centers you for the next day.
This Irish Proverb says it all, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”
