Pulling an all-nighter is common to prepare for exams during Finals Week, but recent research shows that not getting enough sleep — even for a couple days — can lead to serious health consequences.
People who get less than seven hours of sleep each night are 30 to 80 percent more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes or have a premature death, according to sleep experts at the Harvard School of Public Health@@http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/@@. People who are sleep-deprived are also more likely to be involved in a car accident.
During sleep, brain cells rejuvenate and organize. When people don’t get enough sleep, their ability to focus and retain information decreases significantly.
A study published last week from researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. found that people who don’t get enough sleep tend to eat more.@@http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester/@@
Researchers looked at 17 adult men and women for eight days. Half of the participants slept normally, and the other half slept two-thirds their normal amount. Those who were sleep-deprived consumed 549 more calories each day and were not more active, thus not burning off the extra calories.
Andrew Calvin@@http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=28060@@, coauthor of the study and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, said the study shows how important it is to have a good sleep schedule.
“Sometimes we assume if we’re up late working on a project that maybe it’s OK to have an extra snack late at night,” Calvin said. “The study really helps solidify this idea that lack of sleep is associated with obesity.”
Short-term studies have also found that sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes in the body that affect appetite, making a person crave sugary and high-calorie foods. Stress hormones also increase when people are sleep deprived.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population does not get the recommended amount of sleep. About 21.5 percent of surveyed University students said sleep difficulties affect their academic performance, according to the 2010 National College Health Assessment.
Jude Kehoe, University Health Center nurse@@http://healthcenter.uoregon.edu/Directory/tabid/68/u429q/6A756465/Default.aspx@@, began a sleep class last fall to help students practice good sleep habits. She provides students with a sleep kit that contains eye covers, ear plugs and tea to help students relax at night.
“People think they can make up sleep,” Kehoe said. “If they sleep for four hours, they’ll sleep for eight hours the next day. But you can only make up two hours of your sleep.”
Kehoe said if a student has bad sleeping habits for a month, it would take at least two weeks before the student’s hormonal system adjusted to normal levels. Kehoe suggests students go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
The sleep class will be offered three times next term: on April 16 and 26 then on May 2.