Student Sleep Deprivation: How to Overcome It

If you are a student, you have long forgotten what a normal, full, healthy and so desired sleep is. What is the reason for this? What is the threat of this phenomenon to a student? How to fight with lack of sleep? Today we will carefully consider everything about lack of sleep, and what to do if you’re not sleeping enough.

The first step: identifying signs of sleep deprivation

Playing video games with your neighbor all night, was at a party, checking the news on Facebook or Instagram, and hung up for 5 hours – these are the main reasons that in the morning you often cannot get off the head from the pillow. Then at university, you cannot concentrate on classes, as well as on homework so that for good grades you have to turn to Essay Assistant.

But how do you know what exactly in your case you need to fix the situation? Or maybe it’s just normal student life, and such lack of sleep has no harm? Let’s identify the main symptoms of sleep deprivation. Let’s identify the main symptoms of sleep deprivation.

So, there are 2 types of symptoms of lack of sleep:

External signs. The most popular are dark circles under the eyes. They indicate insufficient blood supply in the eye area, which is caused by prolonged awakeness, long hours of work with “smart” devices, etc. External signs also include puffiness of the face, loss of skin tone throughout the body, the appearance of irritability and absent-mindedness, loss of concentration. So if you notice these signs, it’s time to think about how to get rid of sleep deprivation.

Internal signs. These symptoms include all the signs that indicate a stressful state of the whole body: palpitations, pressure surges, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, loss of appetite. Do you think that’s it? Haha, that’s not it. Also, you’re waiting: the loss of rational thinking, the predominance of the irrational component of the mind, and as a result – increased irritability and constant dissatisfaction with the present life. As a result of these effects on the body, its protective function is significantly weakened, and productivity drops significantly. All this leads to the formation of gastritis, stomach ulcers, hypertension.

If that’s not enough: How does under-sleeping affects students?

Its main task is to worsen everything in your body. Everything is really everything: well-being, health, quality of work, brain activity, and emotional state. A person in a prolonged state of lack of healthy sleep will begin to be overcome by depressive states. All this leads to the emergence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and the development of obesity.

Bruises under the eyes from lack of sleep – this is just the beginning: get ready for frequent fainting spells, frequent dizziness, chronic fatigue, loss of vitality and energy.

Scientists Find Out

In an attempt to find out why sleep deprivation is harmful, U.S. scientists conducted a lot of experiments. During one of them, they kept one of the participants awake for 35 hours straight. As a result, the man began to be the extremely violent and aggressive response to any (even the most insignificant) of the actions of others.

And here’s another unpleasant thing about the danger of not getting enough sleep: obesity! We are familiar with the results of numerous studies, which makes them practically proof:

• If a person sleeps less than 4 hours a night, their chances of obesity are 74% higher than those who sleep a normal number of hours (7-9 hours);
• If a person sleeps less than 5 hours a night, their chances of obesity are 50% higher than those who sleep a normal number of hours (7-9 hours);
• If a person sleeps less than 6 hours a night, their chances of obesity are 23% higher than those who sleep a normal number of hours (7-9 hours).

How to cope with sleep deprivation?

Well, okay: you found yourself sleep deprivation. What should you do? Prepare pens and notebooks and take notes. There are few tips, but they are very useful.

• Surround yourself with an atmosphere of calm

Before going to bed, turn off televisions, smartphones, e-books, don’t drink coffee, and aggressive songs or fast-paced tunes will be a source of nightmares. More often than not, these factors are the causes of sleep deprivation.

Moreover, all the equipment (well, okay, except phones) should be completely turned off, and not put in standby or hibernate mode. Otherwise, it generates high-frequency noises, interfering with sleep and proper rest.

• Buy a high-quality mattress

A comfortable bed – that’s what helps prevent sleep deprivation. Choose the pillow and mattress carefully, choose quiet colors for the set of bedding. Five-minute oversleeping in a chair in front of the TV is not an option.

• Ventilate the room before going to bed

It’s trivial, but it’s a fact: the fresher and cooler the air in the room, the easier you will fall asleep, and the healthier and fuller your sleep will be.

• No food before bedtime

Nutritionists advise refraining from eating at least four hours before going to bed. We would recommend increasing this time to 6 hours altogether. Nevertheless, the fact remains: no rolls, fast food, alcohol, fatty meat, cakes, salty, spicy, smoked foods, and other nonsense.

However, we have nothing against a glass of nonfat yogurt, weak tea, or dried fruit juice – these products will help calm the nervous system and help program the stomach to work properly. Moreover, give up energy drinks, because they are evil!

The question of how to eliminate sleep deprivation should not be solved with the help of medicines. You often get used to them. And it is worth it to stop using them, and the problem will return.

Is it possible to sleep later?

Give up the illusion: “I’ll suffer during the school week, and I’ll sleep through the weekend”. It is almost impossible to make up for the sleep deficit. In a pinch, you can sleep for 2 days, that is, for example, today for last night. If you don’t get enough sleep from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday you spend half a day in bed, your body will not benefit from it. When a person sleeps “through force” or more than 10-12 hours, it’s also not normal. The result is the same tiredness and fatigue, as well as “weekend headache”, a term that doctors have recently created.

How to get rid of lack of sleep

In general, you have already understood how lack of sleep affects your body. And thanks to our tips, you can quickly get rid of this terrible feeling.