One of the most important yet least commonly considered questions is where would we be without our brain? We tend to forget that without our brains controlling every aspect of our lives, we would be nothing more than a frame of bones decorated with skin. Our brains provide us with our personalities, intelligence, thoughts, dreams, and so much more. For something so giving, the least we can do is care for our brain as much as it cares for us. However, sometimes that is harder than it seems. As a college student, I can say from first-hand experience that one of our most common mistakes when caring for our brains is depriving it of a proper night 's sleep. Between assignments, social lives, and all of college’s other responsibilities who really
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Whether I end up losing track of time while socializing or I am spending a few too many hours studying for an exam, I never seem to get the suggested eight hours of sleep that my young adult mind needs. I often feel the wrath of my late night choices when I can barely hold my eyes open in a lecture, which always leads me to wonder whether my choices have even more effects on me than just a few yawns and the desperate need for a nap after class. How is this lack of sleep affecting my cognitive performance? Is my memory suffering? Does studying do anything for me if I’m running on less than 5 hours of sleep each night? How much sleep does the average college student get per night, and how could more sleep positively impact us all?
As I dove further into my interests in the human brain, I began to consider even more detrimental impacts of the loss of sleep in students. How do all-nighters affect our mental health? Does the lack of sleep make us more prone to mental illness such a depression and eating disorders? Can the midnight snacks and trips to the Night Owl in Appalachian and C4 dining halls increase our risks of eating disorders and weight gain? Can students accidentally cause themselves to develop sleeping disorders by staying up too late and waking up too
Whether I end up losing track of time while socializing or I am spending a few too many hours studying for an exam, I never seem to get the suggested eight hours of sleep that my young adult mind needs. I often feel the wrath of my late night choices when I can barely hold my eyes open in a lecture, which always leads me to wonder whether my choices have even more effects on me than just a few yawns and the desperate need for a nap after class. How is this lack of sleep affecting my cognitive performance? Is my memory suffering? Does studying do anything for me if I’m running on less than 5 hours of sleep each night? How much sleep does the average college student get per night, and how could more sleep positively impact us all?
As I dove further into my interests in the human brain, I began to consider even more detrimental impacts of the loss of sleep in students. How do all-nighters affect our mental health? Does the lack of sleep make us more prone to mental illness such a depression and eating disorders? Can the midnight snacks and trips to the Night Owl in Appalachian and C4 dining halls increase our risks of eating disorders and weight gain? Can students accidentally cause themselves to develop sleeping disorders by staying up too late and waking up too