Beep! Beep! Beep! You roll over in bed and smash the snooze button to dismiss the alarm clock. For the next ten minutes you lay there wondering if you really need to go to your 8AM class; what could the professor cover in one class period that you couldn’t learn from the book? Beep! Beep! Beep! Groaning, you shut the alarm off for good and roll out of bed to start the day — exhausted and cranky. Along with a majority of college students, you keep getting less sleep each night without the possibility of catching up until the weekend. Sleep deprivation among university students has become normalized in today’s demanding society, and no one is giving the terrible side effects a second thought. Many people use the term social menace to describe
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In Kawash’s article discussing the social menace involving candy and polio she states, “Most [people] infected with the virus show no symptoms; but in a few cases, serious complications may present an alarming picture.” The same could be said in regards to those suffering from sleep deprivation. Without the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep for adolescents and emerging adults, they are at higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even a shortened lifespan (Epstein et al., 2007). As the body fights sleep, the focus is pulled astray from fighting the real dangers — illnesses. The immune system becomes weaker and susceptible to moderate colds and other common illnesses, once these poke through the barrier, other dangerous illnesses may follow. As not sleeping increases sleep debt, it also increases the likelihood of becoming depressed and suffering from anxiety. This is from waking up on what people say is the wrong side of the bed and not being able to shake that feeling throughout the day. This constant state of irritability and exhaustion can lead one to become isolated and suffer from a persistent negative …show more content…
As a way to fight against the candy menace of 1916, “Parents would make their children safe by regulating their access to the marketplace,” (Kawash, 2010). For sleep deprivation, the first line of defense are also parents who need to provide a good example for their adolescences. They should also begin educating their children about sleep at an early age so they are aware of the shift in their biological clock when puberty hits. Enforcing a regular sleep-wake schedule will adjust the body to going to bed a certain time and students will be able to wake up the next day without feeling groggy. Teens should develop a pre-sleep routine to help with the secretion of melatonin. One good way to do this is monitoring late night electronic use because the glowing screen stimulates the brain and make it alert by blocking the production of melatonin (Porter, 2015) — the exact opposite of what the body is trying to accomplish. On the college level, students should be made aware of the dangers of sleep deprivation by their respective university. Universities should promote healthy sleep habits and eating habits. For their students, caffeine intake should be limited throughout the day so it is easier to fall asleep at night. Students should be encouraged to create a steady sleep schedule and avoid all nighters at all costs. Even by just creating one or two of these habits students
In Kawash’s article discussing the social menace involving candy and polio she states, “Most [people] infected with the virus show no symptoms; but in a few cases, serious complications may present an alarming picture.” The same could be said in regards to those suffering from sleep deprivation. Without the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep for adolescents and emerging adults, they are at higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even a shortened lifespan (Epstein et al., 2007). As the body fights sleep, the focus is pulled astray from fighting the real dangers — illnesses. The immune system becomes weaker and susceptible to moderate colds and other common illnesses, once these poke through the barrier, other dangerous illnesses may follow. As not sleeping increases sleep debt, it also increases the likelihood of becoming depressed and suffering from anxiety. This is from waking up on what people say is the wrong side of the bed and not being able to shake that feeling throughout the day. This constant state of irritability and exhaustion can lead one to become isolated and suffer from a persistent negative …show more content…
As a way to fight against the candy menace of 1916, “Parents would make their children safe by regulating their access to the marketplace,” (Kawash, 2010). For sleep deprivation, the first line of defense are also parents who need to provide a good example for their adolescences. They should also begin educating their children about sleep at an early age so they are aware of the shift in their biological clock when puberty hits. Enforcing a regular sleep-wake schedule will adjust the body to going to bed a certain time and students will be able to wake up the next day without feeling groggy. Teens should develop a pre-sleep routine to help with the secretion of melatonin. One good way to do this is monitoring late night electronic use because the glowing screen stimulates the brain and make it alert by blocking the production of melatonin (Porter, 2015) — the exact opposite of what the body is trying to accomplish. On the college level, students should be made aware of the dangers of sleep deprivation by their respective university. Universities should promote healthy sleep habits and eating habits. For their students, caffeine intake should be limited throughout the day so it is easier to fall asleep at night. Students should be encouraged to create a steady sleep schedule and avoid all nighters at all costs. Even by just creating one or two of these habits students