The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Students

A phenomenon that a vast majority of people irrespective of their gender, age or race have experienced in their lifetime is sleep deprivation. They have had days in which they toil to stay awake and drink rather large cups of coffee. They find themselves constantly tired, confused and have a lower life satisfaction. However, people seldom associate these issues with the amount of sleep they obtain. Students are a constant victim to the predicament of sleep deprivation and it results in them being afflicted with numerous problems. Despite the profound toll it takes on students due to deterioration in cognitive processes and negative mood changes which consequently lowers their academic performance, they find themselves caught in this vicious

In today’s competitive world, students feel pressurized by their parents and teachers to secure high grades and perform well. Also, being enveloped in this competitive environment causes them to forget that sleep too is important and they fail to comprehend the lasting repercussions sleep deprivation would have on them. As a result, students sacrifice their sleep in order to work harder and complete all of their homework and studying required on

63.27% of students responded with a “Yes” to the question “Does your academic performance drop due to lack of sleep?” and the rest responded with a “No” in a survey conducted. A study conducted found that sleep deprived students inaccurately rate their performance as better than those students who received adequate sleep. However, their grades do not reflect the same and therefore the disparity in survey results can be associated with students not making the connection between their bad performance and lack of sleep. The “all-nighters” that students inflict upon themselves in an effort to cram all the material the night before an exam affects their memory, reasoning and problem solving skills (Buboltz, Brown & Soper, 2001). As a result, the student during an exam finds it difficult to recollect information or solve problems correctly. Also, sleep deprived students who happen to be depressed feel a general disinterest to participate in class or study for exams. Sleep deprivation is also common in anxiety disorders, and students who are anxious by nature are most affected by it. When preparing for exams, anxious students are likely to “give up” on learning a concept when they do not understand it or feel more worried. Anxiety also has an impact on a student’s memory and they are generally unable to perform to their full