Sleep Deprivation: The Importance Of Sleep

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Has anyone ever taught you how much sleep you should actually be getting every night and how not getting this amount can actually be dangerous? Many undergraduates at Stanford University have mentioned that they do not get a good amount of sleep every night and no one has ever informed them on the importance of sleep and what can happen if they do not receive enough. Researchers have noticed that the effects of sleep deprivation are causing massive problems and can actually harm that individual along with others if it happens at a bad time. One of the most common places this happens is behind the wheel of a car. Although freshmen might not be driving as often while away at college, it also possible that the person they are riding with has …show more content…

This can create accidents, injuries, deaths, and especially bad grades for these students. William C. Dement observes, “Here at Stanford, we have studied samples of undergraduates, nurses, and medical students. We found that 80 percent were dangerously sleep deprived. By dangerously sleep deprived, I mean, of course, that these individuals are at high risk for some sort of accident involving unintended sleep or impaired performance.” (p3). Have you ever heard of the biological clock? If not, it is the brains method that generates our 24-hour changes. For example, your body temperature. The biological clocks most significant task is to furnish the brain with a wake-up signal. On the other hand, clock-dependent alerting will make you stay alert and awake throughout the day. As most of us know, it is quite hard to stay awake and alert when you are feeling very drowsy. When you are going to bed at night you begin to notice how it is hard to keep your eyes open and you eventually fall asleep. Drowsiness is the last stage in advance of falling asleep. So, if you are drowsy while driving or simply studying, the next step is falling asleep which can be extremely dangerous. If an individual is feeling drowsy, they need to think of it as a crisis so they do not harm themselves or others by falling asleep in …show more content…

Everyone needs sleep and there are ways you can make it easier, like going to bed at the same time every night. Sleep debt will leave extra weight on a person and when they become extremely drowsy, it can become dangerous so this is one of the reasons sleep is so crucial. Apart from that, being aware of sleep disorders can change your life and even others. Overall, sleep deprivation and all of the effects that tie into it can leave a person mentally drained and nowhere near their full potential. Taking this into account, an undergraduate at Stanford University that is not at their full potential will only find the obstacles they face even more