Although good sleep habits are vital for people of all ages and all stages of life, the\u00a0importance of sleep for college students\u00a0simply cannot be underestimated. This is particularly true for MBA students who must devote a considerable amount of time to their studies and often have extremely tight schedules.<\/p>\n
When you have a lot on your plate, it may be tempting to sacrifice a few hours of sleep. It\u2019s tempting to have an extra cup of coffee in the morning and power through your day. You can also lie to yourself, insisting that you just don\u2019t need that much sleep and promising yourself you\u2019ll sleep in late over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t fool yourself! Rest is essential when you are committed to a serious, all-consuming task such as pursuing your MBA.<\/p>\n
But most students are not getting the rest they need. In fact, the all-too-common notion of the \u201cexhausted student\u201d is a harmful stereotype that warrants a critical examination.<\/p>\n
While many students make half-hearted attempts to get proper rest, they tend to fail when it comes to at least one or two components of good\u00a0sleep hygiene, which requires a certain amount of consistency and commitment. Good\u00a0sleep hygiene\u00a0encompasses all activities necessary to position yourself for adequate rest every single night.<\/p>\n
In addition to maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and adhering to the right pre-bed routine, you must be aware of the ways in which your daily routines and life habits might be affecting your sleep. Read on for a closer look at the specific and monumental sleep challenges that students need to overcome.<\/p>\n
Christie Campus Health<\/a>,\u00a0a public health organization dedicated to improving the mental well-being of college students, has released some startling statistics that reveal just how prevalent sleep deprivation is on the average university campus. In fact, half of all college students feel sleepy over the course of an average day.<\/p>\n Furthermore, over 60 percent of students fail to meet the basic benchmarks of quality sleep. In order to be adequately restful and restorative, quality sleep involves factors that range from the amount of time it takes to fall asleep to the number of times you wake up during the night.<\/p>\n All told, a full 70 percent of students fail to get enough sleep on a regular basis, and this figure may be even higher in light of the fact that individual sleep needs can vary dramatically from person to person.<\/p>\n Among other factors, your age plays an oversized role in determining your exact sleep needs. So, the sleep needs of a student who gets on a MBA track right out of undergraduate will probably differ from a seasoned administrator who enrolls in an MBA program later in his or her career.<\/p>\n According to the U.S.\u00a0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC)<\/u>, adults aged 18-60 need at least 7 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.\u00a0 Harvard University<\/a>\u00a0approximates that the average adult student, who is still relatively young, requires roughly eight hours of sleep over a 24-hour period. However, precious few students manage to regularly hit this seven to eight-hour benchmark.<\/p>\n After conducting an in-depth study of American college students, the\u00a0Sleep Foundation<\/a>\u00a0reported that 70 to 96 percent of students get less than eight hours of sleep per night from Monday through Friday. Even worse, more than half of college students sleep less than seven hours each night.<\/p>\n Examining the academic accomplishments of the students in its study, the Sleep Foundation determined that students who sleep eight hours or more were likely to outperform those who do not. These results echo the findings of the\u00a0American Academy of Sleep Medicine<\/a>\u00a0(AASM)\u00a0board member Clete A. Kushida, MD, Ph.D.<\/p>\n A professor at Stanford University and the director of its Center for Human Sleep Research, Dr. Kushida, stresses that the importance of obtaining sufficient sleep in the student population cannot be overstated. \u201cThere are data that sleep loss leads to learning and memory impairment, as well as decreased attention and vigilance,\u201d he says. \u201cThere is ample evidence to indicate that the lack of adequate nighttime sleep can lead to disturbances in brain function, which in turn, can lead to poor academic performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Former AASM president and current board member, Lawrence Epstein, MD, calls falling asleep in class merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Medical director of Sleep Health Centers and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, he says, \u201cRecent studies have shown that adequate sleep is essential to feeling awake and alert, maintaining good health and working at peak performance.<\/p>\n Dr. Epstein specifically emphasizes the dangers of moderate but routine sleep loss. \u201cAfter two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, students feel as bad and perform as poorly as someone who has gone without sleep for 48 hours,\u201d he says. \u201cNew research also highlights the importance of sleep in learning and memory. Students getting adequate amounts of sleep performed better on memory and motor tasks than did students deprived of sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n From cramming all night for exams to working part-time (or event full-time) jobs, the AASM understands full well why so many students fail to get enough rest. But no matter what causes it, a lack of sleep is bound to have a negative impact on overall academic performance and final grades. The road to success in your MBA program begins with carving out adequate time for both study and sleep.<\/p>\n Over the course of a night, the healthy sleeper will cycle through several key sleep stages that are essential to achieving quality rest. Take, for example, REM sleep.<\/p>\n Short for \u201crapid eye movement,\u201d REM occurs when the sleeper\u2019s eyes begin to dart rapidly beneath the eyelids. REM sleep is characterized by increased heart rate and brain activity. This is also the stage of sleep during which dreaming occurs.<\/p>\n REM sleep is important because it allows your brain to exercise neural connections that are essential to mental acuity as well as overall health and wellness. By stimulating these connections, REM sleep strengthens the brain\u2019s capacity to establish and retain memories, two functions that are foundational to the overall learning process.<\/p>\n A study by the\u00a0National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke<\/a>\u00a0determined that rats deprived of REM sleep had significantly shorter lifespans. In fact, their natural two- to three-year lifespans were reduced to a mere five weeks. When deprived of all sleep cycles, they lived only three weeks.<\/p>\n Another extremely important stage of sleep is deep sleep (or slow-wave sleep). The third stage of non-REM sleep in a typical night, deep sleep promotes thorough rest and high rates of rejuvenation.<\/p>\n During deep sleep, brain activity lessens, blood pressure lowers, and muscles relax. This profoundly restful state places your body in the perfect position to recover and repair itself. The pituitary gland secretes growth hormones that create healing bodily tissue, while the brain assumes a delta wave pattern that is key to the maintenance of proper mental health.<\/p>\n According to the experts at the instructional organization\u00a0Master Class<\/a>,\u00a0deep sleep not only gives you more energy but increases memory consolidation and boosts the learning process. In fact, the heightened glucose metabolism associated with deep sleep aids in both short- and long-term memory. Conversely, a lack of deep sleep can make it tremendously difficult for students to retain memories and absorb new information.<\/p>\n Fortunately, a better night\u2019s sleep is possible for everyone. While severe or persistent cases of insomnia may require the intervention of a physician, there are plenty of simple measures that you can take and life changes that you can make to improve your sleep right away. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n In Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n At The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), we know that your academic goals won\u2019t come easy. This is particularly true for students at the highly demanding graduate level.<\/p>\n The educators and administrators at the\u00a0UTC Gary W. Rollins College of Business<\/a>\u00a0offers practical advice that goes far beyond the classroom. From optimizing study habits to getting proper sleep, we want to give you all the tools that you need to succeed.<\/p>\n For more information, contact UTC today through our\u00a0official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Although good sleep habits are vital for people of all ages and all stages of life, the\u00a0importance of sleep for college students\u00a0simply cannot be underestimated. This is particularly true for MBA students who must devote a considerable amount of time to their studies and often have extremely tight schedules. When you have a lot on… <\/p>\nHow Much Sleep Do College Students Need?<\/h3>\n
Benefits of a Good Night\u2019s Sleep<\/h2>\n
Benefits of REM Sleep<\/h3>\n
Benefits of Deep Sleep<\/h3>\n
Tips for Better Sleep<\/h2>\n
\n