To Sleep or not to Sleep? Not a Debatable Question

Sleep is a necessary function of life. While many of us choose to skip out on sleep under the popular notion that sleeping is a waste of time, sleep has many beneficial functions that can be of very effective help compared to studying an extra hour.

Sleep is Essential

There are so many bad effects of a lack of sleep – increased chance of cardiac, strokes, diminished function of the entire body and brain, to name a few basic ones. Lack of sleep affects the entire body, even seemingly unrelated systems such as the reproductive system. So how does sleep affect academic performance, and what can we do about it?

Remember to Sleep and Sleep to Remember

Remembering to sleep shouldn’t be too hard, but sleeping and memory are linked together. Sleep is composed of cycles, generally lasting about one and a half hours; the first half an hour is stages 1 and 2 sleep, or light sleep; the second half an hour is of deep sleep; the third half an hour is dedicated to REM sleep, the sleep where you dream.

Imagine your brain as a student in class. During the day, your brain learns and writes down information in the short term memory, or ‘notepad’. This ‘notepad’ has a limited capacity. During light sleep, the notepad is sorted away and prepared to be stored and generally just uncluttered and organised.

During deep sleep, great big electrical impulses take place known as sleep spindles. These big brainwaves are made due to the brain sorting or ‘filing away’ the notes that were made during the day. This process is otherwise known as consolidation, and sends all the notes into the long term memory for later use. REM sleep usually helps make connections between the notes and helps us keep fresh otherwise.

We generally get more deep sleep towards the start and middle of our night-time sleep, but more REM sleep towards the later hours of the night. This is why sleeping early is important – you may not remember all the things you study from staying up late due to this.

A study also shows that students who pull all-nighters remembered only 40% of what they studied compared to the students who got a full 8 hours of sleep. Forty percent is a huge number – it could be the difference between getting an A or getting a D – and don’t even go into the effect of sleep on cognitive-based functions.

The Effect of Sleep on Cognitive-Based Functions

These effects can be profound or dramatic, and the main effects consist of working memory (think of this as your tiny piece of paper where your brain scribbles down information on the current thing it’s doing) and attention span. It also impairs vigilance and decision making, both of which can be of immense use during any form of test or exam – or even day-to-day life.

How Much Should I Sleep, then? Surely 6 hours is enough…

No.

While it’s recommended for adults to sleep for 7-9 hours, teenagers require more sleep. In younger adolescents it may be more, the exact hours depending on personal needs; some people need more, some people need less. The general recommendation is 8-10 hours, but 9 is the best number for both adults and teenagers as it allows exactly 6 sleep cycles. If you wake up right after a sleep cycle, you’ll feel more refreshed than waking up during deep sleep as your body will be closest to being awake in between cycles.

On the Subject of Naps

Naps are a great way to get refreshed, but should not be used too often as a general over reliance on naps can be a sign of sleep deprivation. Five minute naps can help recover very quickly; 5-30 minute naps can refresh your ‘notepad’ through light sleep; and generally, over 30 minute naps are not highly recommended.

If you’re really tired, you may take a one-and-a-half-hour nap to complete one sleep cycle, file away your notes while not feeling too sleepy after waking up. If you sleep for more, your body will build up sleep inertia, which means the more you sleep the harder it is to wake up or wake up fully afterwards until you’ve gotten the standard night-time rest you’re used to. If you wake up between 30 minutes and 90 minutes or sleep slightly past 90 minutes, it’s not terrible but you may find it hard to shake off the drowsiness.

Tips for Good Sleep

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, spicy food and devices before bed. They may disrupt your sleep. Coffee/tea (with the exception of chamomile) should be avoided 10 hours before bed and devices 1 hour before, as the caffeine and blue light from the device can disrupt your sleep.

Make sure the room is cool and dark, with minimal noise disruptions so you can fall asleep easier.

If you cannot fall asleep for over 40 minutes, get out of your bed, go to a different room and do something until you become sleepy and you can fall asleep easier. This is so that your brain does not associate and think of your bed as a place of restlessness and when you do fall asleep in your bed later your brain will re-associate your bed with restfulness instead.

And finally, be regular with your sleep schedule. Do not have a different sleep schedule for the weekdays or weekends, make sure it stays consistent every night for maximum effectiveness.

We hope you have a good night of restful sleep. Until the next post, sweet dreams.