Lots of college students have a question – is 5 hours of sleep enough for a college student? The parents also have the same question when their children’s are not sleeping more than 5 hours. We can give that answer by saying “Yes” or “No” but for your understanding, we want to discuss little details.
College is a very tiring but fun period in any person’s life. Average college students have to study a lot in order to graduate. Apart from this, they are required to do several extra-curricular activities like sports, party, camping or singing. Furthermore, students need to make room for their family and friends. Funny thing is that all of this has to be done in just 24 hours. For these reasons, resting and sleeping plenty are vital things in order to be successful during college. Nonetheless, students believe that sleeping 5 hours a day is enough time to do it all yet this is so far from the truth.
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Why is sleeping important?
Before discussing the minimum sleeping hour, we need to know why sleeping is important? Staying up all night to study or to party isn’t a good plan to get through college. According to several scientific studies, adults between 18-60 years need to sleep at least seven hours a day. There are many reasons why you should respect this.
- First and foremost, sleeping enough is great to keep your circadian rhythm in check. The Circadian rhythm controls, among many things, your day/night cycles, eating habit, hormones releases, digestion, and growth.
- Secondly, sleeping helps you retain more information. Picture this: imagine you pull an all-night studying session for an exam the following day and you only sleep 2 or 3 hours. By doing so, you are interrupting your Rapid Eye Movement (a.k.a REM) cycle which has the task of transferring the information from short-term memory to long-term memory. This is usually done over 6 to 8 hours of sleep. Once the information is in the long-term, you can recall it afterward during an exam.
- Thirdly, sleeping a 7-8 hours a day allows your body and mind to rest so that you can properly function the following day. Only if you sleep sufficiently, you can feel energetic and active. Feeling sleepy or slugging along the day is a nuisance that slows you down and can even affect your decision-making process.
How can you improve your sleep?
If you have a sleeping disorder, you should start by increasing the quality and duration of your napping cycle. You can start off by planning a regular sleeping program which forces you to sleep every day at approximately the same time. Also, you need to improve your physical routine by exercising and watching what you eat and drink. Exhausting your body during the day can help you fall asleep faster at night. Likewise, you need to limit your caffeine and alcohol consumption.
Lastly, you must create a healthy sleeping atmosphere. You can do so by making sure your sleeping space is comfortable. For example, if you are sleeping in a bunk bed, you should consider switching to good twin mattress sets that can fit the same space and are twice as comfy. Furthermore, avoid using your phone, tablet or laptop while trying to fall asleep, and above all, don’t study in bed.
Sleeping is very important for the human body. Ignoring this proven fact can be quite harmful to you. Follow these steps and start improving your college performance.
