Occasionally we catch ourselves taking a snooze in one of our classes. Maybe the night before we somehow did not get enough sleep, or an all-nighter had to be pulled to prepare for an exam the next day.
Whatever the case may be, having a pattern of not getting enough sleep can affect the success and academic performance of students.
A 2019 study from Nature Partner Journals, found that longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, and greater sleep consistency are associated with better academic performance. They even go on to say sleep measures account for 25% of the variance of academic performance.
I would be lying if I told you that I never slept in class before. It happens at least 5 times every semester and it’s a bad habit. In my defense, it can’t be helped when the tasks given demands hours from my day, even the hours when I should be asleep.
There was a time at the start of the pandemic when I took online classes at Long Beach City College where I really pushed my luck with sleep. My apartment at the time was undergoing renovations and the landlord had me and my family move to a hotel.
Of course, moving our stuff demanded much of my time, and while I tried to juggle a paper that was due at 11:59 p.m.
To make the long story short, we completed our move to the hotel at 11:20 p.m. and I had to have that essay done and submitted in 39 minutes. All you can hear is me typing away in the night until 11:58 p.m. when I hit submit.
The next morning, I found myself sleeping in one of my online classes and my professor called my name for attendance. It took her the third time to call me and I put my head up and unmuted to say “here.” I still got a B even though it was not one of my best essays.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 35% of adults are not getting enough sleep. This is around 85 million adults running on less than 7 hours of sleep (as 7 or more is the recommended amount a night).
The truth of the matter is that college students are taking on too much workload than they can handle. And it can be very difficult for people juggling work and school.
Daniel Strain, a senior in accounting at Long Beach State, shared how sleep affects college students’ performance in school.
“Yes, it does affect our performance in school because it’s the energy that you need for the day just like eating,” Strain said. “It is something that your body and your brain need.”
Long Beach State senior in health science Neil Reyes also gave some insight on the hours of sleep that he has in order to function for the day.
“Some people function better with less sleep, but it depends on each person,” Reyes said. “For me, I can function with like six hours of sleep minimum but any other number lower than that I can’t.”
Saoirse Eli, a junior in aerospace engineering at Long Beach State, shared how he sees sleep in relation to school performance.
“When you’re tired, you’re thinking less. Your brain is not processing as it normally would when you are fully awake and fully aware,” Eli said. “I normally would do better on tests whenever I am fully awake.”
Each of these students believes that sleep is essential when it comes to academic performance. It is something that they can’t survive without when going to class.
Understanding the importance of sleep during school is something that students need to be aware of. It may not seem like it, but it plays a huge role in our academic success.
Now, I am not saying to ditch the homework and sleep it off expecting that your grades will improve, but it is about using that replenished energy for school. Get more quality sleep and wake up to a new day of learning.