A good night’s sleep plays a significant role in enhancing numerous cognitive skills in students and memory retention is an important one. Poor quality sleep in the night and daytime tiredness affect both the mental and physical health of students to make them less attentive and focused on their academic goals.
According to healthcare experts, almost 27% of students around the globe are at risk of sleeping disorders. Nearly 50% of students are suffering from daytime sleepiness, and almost 66% of them feel that such sleep disorders impact their overall academic performance. In this guide, we will discuss the sleep disorders that affect students.
Why is Healthy Sleep Important for Students
Healthy sleep is important for many reasons, but memory and learning are significant ones. After getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep, students are more likely to be attentive in the classroom and are better able to perform several academic activities. Most of the students usually experience sleep problems due to hectic schedules, outside influences, stress, etc. As a result, sleep disorders can lower the grade point averages (GPAs) of students to prevent them from chasing their academic goals.
Sleep Disorders and its Impact on Academic Performance
Here in this blog post, we will discuss the common sleep disorders that affect students and their overall academic performance.
Insomnia
In this situation, students are unable to fall asleep or to remain asleep for a healthy span of time (almost 8 hours). There are many reasons behind this disorder, such as stress, digestive issues, jet lag, anxiety or hormones, etc. Insomnia is also considered as a symptom of another health concern. When students are unable to fall asleep or remain asleep due to insomnia, they are unable to attend their lectures attentively and are less likely to perform well in class. Not only on academic performance, but it can also impact the overall health of the student. It is one of the common sleep disorders among students, and up to 50% of Americans are in this situation at some point in their day-to-day lives.
Restless Leg Syndrome
RLS, or restless leg syndrome, is a moment disorder during sleep. An individual is unable to move their legs while suffering from sleep this disorder. This is every so often accompanied by an itchy feeling in the legs. This situation can also occur during the day, but it is prevalent at night while we are sleeping. It can also be associated with different medical conditions, but the exact cause is often unknown. RLS prevents students from getting a good night’s sleep and makes them sleepy during the day. As a result, they are unable to focus on their studies and are not likely to perform well in class.
Nightmares
Having nightmares once in a while is common. However, experiencing the situation frequently can disturb the sleep patterns of students by waking them during the night so many times. Stress and anxiety are some of the emotions that can cause nightmares in students. Many other situations can trigger them in students, including high-potency medication and the consumption of alcohol or drugs. Not getting enough sleep at night can also lead to nightmares.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Someone suffering from OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) is temporarily unable to breathe while sleeping due to narrowed or blocked airways. Enlarged tonsils are one of the common causes of this disorder. Obesity and overweight can also put someone at risk of OSA. Students with this sleep problem usually have difficulty breathing or snore at night. Most of the people also sweat heavily due to obstructive sleep apnea. This sleep disorder not only impacts the academic performance of students but can also put their overall health at risk.
Conclusion
If you are a student and often spend your nights turning and tossing, you have a better idea of how you will be in the morning: tired, sleepy, and cranky. Experts say that not having about 8 hours of healthy sleep makes you ill-tempered and can affect your grades, too. Quality sleep is important for physical and mental well-being. Sleep disorders have a negative impact on health and grades as you feel tired and can’t pay attention to the study and lecture. It can have serious consequences that may remain for the long term.
