Sleep is a beautiful thing that most college students are lacking. Not getting enough sleep can have a negative affect on your emotions, ability to work and retain information, immune system, and can cause you to gain weight. 
“Twenty-two percent of LSU students did report sleep difficulties,” said Susan Bareis, Health Promotion Coordinator at the Student Health Center. “National studies have shown up to 70 percent of college students do have sleeping difficulties…it is something that I discuss with all of the students that I see here…because it’s critical in all of our lives, and it improves our health dramatically.”
This week, the National Sleep Foundation released updated recommendations for how much sleep each age group needs, and young adults age 18 to 25 need 7-9 hours of sleep every night.
“Studies have shown that students who sleep let’s say 6 hours a night or less their GPAs are lower than students who sleep 8 hours or above,” explained David Dayries, Technical Director of the Sleep Center at the Spine Hospital of Louisiana.
Apart from your ability to concentrate and learn during the day, sleep deprivation causes your body to fight you when trying to lose weight.
“If you’re not sleeping correctly…that forces the body to retain more belly fat,” said Dayries. “There’s two chemicals: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin slows down your body’s metabolism, and ghrelin basically tells you that you’re hungry in excess, so you’ll eat more than you otherwise would.”
When the brain wants sleep, it will get it any way that it can, which is why about 100,000 car accidents occur every year due to the driver falling asleep at the wheel. According to the National Sleep Foundation, no amount of caffeine or vitamins can replace sleep.
“It’s also important to set aside those electronics: iPhones, iPads, computers,” said Bareis. “Try an hour before going to sleep shutting those things down because the light that those give of those stimulate our brains.”
If you are feeling exhausted during the day, sleep specialists recommend that you take 20-30 minute naps. If your nap goes longer than the time recommended, it can interfere with your sleep that night.
Visit the Student Health Center to get answers any questions you have regarding how to get back on a healthy sleep schedule.