What is Sleep?
Sleep is a state of a living being that allows the body to rest temporarily. During this state, the physical body attains inactivity and it has no knowledge of its surroundings. Also, many bodily functions slow their normal pace, like breathing. In other words, sleep is the condition when the body relaxes without any exertion.
Different living creatures sleep in different ways. While most of them sleep at night, some are known to sleep in the daytime. Sleep has various importance in the daily life of every individual. Hence, it is very important to get a proper sound sleep every day. Here we will get to know in detail the importance of sleep in life.
Importance of Sleep for Students
Like any other vital activities of our body such as breathing, eating, and drinking, sleeping is also very important for every living being of any age. It not only lets your body relax but also helps in maintaining good health in your mental and physical state. The majority of the time in life, students remain engaged in immense physical and mental activities like academics, games, sports, cultural events, etc. That is why an adequate amount of sleep is necessary for every student.
Listed below are a few of the benefits that a student can gain if he/she gets a good amount of sleep:
Statistics of Lack of Sleep
Improves the immune system of the body.
Cleans up the brain and lets it relax after all the hectic activities of the entire day.
Helps in maintaining hormonal balance.
Lowers the tendency of feeling tired and getting sick easily.
Makes you feel refreshed the next day and hence, work with more energy.
Helps in maintaining proper body weight.
Reduces tension and stress.
Enhances good mood.
Reduces the probability of serious health issues like heart diseases, disturbed mental conditions, type 2 diabetes, etc.
Lets you have a clear refreshed mind while at studies and increase your thinking ability.
Quality sleep also lets you go along better with the people around you.
How Much Sleep is Necessary for a Student?
Now that we know the importance of sleep in a student’s life, let’s see how much a student should sleep.
The total amount of sleep for someone depends on that individual’s age. Kids and adults need more amount of sleep than elderly people. Research says that children in the age group 6 to 12 years must get at least nine to ten hours of sleep, and teenagers and young adults in the age group 13 to 50 years should sleep for at least eight to ten hours.
Often teenagers tend to stay up late with the help of drinking some coffee and studying for the whole night, as nights make an ideal study time with a quieter and peaceful environment. Well, it might as a great idea, but in reality, it’s not all a good plan for the long term.
Since the whole day is spent performing various activities, the brain remains super active with all the information received throughout the day. At night when you sleep, the body starts getting rid of all the garbages from the brain that is no longer required to be stored, thus, making it clean and ready for the next day. This is something similar to deleting unnecessary files and documents from our computers to make spaces for the important ones.
Effects of Less Sleep on a Student’s Life
Every student must take sleep seriously just like any other vital activity of their body. Inadequate sleep can cause severe harm to a student’s health. Here are some of the effects listed below as a result of a lesser amount of sleep:
Getting deprived of sleep can affect a student’s emotions badly. They can have a bad mood, which may further make them short-tempered. This might lead to severe anxiety or depression issues.
Extreme sleep inadequacy can have an effect on a student’s memory. Since the brain develops connections while a student sleeps, thus, helping them to process and recall new information, this whole process can be affected due to less sleep resulting in short and in many cases long-term memory loss.
Insufficient sleep does not let think or concentrate properly, and hence decreases the skill of solving problems in students.
When you get less sleep at night, you feel drowsy the next day. This may increase the risk of getting injured and facing accidents.
Sleeping less than five hours a night increases the tendency of high blood pressure in a student at a very early age.
Sleep deprivation may weaken a student’s immune system, thus, making their body much more prone to external germs and diseases and falling sick.
Every student should maintain fitness to remain healthy. If they do not get proper sleep at night on a continuous basis, this might result in gaining gain and becoming prone to obesity.
Less sleep also increases the risk of heart-related diseases easily.
Benefits of Sleep
What is the Best Time to Sleep for a Student?
Students getting a good night's sleep are always welcomed by a fresh new morning to start their day actively. Keeping awake for late hours at night to study or doing some other work cannot be healthy if continued for a prolonged time period. According to some studies, the ideal time to be in bed is by 9.30 pm so that by 10 pm the individual can be in deep sleep.
This is because the biological clock of the body adjusts itself with the sun and makes you feel sleepy after sunset naturally. To make this happen every student must make a habit of finishing up dinner by 9 pm every night. A small walk after dinner would help in the digestion of your food and then enhance sleep. Students may also read some bedtime stories that would help in sleeping.
Conclusion
In short, it could be summarised that students must have a deep and adequate amount of sleep every night to start the next day with full energy and activeness. Good sleep will help their brain function properly, keep them energised, and have a lesser risk of external diseases. It will also help them excel in their academics and reach their goal smoothly.
