A report from The Oklahoma Daily examines the issue of sleep deprivation on college campuses and why sleep is important for health and academic performance.
Eighty-two percent of college students believe that inadequate sleep does impact their academic performance.
They would be right.
To explain the need for sleep, Oklahoma Sleep Institute Director of Sleep Lab Services Randy Roth compared the brain to any other muscle.
“After working out, the brain needs time to regenerate,” Roth said. He went on to say that the sleeping patterns that many college-age students follow are not at all beneficial.
“It’s counterintuitive to stay up late studying for a test, rather than getting some sleep,” Roth said. “Your brain won’t be able to retain the information. You wouldn’t be able to make progress. You need sleep.”
