April 8, 2026 | Belen Ponce Leal | Lifestyle Editor
Going to sleep sounds both like a blessing and a curse when the clock is roughly pointing past 1 a.m. On one hand, lying down in bed with a soft, cozy blanket and a pillow with the cold side sounds so enticing. Deep down, though, it’s known that the amount of sleep about to be had is going to be insufficient, getting out of bed is going to be harder and caffeinated drinks will be bought in the morning.
According to the Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine, only 11% of college students in America report sleeping sufficiently, while 40% of students only feel well rested two days of the week. As a student at Western since 2025, I have noticed a lot of students saying how tired they are regularly, a significant amount more than when I was in high school. I have experienced being sleep deprived for an extended period of time when first balancing two jobs and being a full-time student. I have recovered from that time, but I wanted to explore the effects sleep deprivation has on a university student in particular.
The relationship between sleep and health has always been well-known, but I don’t think it’s been properly explained. According to Mark Wu, a neurologist and sleep expert, “Sleep is a period during which the brain is engaged in a number of activities necessary to life, which are closely linked to quality of life.”
A healthy amount of sleep is needed for a lot of different body functions. One of them is brain plasticity, or the brain’s ability to adapt to any stimuli. The more tired a person is, the harder it is for them to process what they have learned during the day, as well as their ability to concentrate on what it is they are studying.
According to UChicago Medicine, sleep is believed to be the time during which the body recovers from the fatigue and strains it takes throughout the day. It allows the body to grow and rejuvenate. Rest also allows the body to heal itself when dealing with a sickness or an injury. There is evidence that sleep allows the brain to clear up cellular and protein debris that can build up over time. Lack of sleep can increase the risk of disease while also lowering the immune system’s ability to fight back against it.
Yet, something that is more concerning is how lack of sleep affects a person’s memory. While it’s still unclear as to how exactly sleep contributes to memory consolidation, there have been a lot of studies that show that when a person doesn’t have a sufficient amount of sleep, the brain has trouble recalling information that a person may have encountered recently, both factual and procedural. Factual memories are facts, like what a person had for dinner last night or what the capital of Nebraska is. Procedural memories are the mind’s ability to remind the body how to do physical activities. Think of typing on a laptop or playing an instrument.
Sources like Harvard Medical School have reported that the most crucial period of sleep for memory retention is the night following a new lesson. If this isn’t done, like if a person were to pull an all-nighter, it is almost certain that they will not be able to recall what they learned that day, even if the student sleeps more in the following days.
There are two main processes that regulate our sleep patterns: circadian rhythms and sleep drives. Circadian rhythms are the brain’s biological clock. There is a reason we sleep at night, and it’s because our rhythms respond to a lack of light. It ramps up production of the hormone melatonin, which makes us sleepy, in order to help us fall asleep. Meanwhile, sleep drive is the brain’s sleep stomach. We as humans also crave sleep in a similar sense as we crave food. However, sleepiness is quite different from hunger. The body can’t force someone to eat when their stomach’s growling. When exhausted, though, the body can shut down no matter where anyone is. This is particularly dangerous if someone is doing physical tasks such as driving, cooking or anything that involves heavy machinery. If someone is particularly tired, the body can microsleep for one or two seconds while the eyes are open.
Our lack of sleep may not be entirely our fault, though. According to the American Brain Foundation, it’s estimated that roughly 50 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder of some kind. Examples of disorders could be insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy or a type of parasomnia like sleepwalking or night terrors. Treatment of these disorders often involves changes to lifestyle, and various therapies are often recommended depending on which disorder a person has.
While some medications could help induce sleep, many people have reported feeling almost “hungover” when waking up, despite the amount of sleep they got. I personally used to take melatonin gummies to help me go to sleep and while I was able to fall asleep, there were times I wouldn’t stay asleep. When I did, I woke up usually not feeling rested or “charged.” So, unless prescribed by a doctor, avoid taking high doses of melatonin gummies.
Here are some lifestyle tips that could help anyone get better, more consistent and restful sleep.
Sleep schedule — The top recommendation I found from Mayo Clinic and the Center for Disease Control is to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. Having a consistent sleep schedule reinforces the circadian rhythm, which will naturally make someone tired roughly around the same time. A healthy adult should get roughly 7 to 8 hours of sleep in order to be fully rested.
No electronics — It is recommended to turn off any electronic devices roughly 30 minutes before actually going to bed. Electronics like phones, laptops and tablets emit a short-wavelength light known commonly as blue light. Blue light has been found to disrupt the production of melatonin, which then causes a person to not feel tired. I recommend getting off the game at least two hours before bed.
Peaceful environment — Keep the room quiet. Try to avoid looking at any bright lights in the evening, as it might trick the brain into thinking it’s daytime, and try to turn off melatonin production. Instead of using a phone for noise, consider turning on a fan in the background.
A quarter or even a third of our lives is dedicated to sleep. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that we give ourselves the best sleep possible to do all the things we want to do while we’re awake.
Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu
