Good Sleep Hygiene

Good Sleep Hygiene: Making Students’ Lives Better One Program at a Time

Abstract This paper demonstrates why we need an educational program at our university that promotes good sleep hygiene. It discusses the positive effects that this program would have. To empower students to improve their sleep that will increase their test scores. It will give a look inside sleep debt and its repercussions. It will students see that if we do not teach good sleep hygiene it can lead to negative effects on their life. These effects can be anything from cardiovascular disease, to obesity, to depression. These symptoms can negatively affect someone’s life and how well they do in school. We need to institute this program into our university and we will be able to see a rise in the students’ spirits and even in their test scores.
Introduction
Poor sleep habits are one of the most common problems that society, and especially college students, deal with on a daily basis. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration estimate that sleep-deprived drivers cause 100,000 accidents each year, resulting in 1,500 fatalities and 71,000 injuries. This happens because we are always up early and staying out late. The sleep we could be getting is consumed with work, alcohol, drugs, and medication. We encounter late-night activities right before bedtime that consume our thoughts like late-night television. Good sleep habits sometimes need to be taught and followed and the best way would be an educational program for college students. This program would teach how to fix bad sleeping patterns, help to eliminate sleep debt, and show the benefits of good sleep hygiene.

Discussion

The Need for The Program
Sleep is the single most common form of human behavior and we will spend a third of our lives doing it-25 years or more. Everyone needs to know how to make the most out of that third. Not knowing how can lead to exhaustion and that can lead to even worse situations. The findings indicate that college students are not aware of the extent of which sleep deprivation negatively affects their ability to complete cognitive tasks. Having a program that promotes good sleep hygiene will let students realize the risks involved in not getting enough sleep every night. The individuals in society who have the worst sleep hygiene are college students. To get a good night sleep you need to learn a few basic things. It would be beneficial if there were an educational program that would promote good sleep hygiene. Good sleep hygiene is a variety of different practices that are necessary to have normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness. This program would allow students to learn these practices and how they can be healthy by keeping their mind and body strong and rested.

Fixing Bad Sleeping Patterns Growing up we always heard that for optimum health and well-being you should be getting between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Being college students sometimes that is something that can be difficult to achieve. There are many distractions that keep from getting a good night’s sleep. These distractions can be anything from a roommate talking on the phone in the next room to music playing from an Ipad. Students need to know how to get rid of those distractions and get their best sleep possible. This program would teach students different sleeping habits that they can start to lead them to a healthier life. One of these habits is not watching television before falling asleep. As we know, nearly all adolescents (97%) have at least one electronic item-such as a television, computer, phone, or music devices- in their bedroom. These electronic items can be the reason that you are not getting sufficient sleep at night. They can lead to a restless sleep because of the flickering lights and the stimulating content. This restless sleep can start to affect schoolwork and other aspects of life. It is important in this program that we teach these good sleep hygiene habits and let students know that they need to not just happen one day a week but seven days a week. Once the students can get in a habit of having a set wake-up time, getting rid of stressors before bedtime, and learn the difference between school modes and sleep mode, they will be able to get the best sleep and do the best they can in life. The first bad sleeping habit that we need to fix is not waking up at the same time every day. There is research that says evolution equipped humans, in common with all other animals, with biological mechanisms to make us sleep at roughly the same time every day. However, these mechanisms evolved to cope with a pre-industrial world that was vastly different from the one we now inhibit. By establishing a set wake-up time, the body will develop a routine internally. The hardest part with fixing this habit is to maintain it on the weekends. But if you follow though fixing it seven days a week it can lead to waking up feeling refreshed. The next bad habit that students would learn how to fix is learning how to resolve stressors before falling asleep. Stress is a natural and common occurrence in everyday life. Stress though can lead to insomnia and we need the most sleep that we can get every night. Stress causes hyperarousal, which can upset the balance between sleep and wakefulness. The ways to fix this bad habit is writing down stressors in life and how they can be fixed. If it has to do with family resolve these conflicts before heading to bed. Relieving stressors will lead to a restful sleep and waking up stress-free and ready for the day ahead. The last bad habit that we need to help students to fix is letting students know they have to unwind before bed. Students should not expect to fall asleep quickly if they go from school mode straight to sleep mode. They should take a least an hour to unwind before they get ready for bed. They can take that time to take a hot shower or bath because increasing your body temperature within an hour of bed can help you get a better night of sleep. If students learn how to fix these bad habits they will get a better night sleep and wake up alert and awake to take on the school day.

Benefits of Good Sleep Hygiene Students through this program will see the benefits to a good night sleep and they will learn that failure to sleep enough can have big costs on their life and even those around them. Many people concerned with a healthy lifestyle put their emphasis on diet, exercise and personal hygiene. However, one of the most important factors of a healthy lifestyle that is often overlooked is sleep. In fact, a lack of good sleep hygiene will prevent a person from feeling the benefits of the right diet and exercise regimes. In a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, more than one-quarter (28%) of adolescents say they’re too tired to exercise. This lack of exercise can then lead to more serious side effects. One of the effects is depression and depression can affect a student’s schoolwork. In the same survey as before, it was said that adolescents who get insufficient amount of sleep are more likely than their peers to get lower grades, while 80% of adolescents who are getting optimal sleep say they are achieving As and Bs in school. We will teach students that if they change their bad sleeping habits they can achieve good grades and succeed in life. The last consequence that is important to mention is not getting enough sleep can lead to increase an increase in hunger. If students learn the habits to getting sufficient sleep they will be able to fight this and live a healthy life. Sleep loss reduces the body’s ability to control hunger. This leads to an increase in appetite and especially for high-processed foods. We are all under pressure to perform, in school, at work, in social and professional settings, and tempted by multiple diversions. Learning how to control these things and developing good sleep hygiene can lead to a healthier life in general.

Sleep Debt Sleep debt would be a topic that would be covered in the program so students can see how much it does affects their daily lives. There are two types of sleep debt that would be covered. The first would be partial sleep deprivation and the second would be total sleep deprivation. Partial sleep deprivation occurs when a person sleeps too little for many days and weeks at a time. Total sleep deprivation is described as a person who has had no sleep at all for days or weeks. Your body keeps track of your sleep from the time you fall asleep and every time you wake up. As soon as you wake up the meter starts ticking, calculating how many hours of sleep you need to pay that night. It is said that for every two hours awake one hour of sleep is needed. This means that most people in society need at least eight hours of sleep a night. Students need the tools of how keep track of this sleep debt and how it is affecting them. This program would let students track their sleep and see the differences of when they get sufficient sleep and when they do not. It will show them what is keeping them awake at night and what the best plan of action is to fix that. People must learn to pay attention to their own sleep debt and how it affects them. Not doing so and misunderstanding the rules of sleep debt can be extremely dangerous. If we let students know this and how it can affect them and others they will be able to see a good reason to change.

Conclusion An educational program at the university that promotes good sleep hygiene would be greatly beneficial to students. We will be able to let students know the consequences of not getting enough sleep. The program will teach students how to break bad habits thus leading them to a great night’s sleep and even better grades. It will play a key role in helping students enhance their quality of life. Students will realize that sleep nowadays is controlled by them. We live in a society that is driven by clocks, electric lighting and work schedules. Students will learn how to how to balance all that while getting enough sleep to live a healthy life. Sleep hygiene is important from childhood through adulthood and this program will let students understand that.

References
1. Behrens L, Rosen L. Writing across the Curriculum. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.
2. Martin P. A Third of Life. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.
3. Pilcher J, Walters A. How Sleep Debt Hurts College Students. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.
4. National Sleep Foundation. America’s Sleep Deprived Teens Nodding Off Behind the Wheel. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.
5. National Sleep Foundation [Internet]. Arlington (VA):National Sleep Foundation; c2001.Stress and Insomia; [cited 2013 Oct 28]; [about 3 screens]. Available from: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/ask-the-expert/stress-and-insomnia.
6. Dement W, Vaughan C. Sleep Debt and the Mortgaged Mind. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.

References: 1. Behrens L, Rosen L. Writing across the Curriculum. New Jersey: Longman; 2011. 2. Martin P. A Third of Life. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011. 3. Pilcher J, Walters A. How Sleep Debt Hurts College Students. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011. 4. National Sleep Foundation. America’s Sleep Deprived Teens Nodding Off Behind the Wheel. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011. 5. National Sleep Foundation [Internet]. Arlington (VA):National Sleep Foundation; c2001.Stress and Insomia; [cited 2013 Oct 28]; [about 3 screens]. Available from: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/ask-the-expert/stress-and-insomnia. 6. Dement W, Vaughan C. Sleep Debt and the Mortgaged Mind. In: Behrens L, Rosen L, authors. Writing across the Curriculum. 11th ed. New Jersey: Longman; 2011.