There are only 24 hours in a day, and for many college students this does not seem to be nearly enough. Between classes, sports, club involvement, work and social obligations, it can be difficult to find time for much else. In the midst of all this, an important activity that every student needs to engage in to function can get deprioritized: sleep. 

The National Sleep Foundation recommends young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, making up a third of the 24-hour cycle. This can be a high bar for many students, especially if they struggle to establish their schedule. 

McKenna Ussery, a peer wellness advocate at Grand View University, said that a lack of sleep can negatively affect her day. 

“I feel like a lot of times I can’t focus on class if I don’t get enough sleep, and I also have less motivation to get my work done if I don’t sleep at night,” Ussery said. Yet, she noted that an abundance of homework also made it difficult for her to commit to a regular sleep pattern. 

“I’m kind of struggling and staying up later as a result to try to get it done, which kind of goes into like a cycle of napping, not doing my homework, doing it later and then not sleeping,” Ussery said. 

This cycle can have more drastic effects than a rough morning. Brains follow daily circadian rhythms that affect the release of many chemicals like mood hormones and disrupting these rhythms can lead to serious downsides. Research shows that risks of depression, anxiety and seasonal affective disorder are increased when regular sleep patterns are not followed. 

However, this does not mean that late nights are categorically bad. Rather, it means that it is important to be aware of what routines one has and to be getting that recommended seven to nine hours, whether that is at night or in the middle of the day. 

The Director of Counseling Services, Heather Thomas, noted that people often put productivity or involvement before their own needs. 

“There’s kind of a cultural norm of ‘I’m just going to survive on five hours of sleep and a whole bunch of Red Bull’,” Thomas said. 

She explained that these norms can form a societal mentality that overlooks self-care and can lead people to feel anxious and stressed. At the same time, many do not realize how much their sleep factors into these things.  

“I don’t know how much students recognize it as a factor. Because I think there’s this myth of ‘I can just survive and adjust on whatever number of hours of sleep’ and on one hand you feel like you can, but you can’t always recognize like what sleep deficiency is or looks like,” Thomas said. 

Additionally, everyone has an individual relationship with sleep. 

“Each person is really different, right? What one person might need is different than somebody else. They might need ten and consistently ten hours every night or they have impact,” Thomas said. 

Above all, Thomas stressed cognizance of one’s own state of being. 

“It’s really about being self-aware of what you’re like, where you’re at. What is your stress level telling you and what are your emotions telling you?” Thomas said. 

Thomas also mentioned the number of resources that GVU has to offer when it comes to emotional and mental health, which includes one-on-one counseling, an all-hours crisis line staffed by therapists and student peer wellness advocates. 

As one of those advocates, Ussery was vocal about how she wishes more students utilized this resource. 

“No one uses it. I think because most people aren’t aware of it,” Ussery said. 

She noted that there are no strict expectations for students to use the services, and they should think of them as stress relief rather than an added complication. 

“We do events, obviously. And we’ve done like meditation, self-care events, but in particular we do like one on ones for people who are struggling with specific things and just need someone to talk to. So, sleep could be one of those things that people come and talk to us about,” Ussery said. 

Knowing what the options available on campus are might be one way to deal with sleep troubles, but again, it may not be for everyone. However, while each person is different, it is safe to say that everyone benefits from a well-proportioned sleep schedule. Creating these healthy routines may be a bit of work in the midst of everything else, but it pays off in the short and long terms.