Published: Monday, April 27, 2009 in The Whitworthian.

Ah, nightlife. It’s what college is famous for. For many students, the day doesn’t truly start until Prime time. Whether they’re socializing, gaming or homeworking, it’s not unusual for students to burn the midnight oil until 1 or 2 in the morning. And when finals roll around, even 2 a.m. sounds like an early bedtime for some.

And finals are indeed rolling around. Though the logic can at times be compelling, staying up late to finish that paper can potentially harm your grades more than help them.

Sleep deprivation is the condition developed when one doesn’t get enough sleep over a long period of time. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 45 percent of adolescents do not get enough sleep. A study concerning the sleeping habits of students at Stanford University revealed that 80 percent were dangerously sleep deprived.

Sleep deprivation has several negative effects, beyond the obvious exhaustion. Homework is difficult to accomplish while depressed, and even more of a chore when you can’t concentrate, both common symptoms of a lack of sleep.

Professor of psychology Adrian Teo said a lack of sleep has many negative effects on the brain.

“Behavior effects would include difficulty studying, can’t concentrate, can’t get much work done, make more mistakes and feel irritable,” Teo said. “One study found that sleep deprivation seems to mimic the effects of aging, including memory impairment.”

Dramatic weight gain and loss, depression, heart disease, hypertension, slow reaction time and impaired concentration are all potential effects of not getting to bed on time. At least one study has been done showing that sleep deprivation can be as debilitating to the brain as alcohol, to the point where pulling an all-nighter has the same effect as a blood alcohol level of .05 percent.

The bottom line is that your exam grade might have been better if you had gone to bed instead of staying up those extra few hours to cram. But what’s a student to do? Many feel like the amount of sleep they get is outside of their control.

“Sleep more than you think you need. Sacrifice some fun times for the sake of sleep,” Teo said.

Jan Murray, director of the Whitworth Health Center, said that on average a person needs seven to eight hours of sleep over a 24-hour period.

The key, she said, is allowing your brain to achieve REM sleep, which takes roughly an hour.

With finals week closing in, now is the time to start establishing good sleep habits. Getting eight hours of sleep a night on a consistent basis will probably do more for your grade than spending that time studying. Sacrifice some of those social activities in order to get your studying done during the day, and discipline yourself to get good sleep.

Teo said it best: “Sleep deprivation? Don’t try it at home.”