Written by: Sanjana Sivakumar
Edited by: Kaitlin Lemke
Sleep is essential to every process in our bodies and thus affects every facet of our lives; however, it seems that prioritizing work above all else, including sleep, is celebrated in American culture. At UCLA, such hustle culture becomes even more prominent when midterms and finals are being held. It is important to understand the importance of sleep and strong study habits, and implement these as we head into the new year.
In academically rigorous environments, the majority of high-caliber students often bring out the competitive nature in each other; this usually compels such students to sacrifice a good night’s sleep in order to study and finish assignments. While being driven and hardworking are crucial to one’s success, problems arise when students prioritize their grades and GPA over their health and wellbeing. This mindset is not something that has been newly developed, though. What we permit, we promote, and throughout the years, we have taught ourselves to work more and sleep less. Luckily, this problematic nature is becoming widely recognized.
The phenomenon of overworking and undersleeping does not only occur in academic settings — it follows us into the workforce, where it has become not only normalized, but praised to trade valuable hours of sleep for putting more hours into work. Although we may think doing so is an impressive act of endurance resulting in a more favourable outcome, this is simply not the case — productivity levels decline drastically as we get less sleep. On average, an adult needs about seven or more hours of sleep every night in order to carry out basic physical and mental functions (CDC 2016).
People are overworked in various fields all over the world; no matter the profession, reduced sleep and burnout go hand in hand with each other. Such overworking is correlated with a lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and burnout. Globally, it was found in 2016 that approximately 488 million people had been exposed to long working conditions, defined as being more than 55 hours (Pega et al. 2021). However, it seems that overworking is more prominent in the U.S. — this year, it was found that medical graduates from the U.S. showed more work-related burnout rates than medical graduates from other countries (St. Onge, et al. 2022). Furthermore, a journal published in 2019 found that, from 2013 to 2017, US adults were sleeping inadequate amounts to be considered healthy — less than 6 hours per day (Sheehan et al. 2018).
A lack of sleep has various negative effects on our health, both physically and mentally. For example, it can cause slowed thinking, reduced attention span and concentration, diminished energy, poor decision-making, and mood changes, including stress and anxiety (Suni and Dimitriu 2021). Productivity is not something that will increase for anyone with these symptoms. Long-term effects include risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, immunodeficiency, hormonal abnormalities, or pain (Suni and Dimitriu 2021). Ultimately, sacrificing your sleep means sacrificing your health.
In order to improve sleep quality, it is important to have a consistent sleep schedule and a good environment to sleep in; this means making it dark and maintaining a comfortable temperature (CDC 2020). It also helps to be active throughout the day and avoid consuming large meals, caffeine, or alcohol before bedtime (CDC 2020). Additionally, one should reduce activities that may cause mental strain or mental stimulation close to bedtime, such as looking at electronic devices (CDC 2020).
However, one must also keep in mind that fatigue and sleepiness may look different in each individual; our internal clock plays a major role in maintaining energy levels, activeness, and sleep cycles every day (Pacheco 2021). Interestingly, we can alter our circadian rhythm – to a certain extent – to fit our schedules (Pacheco 2021). Therefore, paying attention to what time of day you have the most energy and are most productive, as well as when you tend to crash and become tired, can enable optimizing your schedule around these times.
For students that want to allow for more restful nights, one must reduce feeling overwhelmed and thus cramming immediately before exams. Thus, it is highly beneficial to employ study habits that strengthen memory retention, such as spreading study sessions out over a few days, including breaks within those sessions, and giving yourself small rewards for studying (Coursera 2022). It is also instrumental to find an environment to study in which maximizes focus and decreases possibilities of distraction (Coursera 2022).
Since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of mental health has become more widely recognized in our society than ever before. For example, schools now emphasize and teach students skills to best balance school, work, and life; many schools have now also incorporated mental health days in their curriculum. With this newfound emergence of mental health awareness, it is up to all of us to continue forwarding such advancement for generations to come. Health is everything, and is certainly not worth sacrificing our GPA and grades for.
References
11 Good Study Habits to Develop | Coursera. Coursera. 2022 September 15 [accessed 2022 December 13]. https://www.coursera.org/articles/study-habits
CDC Newsroom. 2016 Jan 1. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html#:~:text=The%20American %20Academy%20of%20Sleep.
Pacheco D. 2021 Jan 8. Chronotypes: Definition, Types, & Effect on Sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/chronotypes.
Pega F, Náfrádi B, Momen NC, Ujita Y, Streicher KN, Prüss-Üstün AM, Descatha A, Driscoll T, Fischer FM, Godderis L, et al. 2021. Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International. 154(106595):106595. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106595.
Sheehan CM, Frochen SE, Walsemann KM, Ailshire JA. 2018. Are U.S. adults reporting less sleep?: Findings from sleep duration trends in the National Health Interview Survey, 2004–2017. Sleep. 42(2). doi:10.1093/sleep/zsy221.
CDC. 2020 Mar 20. Getting Enough Sleep? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html.
St. Onge JE, Allespach H, Diaz Y, Poitier A, Tamariz L, Paidas C, Palacio A. 2022. Burnout: exploring the differences between U.S. and international medical graduates. BMC Medical Education. 22(1). doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03135-x.
Suni E, Dimitriu A. 2021 Jun 24. Sleep Deprivation: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation.
Edited by: Kaitlin Lemke
Sleep is essential to every process in our bodies and thus affects every facet of our lives; however, it seems that prioritizing work above all else, including sleep, is celebrated in American culture. At UCLA, such hustle culture becomes even more prominent when midterms and finals are being held. It is important to understand the importance of sleep and strong study habits, and implement these as we head into the new year.
In academically rigorous environments, the majority of high-caliber students often bring out the competitive nature in each other; this usually compels such students to sacrifice a good night’s sleep in order to study and finish assignments. While being driven and hardworking are crucial to one’s success, problems arise when students prioritize their grades and GPA over their health and wellbeing. This mindset is not something that has been newly developed, though. What we permit, we promote, and throughout the years, we have taught ourselves to work more and sleep less. Luckily, this problematic nature is becoming widely recognized.
The phenomenon of overworking and undersleeping does not only occur in academic settings — it follows us into the workforce, where it has become not only normalized, but praised to trade valuable hours of sleep for putting more hours into work. Although we may think doing so is an impressive act of endurance resulting in a more favourable outcome, this is simply not the case — productivity levels decline drastically as we get less sleep. On average, an adult needs about seven or more hours of sleep every night in order to carry out basic physical and mental functions (CDC 2016).
People are overworked in various fields all over the world; no matter the profession, reduced sleep and burnout go hand in hand with each other. Such overworking is correlated with a lack of sleep, stress, anxiety, and burnout. Globally, it was found in 2016 that approximately 488 million people had been exposed to long working conditions, defined as being more than 55 hours (Pega et al. 2021). However, it seems that overworking is more prominent in the U.S. — this year, it was found that medical graduates from the U.S. showed more work-related burnout rates than medical graduates from other countries (St. Onge, et al. 2022). Furthermore, a journal published in 2019 found that, from 2013 to 2017, US adults were sleeping inadequate amounts to be considered healthy — less than 6 hours per day (Sheehan et al. 2018).
A lack of sleep has various negative effects on our health, both physically and mentally. For example, it can cause slowed thinking, reduced attention span and concentration, diminished energy, poor decision-making, and mood changes, including stress and anxiety (Suni and Dimitriu 2021). Productivity is not something that will increase for anyone with these symptoms. Long-term effects include risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, immunodeficiency, hormonal abnormalities, or pain (Suni and Dimitriu 2021). Ultimately, sacrificing your sleep means sacrificing your health.
In order to improve sleep quality, it is important to have a consistent sleep schedule and a good environment to sleep in; this means making it dark and maintaining a comfortable temperature (CDC 2020). It also helps to be active throughout the day and avoid consuming large meals, caffeine, or alcohol before bedtime (CDC 2020). Additionally, one should reduce activities that may cause mental strain or mental stimulation close to bedtime, such as looking at electronic devices (CDC 2020).
However, one must also keep in mind that fatigue and sleepiness may look different in each individual; our internal clock plays a major role in maintaining energy levels, activeness, and sleep cycles every day (Pacheco 2021). Interestingly, we can alter our circadian rhythm – to a certain extent – to fit our schedules (Pacheco 2021). Therefore, paying attention to what time of day you have the most energy and are most productive, as well as when you tend to crash and become tired, can enable optimizing your schedule around these times.
For students that want to allow for more restful nights, one must reduce feeling overwhelmed and thus cramming immediately before exams. Thus, it is highly beneficial to employ study habits that strengthen memory retention, such as spreading study sessions out over a few days, including breaks within those sessions, and giving yourself small rewards for studying (Coursera 2022). It is also instrumental to find an environment to study in which maximizes focus and decreases possibilities of distraction (Coursera 2022).
Since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of mental health has become more widely recognized in our society than ever before. For example, schools now emphasize and teach students skills to best balance school, work, and life; many schools have now also incorporated mental health days in their curriculum. With this newfound emergence of mental health awareness, it is up to all of us to continue forwarding such advancement for generations to come. Health is everything, and is certainly not worth sacrificing our GPA and grades for.
References
11 Good Study Habits to Develop | Coursera. Coursera. 2022 September 15 [accessed 2022 December 13]. https://www.coursera.org/articles/study-habits
CDC Newsroom. 2016 Jan 1. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html#:~:text=The%20American %20Academy%20of%20Sleep.
Pacheco D. 2021 Jan 8. Chronotypes: Definition, Types, & Effect on Sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/chronotypes.
Pega F, Náfrádi B, Momen NC, Ujita Y, Streicher KN, Prüss-Üstün AM, Descatha A, Driscoll T, Fischer FM, Godderis L, et al. 2021. Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury. Environment International. 154(106595):106595. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106595.
Sheehan CM, Frochen SE, Walsemann KM, Ailshire JA. 2018. Are U.S. adults reporting less sleep?: Findings from sleep duration trends in the National Health Interview Survey, 2004–2017. Sleep. 42(2). doi:10.1093/sleep/zsy221.
CDC. 2020 Mar 20. Getting Enough Sleep? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html.
St. Onge JE, Allespach H, Diaz Y, Poitier A, Tamariz L, Paidas C, Palacio A. 2022. Burnout: exploring the differences between U.S. and international medical graduates. BMC Medical Education. 22(1). doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03135-x.
Suni E, Dimitriu A. 2021 Jun 24. Sleep Deprivation: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation.
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