ENG102 draft review College students & insomnia

College Students & Insomnia

College students are more likely to have sleeping problems and those suffering from insomnia can develop serious mental health issues. People who don't get enough sleep risk experiencing mental health issues by more than 20%. We should know the warning signs to help college students.

To fully understand and support students, it is important we learn why they may develop sleeping problems. The reality is these students may be overworked. College students aren't always only full-time students, they have a social life and commitments, and they may have a family to take care of, on top of that they may even have jobs. Studies done by NAMI have shown that 80% of students feel overwhelmed and over 50% struggle with anxiety, which can lead to poor sleep quality. School work and exams already stress us out, having to be stressed about work and other things in life as well is not easy to keep up with. Eventually, all the sleepless nights catch up with college students and develop into sleeping disorders.

Insomnia is the most common sleeping disorder; it can lead to mental health issues.
Insomnia is the inability to get a good amount of sleep. It is caused by waking up too early, not sleeping through the night, and just having trouble falling asleep. Half of the people who suffer from insomnia also suffer from psychological stress, depression, and even anxiety disorders. Poor sleep quality can worsen symptoms of mental health issues. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 hours of sleep or more. Harvard conducted a study that determined half of the college students sleep less than 7 hours a night. Students struggling with insomnia have a difficult time focusing, remembering, and concentrating.

Lack of sleep can not only affect a student's mental health state but their academic success as well and can lead to something more serious like suicide. According to the AASM, insufficient sleep can damage a student's grades. Most students like myself cram all night for a test and because of the change in sleep pattern, we may crash and not perform our best. After a study, Dr. Epstein concluded students who sleep well consistently outperform memory/motor tasks more than sleep-deprived students. A constant, inadequate amount of sleep can result in a lowered GPA. Evidence found by Kathryn E. Kelley & William E. Kelly indicated that short sleepers had a significantly lower GPA than long sleepers. Students who were screened for sleep disorders were at high risk for academic failure. Poor sleep can affect our moods and increase depressive symptoms which can result in suicide ideation. PubMed Central found that 11% of students have suicidal thoughts and insomnia may be a great risk factor. Suicide is the leading cause of death among college students. The CDC examined the relationship between poor sleep and suicide risk in college students and it showed that .8% of the participants who had suicidal thoughts also were sleep deprived.

An article featured on Frontiers studied done in China. It focused on the relationship between insomnia in college students during the pandemic. Over a thousand college students participated and the results showed about 20% of the students had symptoms of insomnia, when compared to previous studies, the rate was significantly higher. Students reported feeling more pressure because of Covid-19. Students in the United States aren't the only ones struggling with insomnia, so we should pay attention to all college students.

We should know how to spot signs of struggling students to help before it results in a serious permanent issue. Difficulty with schoolwork, loss of interests like hobbies or social commitments, changes in appetite, and abnormal sleeping patterns are all symptoms of depression and anxiety. Students may also seem disorganized, isolated, and withdrawn. There are many ways to help someone you believe is struggling. Offer your support, listen to them, and let them know you care. If you are a student who is looking for support, it is everywhere. There are many places to reach out to like the DBSA. I'm glad most college campuses have resources for students who are struggling and wish more campuses had mental health groups to encourage achieving enough sleep.

There are recommended tips and tricks to help improve your sleeping patterns. Habits can be learned and taken into place to improve your sleep health. You must be consistent. Sleep in a dark, quiet room, & make sure you're comfortable. Turn off all TVs and put your phone away, the screen lights and entertainment apps tend to distract us from a good night's sleep. Relaxation techniques like meditation can decrease anxiety and promote sleep. Exercising improves sleep for many people. Research done by John Hopkins Medicine proves working out greatly benefits your body and mind. There are also treatments that can be done to help chronic insomnia. Medication is used to promote sleep, but you should speak to a doctor about prolonged unhealthy sleeping patterns. Herbal remedies such as melatonin can be used as well. There is a therapy that can be taken to treat insomnia, it is known as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

CBT has been around since the '60s, it has been found to be 50-75% effective for overcoming depression and anxiety. Speaking to a doctor is always the best thing to do if you are considering getting help.

I want my voice to be stronger in this paper, I want it to be more well put together.

The thesis statement in the first paragraph could be made clearer. There are 2 separate topics presented there; the problem of sleep among students and a different problem altogether presented by insomnia among college students. What has to happen in this paragraph is the creation of a link between the two otherwise seperate problems. Each problem should be presented individually in the paragraph, before coming together as a collective problem at the end with a proposed solution or strong statement of concern. Currently the paragraph does not create the needed discussion basis that would merge the problems into one or two related concerns.

The second paragraph is making a statement of fact when it should be covering possible discussion points as it relates to each problem instead. A statement of fact must be made for each cause being discussed. That means, a collective cause paragraph such as the one in the second paragraph, further confuses the discussion rather than creating a proper direction for individual cause topics that relate to both problems.