How many of us are starting to fall asleep more in class or don’t bother to show up because we needed to sleep in?

Each and every day more and more students are failing, whether in academics or athletics, due to a lack of sleep. Studies show that on average a person should receive around eight-10 hours of sleep per night.

That, to many college students, is an insane number that most believe is unachievable! Most college students get around five to six hours per night with the consideration of studying, partying or just plain restlessness. Personally, sleep is very important, even though some believe it’s overrated, which is why it is easy to see that some individuals keep sleep at the bottom of their priority list.

For example, I play tennis with a young lady who barely gets five to six hours of sleep. She works hard to study and keep her grades up. She said something to me that really had me racking my brain. She said that in life, you can either give up your academics, social life, or sleep in order to be successful. Of course, no one wants to give up their academics or social life.

Yet, in my mind, people need to understand how important sleep is. There are so many negatives that come from getting five to six hours of sleep at night.

For me, I personally hate not getting enough sleep. Like most people, without sleep, I become very grumpy and agitated. College students especially need those hours of extra sleep in order to tackle the obstacles in their courses that prepare them for their majors, and eventually the outside world. Just by starting with a change in sleep, college students will start to see the great benefits of sleep, which not includes improvements in academics, but also waking up with a friendly smile every day for everyone on campus to see.