This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Have you ever felt tired for days on end and can’t seem to get your energy up after many naps throughout the day? What about a time you pulled an all-nighter with your friends and had no energy the next day to do anything? Ever feel like one night with no sleep ruins your entire week? This is because your body needs a certain amount of hours every night, and these hours should be somewhat consistent. A small switch to this pattern cause cause disruption in your daily life.
“Catching up on sleep” doesn’t exsist
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say “hey, I’m going to go back home to catch up on some sleep.” Well, you can go ahead and tell them “good luck with that!” because sleep cannot be gained back. Every human has something called a circadian rhythm. This is the cycle of sleep and wake that we roughly follow every day. We are awake for the day, and we sleep at night. This is a natural cycle that the human body follows in accordance with how the sun circles the earth. If our rhythm gets interrupted, out body will be affected. If you usually get 8 hours of sleep every night, but stay up late one night and only get 4, taking a 4 hour nap the next day won’t change much. Your circadian rhythm has been affected. It’s not about the amount of hours adding up to a certain number each week, it’s about getting a similar, and effective number of hours each night.
Sleep affects everything
Everything you do in your life that takes any sort of energy is powered by sleep, among other things. Prioritizing a steady sleep schedule doesn’t only have an on effect whether you feel tired or not – it can determine how well you do on a test, how much energy you have to workout, hangout with friends, and do daily tasks. So the next time you catch yourself scrolling late at night, think about how the time that you lose in that moment could affect your entire week. Adults need at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Anything less than this can affect physical and mental health. During sleep, the brain gets rid of toxins, organizes memories, and goes through stages of REM and NREM that allows for emotional regulation, problem solving, and learning abilities. Lack of sleep takes away from the brain’s time to restore and reset for the night.
Steps towards Improvement
Next time you are faced with the choice of going out or staying in and going to bed early, think of the consequences of not getting enough sleep. Additionally, creating a set bed-time can also be helpful. It doesn’t have to be the same every night, and of course, not getting enough sleep once in a while is inevitable, but putting in an effort to keep your circadian rhythm intact, and allow yourself to get the sleep your body needs can have lasting effects on your health, and your everyday life.