Isabella Pratt
Equinox Staff
Anyone feeling a bit tired lately? No, not because we just got back from spring break, but maybe because we lost an hour of sleep somewhere in the mix! Daylight savings is an often forgotten thief of an hour of our lives that actually has quite an effect on our bodies. According to CBS News, American’s lose on average 40 minutes of sleep the first couple of days after this event occurs, which is pretty significant for an already sleep- deprived nation. Sleep is vital to the body’s daily recovery, and without it, functionality will be limited. When daylight savings occurs and the clocks spring forward an hour, it stays lighter longer. Think back to the old days, when people didn’t have alarm clocks or cell phones that would wake them up on command. People would get up with the sun, and as the sun sets, go to sleep. With the daylight being longer in the afternoon, this promotes people to not only stay up and be active later, but to limit sleep in order to be more productive.
Now you may already know that sleep is important, but what really happens to your body when you only get in a couple of hours of rest? If you chronically don’t get enough sleep you will actually weaken your immune system which basically means you will get sick more, which college students already seem quite able to do on their own. Low sleep rates also lead to developing chronic diseases earlier in life due to the lack of time your body has to reset. Everything that you put your body through throughout the day from eating; triggering the digestive system, to working out; breaking down and rebuilding muscle, to drinking; putting your liver through the ringer; all take lots of time and energy! Your body needs to rest, cells need to regenerate, and systems need to reset and relax.
If you noticed a drop in your academic performance, it could be due to a lack of studying or just lack of sleep! Once again, even more negative effects come from losing that hour to daylight savings or if you chose to watch that fifth5th Netflix episode. According to WebMD, our memory will actually be weakened and your brain will grow tired due to constant stimulation and lack of rest. Simply getting up and chugging a coffee will not solve these problems either. So before you go to the Iinternet to try and find that homework assignment, try to get a little more sleep and use that brain for what it was meant for. Thinking and processing will get easier as you let your body rest and work the way it should.
The last few things that come from lack of sleep can be quite frightening; lower libidolabido and weight gain! Yes, that’s right, if you don’t get enough sleep you will actually lower your sex drive. A study was conducted in young men who lost sleep over a one-week period, who then showed a decrease in testosterone levels. Sleeping five or fewer hours reduced sex hormone levels by as much as 10 to 15 percent. Also, it’s difficult enough as a college student to keep those few extra pounds off, so why not make it easier and get some rest?.
Who would’ve thought that you could improve your grades, overall health, sex drive, and lose weight by sleeping? It’s so simple it’s almost too easy!
Isabella Pratt can be contacted
at Ipratt@kscequionx.com
