Sleeping – Impact on Health

For many people, college is a great opportunity to experiment with lots of things. For me, one of the things that I was fascinated by was different work styles. I remember one semester at University of Michigan where I:

• Worked part-time
• Took 21 credits
• Was president of my fraternity
• Was the treasurer of a magazine
• Studied for my GMAT and GRE
• Studied Czech (non-credit) in preparation for a trip to the Czech Republic
• Planned a 3-month trip around Europe

In retrospect, it was crazy. The only solution that I came up with was to make sure I never slept more than 30 hours per week. That ultimately translated to a minimum of 2 and often 3 all nighters (probably not the healthiest strategy). The next semester I tried getting a regular night’s sleep every night. My conclusion…I got more done in less hours by being more focused and making less mistakes. Not a true study, but as I learned, it seems to be supported by lots of facts.

At the time, someone was trying to convince me of a theory on life doubling which was basically to take a power nap every 3-4 hours and being able to go without any full nights sleep. (I was…and remain…fairly skeptical.)

If you look at sleep, here are some things to consider:

• “Scientists have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. The effects may lead to overeating and weight gain.” (USA Today)
• “an estimated 63% of American adults do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. In fact, the average adult gets 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends, for a daily average of seven hours.” (USA Today)
• “found that the women sleeping 5 or fewer hours per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain, defined as an increase of 33 lb or more, and 15% more likely to become obese during the 16-year study period than the women who slept at least 7 hours per night.” (Study on Medscape)
• “You are just as dangerous driving sleepy as driving drunk.” (BBC story)
• “negative side-effects of sleeplessness may range from physical problems such as headaches, forgetfulness and lethargy to mental problems such as increased stress and depression” (Cornell article)

I wish I had known. It would appear that my grades would have been better, and I would have been thinner if I slept more. But, it is a serious problem. People are busy, stressed, and never have time to sleep. Even knowing all this, I can’t image sleeping 8+ hours per day.

I used to tell my team that since I slept 1-2 hours less then them every day (or 365-730 hours per year) that I enjoyed an extra year of being awake every decade (exact math not important). I love life and enjoy maximizing the day. The challenge is finding that right medium to enjoy it productively.