Getting enough sleep can be crucial for college students to succeed. Not getting enough sleep could potentially affect one’s lifestyle negatively. Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota introduced a program called the “Sleep Well Initiative” with the goal of helping students understand the importance of, while also providing tips for getting a better night’s rest. According to research, many college students do not consistently get a full eight hours of sleep each night.  Students tend to stay up late usually because they like watching television,  or they have to do homework. 

In the past, universities have not emphasized the importance of sleep for students. However,  mental health experts decided that sleep education is the only way to help students build the endurance needed to fight the struggles of college life. 

Lisa Broek, Macalester’s director of health promotion, started the “Sleep Well Initiative” after viewing a student presentation on sleep deprivation. She visits freshman seminars and upper-division courses to provide information on the importance of sleep while in school. Broek helps students to understand how crucial a full night of sleep is to success, especially when first beginning college.  

Extended periods of poor sleep can have a serious impact on a young person’s mental health which can lead to anxiety and depression. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine(AASIM), it is recommended that adults, especially young ones, should get more than seven hours of sleep per night. 

In 2019, data of over 110,000 students were collected and analyzed by the National College Health Assessment. Dr. Michael Grandner, senior author of the study and director of the University of Arizona’s Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic, said: “Our study represents one of the largest to date that shows this link, and it shows that the more nights of insufficient sleep you get as a college student, the more likely that you will exhibit a wide range of mental health symptoms.” Grandner defines “insufficient sleep” as the number of nights students did not sleep enough to feel rested. In the analysis, they found an increase in the number of mental health symptoms and factors. There was a 19-29% increase in mental health symptoms linked to insufficient sleep. The percentage increase ranged in different areas like loneliness, depressed mood, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and exhaustion. 

When it comes to student-athletes, however, there is not as big of an issue in regards to sleep. Kelly MacGregor, a Macalester geology professor said “They have pretty scheduled lives. They seem to be able to say, ‘I have to go to sleep at this time.’  Sleep takes that priority in a way that it didn’t when I was a college student.” Athletic students have a set schedule made in order to help them juggle practice, games, and college life 

Getting enough rest will help college students balance work, school, and their social lives. Doing so can help grades and stress levels.