Wednesday, April 2, 1997By Monica Paknad
Daily Bruin Contributor
Half an hour before closing on a Tuesday night, the Kerckhoff
Coffeehouse glows with energy. Inside, students can be found
studying over a cup of coffee. The soft buzz of various random
conversation fills the air as students take advantage of their
final opportunity of the day to obtain the precious commodity of
caffeine.
"What’s sleep?" Alisha Song, a second-year microbiology and
molecular genetics student, enthusiastically asks as her eyes open
wide. "I think the last time I remember sleeping was when I was 4
(years old)," she says as she sips her coffee.
Doctors agree that adequate rest, which the body needs to
function properly, can best be attained through a normal sleep
regimen. Laima Wesson, a dietician at UCLA Student Health Services,
says that sleep is a necessary part of "the normal electrical
patterns of the brain."
But in today’s busy world, "good sleep hygiene" is not always
feasible, said Dr. Jerald Simmons, assistant professor of neurology
and technical director of the UCLA sleep disorders laboratory.
According to Simmons, the average adult should optimally get
seven to eight hours of sleep per night, although this number
varies for different people.
JoAnn Dawson, physician and director of primary care at UCLA
Student Health Services, says that some researchers suggest getting
as many as 10, 11 or even 12 hours of sleep, because they say "we
need more sleep than we’re getting."
According to Vogue magazine (February 1997), the average person
gets 20 percent less sleep nightly today than they did 100 years
ago, when Dawson says "people would get up with the light and go to
bed with the dark."
Simmons agrees that the problem of sleep deprivation is
attributed to our "night-time society." In addition to the
invention of electricity, he cites distractions such as television,
the Internet and 24-hour cafes as reasons why he thinks "more
people are burning the candle at both ends."
Ironically, many students like Song and Jessica Wise, a
second-year political science student, stay awake at night only to
fall asleep during class.
Simmons discourages napping during the day because it promotes
poor sleep hygiene. He advises students to adapt to a regular
schedule of waking up in the morning, studying during the day, and
going to sleep on time.
"People shouldn’t look at sleep as wasted time," but rather "a
time for rejuvenation," he says.
Although she values sleep as "very important," Song says that
"when it comes to grades and sleep, grades take priority." Like
many students, Song and Wise admit that they cram during exams and
papers.
Experts strongly discourage cramming.
"It’s hard to make up for 10 weeks in a couple of days," Dawson
says.
"Learning specialists will say that cramming will lead to more
confusion," she says, and it’s even worse "coupled with sleep
deprivation."
At a certain point, "the body is completely wiped out" and "you
need to just go to sleep," Wesson says, because at this point,
"your studying isn’t good quality studying."
Simmons points out that "people go wrong because they feel like
they have to push themselves (to stay up)," but when the brain is
well rested, more information can be retained in long-term
memory.
It is during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, when the most
active dreaming occurs, that Simmons says information is taken from
the short-term memory and placed into long-term memory.
Simmons emphasizes that if students must cram, they should
"recognize that they won’t function as well at the time of the test
and won’t retain the information in long-term memory."
Instead, he suggests that rather than cramming the night before
an exam, students will experience better exam performance with
sleep.
"Twelve hours of cramming would be better-off done two nights
before the test, and sleep the night before (the test)," he
recommends.
Dawson adds that students who must cram "don’t need a medical
doctor, they need a miracle worker."
Dawson says that her experience at Student Health Services has
shown that, although infrequent, they do get students looking for
some "magic potion" to keep them awake; however, Dawson doesn’t
even recommend coffee or Vivarin. She insists that the only
solution is long-term time management and better study skills.
Caffeine is the drug of choice for many UCLA students. "I’m
addicted," Song says. "I don’t know what I’d do without Cappuccino
Royales."
Wise indicates that she has the habit of combining caffeine with
taking Vivarin and cramming:
"Since this quarter, I’ve been up four days at a time doing
papers. I’d start a paper the day it’s due. By the second paper, I
wasn’t thinking straight. It was the caffeine talking."
Doctors agree that although caffeine, a central nervous system
stimulant, will help you stay awake, they don’t recommend taking a
lot of it, especially for people who are not used to using it.
"Finals is not the time to start changing habits, because there
is already enough stress on the body," says Pamela Saltsman,
registered clinical research dietician at the Center for Human
Nutrition at UCLA.
"The things that a person does to keep themselves awake,
generally, are not good to do on a regular basis," Simmons
says.
"The brain needs sleep, and when you force it (to stay awake)
with pharmacological substances," there can be consequences, Wesson
says, including increased urination leading to dehydration,
shakiness, sweating, irritability, nervousness, dry mouth, diarrhea
and "rebound exhaustion."
"Chronically sleep-deprived" people have an increased risk of
poor food digestion, blood pressure problems and stress-related
illnesses, according to Simmons.
Additionally, he says that these people have an increased risk
of falling asleep while driving.
Song recounts a time she fell asleep while driving on the 405
freeway: "The reflectors on the freeway woke me up and saved my
life."
Sleep-deprived people are more prone to accidents, according to
Dawson, due to "errors in judgement" possibly resulting from the
inability to even perceive danger.
She characterizes a sleep-deprived person as irritable,
unreliable, emotional, anxious, exhausted and less able to
concentrate and cope with the demands of life.
She says that at Student Health Services, students, who are
often unaware of sleep deprivation, complain of problems such as
headaches, feeling chills, disordered appetites and digestive
problems.
How do you know when the problem is serious? Simmons recommends
seeking medical treatment for a potential sleep disorder if a
person is getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night and still
experiences daytime sleepiness.
Although the long-term effects are unclear, Simmons says that
studies have shown that we can adapt to some less sleep with
minimal short-term effects; however, he warns that this is true up
to a certain point of sleep loss.
"You can’t save up extra sleep for a rainy day," he says, and
likewise you can’t make up for sleep loss afterwards.
So, what is a student desperately cramming for finals to do?
To stay awake, Wesson suggests low doses of caffeine (200 mg or
a couple cups of coffee), because of its "benefits for enhanced
concentration and increased reflex action" and moderate physical
activity in the evening.
She says that though "vigorous exercise burns you out, people
who are regularly physically active tend to think better when awake
and sleep better when asleep.
"Regular exercisers can be energized for up to five hours after
exercise," she says.
If one must stay up, Simmons also suggests creating a
stimulating environment by drinking caffeinated beverages,
listening to music, and taking frequent breaks every 10 to 15
minutes "so the brain doesn’t get fatigued by long periods of
concentration."
A study plan with specified breaks "does more good than pushing
through," according to Dawson, because it gives the brain a chance
to process information and rest.
Dawson even recommends naps because they, as well as just
sitting and meditating, are "restorative to the body." She suggests
visiting a quiet, peaceful place.
Regarding study times, Dawson says that individuals need to
understand what works best for themselves: "Some people are
early-birds and some are night owls. One is not better than the
other."
But Saltsman warns not to do homework where one usually sleeps.
In order to achieve the goal of having the body associate the bed
with sleep only, "the bed should be reserved for sleep," she
says.
Finally, keep in mind that sleep deprivation is not a problem
unique to students. Dawson cites commuters and new parents as
examples of others who lack sleep.
She adds that the problem "is not good for the individual or for
society," because it "interferes with good relations and the best
achievement."
At a certain point, "the body is completely wiped out (and) you
need to just go to sleep, (because at this point) your studying
isn’t good quality studying."
Laima Wesson
Dietician, UCLA Student Health Services">
"You can’t save up extra sleep for a rainy day."
Dr. Jerald Simmons
Assistant Professor of Neurology