Common Sleeping Problems Among College Students and How to Overcome Them

Not getting enough sleep is a common challenge for college students across America. Whether it’s from late-night studying or socializing with friends, it often feels like some individuals are always running on empty.

We all know the effects of sleep deprivation on our bodies – it’s something we’ve all felt at one point or another. Typically, a lack of sleep leads to diminished critical thinking, impaired memory, and an overall sense of heaviness.

Types of sleep

There are two types of sleep: REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM cycles. When we sleep, we first enter non-REM sleep, followed by a brief period of REM sleep.

Non-REM cycle

The non-REM cycle is divided into four distinct stages.

The first stage resembles a light daydreaming state. During this phase, the eyes are closed, and the body is relaxed, but it’s also easy to wake someone up – studies have likened this stage to meditation or daydreaming.

The second stage is marked by muscle relaxation and the presence of sleep spindles, which are bursts of rhythmic brain activity. This activity appears as peaks and valleys in polysomnographic readings, signaling that the body is getting ready to enter deep sleep.

The third and fourth stages are both considered deep sleep. Sleepwalking typically occurs during these stages. Research on brain waves indicates that during these phases, the brain produces delta waves, which are much slower than the spikes seen in the second stage.

REM cycle

The REM cycle is when dreaming occurs. It gets its name from the rapid movement of the eyes, and during this phase, both respiration rate and brain activity increase.

Although sleep is divided into cycles and stages, it doesn’t always progress in a linear fashion. During the first cycle, individuals typically experience stages one through four of non-REM sleep in order. After reaching the fourth stage, many people revert to the second and third stages before entering the REM cycle.

The REM cycle usually begins about 90 minutes into sleep, rather than following a specific phase in the non-REM cycle. Many people structure their sleep around this 90-minute cycle, as waking during the third and fourth deep sleep stages of non-REM can lead to daytime drowsiness.

One challenge in achieving multiple 90-minute REM cycles throughout the night is the erratic schedules that college students often have.

Sleeping once a day is referred to as a monophasic sleep pattern. This pattern includes several full REM cycles, and a complete monophasic sleep (typically lasting 8-9 hours) is what most individuals follow.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in biphasic and polyphasic sleep cycles.

These approaches are grounded in the science of deep sleep and REM cycles. The most critical stages of sleep are the third and fourth stages of non-REM. By adjusting sleep patterns to reduce the less essential parts of sleep and enhance the vital deep sleep, individuals can feel just as refreshed with less total sleep time.

The biphasic sleep cycle closely resembles monophasic sleep. The key difference is that in the biphasic cycle, the longer nighttime sleep is significantly shortened, and a nap—usually around an hour and a half or one REM cycle—is added in the afternoon.

A polyphasic sleep schedule operates on the idea that people can “trick” their bodies into entering deep sleep phases more quickly when they feel fatigued. This allows for short 30-minute naps throughout the day and night, providing a similar restorative effect as one long monophasic sleep.

For college students, adapting to a new sleep schedule can be quite challenging, particularly since the human body tends to resist significant changes. It’s often more effective to make adjustments during a long break. Many individuals and bloggers have reported success with the biphasic sleep cycle, while experiences with polyphasic sleep cycles have been more mixed.

Nonetheless, for college students who find it hard to get enough sleep each night and struggle to fit everything into their busy schedules, exploring biphasic and polyphasic sleep patterns could be a viable solution.