Erin Yamamoto, a senior communications major, is used to running on empty, as she typically gets less than five hours of sleep per night. She originally thought that not eating could have some of the most dramatic effects on the human body, but after hearing some of the effects of not sleeping, she changed her mind.

“You always think if you don?t get enough sleep, that it?s no big deal, you can catch up on it later,” Yamamoto said.

But how dangerous is it to get less sleep?

A poll taken in 2001 by the Washington D.C. National Sleep Foundation found these staggering results: Sleep deprivation can reduce attention and vigilance by 50 percent, decision-making skills by five percent, communication skills by 30 percent and memory by 30 percent. The NSF also found that 63 percent of adults don?t receive the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night.

The study also found that people who drive after being awake for 17-19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent. Add that to the other side effects of sleep deprivation and basically you have people driving drunk, just because they didn?t make sleep a priority.

Another study was conducted by Stanford University to test the reaction times of sleep-deprived people. People who were tired from lack of sleep performed about as poorly subjects who were legall drunk. We have strict laws against drunk driving but we seem to have nothing to prohibit sleep deprived individuals from driving on the roads, although these studies claim such drivers are just as dangerous.

Besides the performance downfalls, sleep deprivation can contribute to other medical conditions such as depression, nighttime heartburn, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. In addition, sleep deprivation may accelerate the aging process, which can also lead to obesity and an increase in memory loss.

Students have school, homework, jobs and social lives, and let?s not forget spending late nights with that special someone, so sleep oftentimes is not given priority because we have other commitments that we deem more important.Is there a way out of this vicious cycle that continues to hurt students? abilities to function and dampens their personal health?

The solution really comes down to discipline, priorities and sacrifices. A disciplined schedule would help students manage their time more efficiently and plan time for sleep, even on those busy days. Priorities often include having fun and doing necessary work, but sometimes our priorities need to be more selfish, like taking care of our bodies. Sometimes we may have to sacrifice a night on the town with our friends in order to get enough rest to ensure that we perform at our best during the school week.

Sadly, this article may not change the lives of many students, since most manage their lack of sleep and continue to live perfectly well ? or so they think. On the other hand, knowing this information does make me more determined to make sleep a priority in my life, so I can have a more prosperous, healthy future. But then again, maybe I?m just dreaming.

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Andrew Stewart can be reached at

[email protected]