By Jessica Yingling
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 27, 1998

Sleep Deprivation, Pt. IV: An end to the madness

I have sent Brad to bed and taken over his column for this week. His swollen eyes and jittery hands were an indication that a friend had to step in and stop the madness. We also need a logical column that would bring either insight or a conclusion to our society's increasing infiltration of coffee shops.

The important questions are: What is driving our sleep deprivation? Why do we need to keep ourselves in a continual under-slept, over-stimulated condition? What are the psychological and physical effects of sleep deprivation and coffee addiction?

We are becoming a 24-hour society. President Peter Likins has finally addressed this issue by keeping our library open 24 hours a day (this started after Spring Break even though midterms happened before Spring Break). One study indicated that we are sleeping approximately and hour and a half less per night than people living at the turn of the century. Some people blame late-night television, all-night diners or the Internet for our voluntary sleep deprivation. We must face that we are in the Information Age. Not only do we have a lot more knowledge to obtain as each decade passes, we also have to filter through all of the useless information. Ever done a web search that did not bring up 3,000 worthless sites?

But we can't blame all of our problems on the Internet. Terry Young, director of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study states "It's been considered a mark of very hard work and upward mobility to get people very little sleep. It's a macho attitude." Modern work ethics and communication systems encourage people to lose sleep for financial gain and career progression even though their health and personal safety may suffer. Burning the midnight oil may be common for college students studying for a midterm or final, but when does it stop? Doesn't the boss commend the worker who puts in the overtime? Now that people have computers in the office and at home, the home has become desanctified. The home is no longer a haven from work; it has become an extension of work.

Gary Zammit, who wrote a book about sleep deprivation called Good Nights, say "People don't realize they can go longer without food and water than without sleep." The health repercussions of sleep deprivation are not well documented, although an excellent experiment at the University of Chicago showed that rats kept from sleeping died after two and a half weeks. We are lucky that finals are only a week long, although the possibility of going mad and dying are less than the possibility of being directly injured through careless accidents, such as a sleepy driver crossing a double yellow line. Evidence suggests that the cause of the tragic accident of the space shuttle Challenger was employee sleep debt.

The effects of caffeine are more frightening. While many of us have felt the good vibes form a tall mocha late at night or before early-morning classes, what does caffeine do to our bodies? Caffeine is reported to cause trembling, hypertension, osteoporosis and infertility. It also causes an increase in acid secretion in the stomach, which aggravates ulcers and causes heartburn. Caffeine seems to more seriously effect women, especially causing complications with pregnancy, low birth rate and infertility. Furthermore, caffeine consumption has also been linked to coronary heart disease and stroke because each cup raises blood pressure. The evidence is split on exactly how hazardous caffeine is to human health, but it is better to be a conscious consumer.

So what is the solution? I cannot offer anything that your probably haven't already heard. If you are not getting enough sleep, you may consider attending a time-management class or stopping by the Wellness Center in the Student Recreation Center. They can offer a more personal diagnosis and worthwhile counseling.

All I can say is what my mom says: Try to get some sleep.

Jessica Yingling is a senior majoring in biochemistry. Bradford J. Senning will return, hopefully better rested, next week. His column, "The Emperor of Ice Cream," normally appears every Thursday.