Everyone has demands on their time, and it often becomes a balancing act to fulfill all of our obligations. Students feel the demands of balancing classes, schoolwork, studying, work, and a social life, not to mention finding time to eat and sleep. Around this time of year, midterm stress and general stress can begin to pile up and it is common for students to be sleep-deprived as a result. This can lead to a cycle of late nights, poor sleep, and decreased productivity that impacts our overall wellbeing.
The value of sleep to managing mental and physical health cannot be understated; it is an opportunity for the body to rest and recharge unlike any other. While various forms of rest may allow the body to have a break, nothing can compare to the restorative value of sleep. There are physiological processes that occur when the body is sleeping that don’t occur with waking rest, so even if the recommended seven to nine hours aren’t possible every night, it’s important to make sleep a priority for our health.
Melatonin, produced naturally in the body, is the “sleepy” hormone and helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm – the internal 24-hour clock that plays a huge role in when we fall asleep and when we wake up. The production of melatonin is regulated by light; the more light is picked up by photoreceptor cells in our skin, the less melatonin is produced, and the more awake we feel. When you’re trying to get to sleep, your body is physiologically set up to produce more melatonin if your room is completely dark. Interference from an alarm clock or even a cell phone screen can be enough to impact the production of melatonin, and therefore, the quality of your sleep.
Melatonin also lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, elevated levels of which cause you to feel more awake. Melatonin also has strong antioxidant effects, and there is some evidence to suggest that it may strengthen the immune system. One of the effects of consistently poor sleep or sleep deprivation is that we often find ourselves feeling run down, and this puts us at increased risk for getting sick.
Sleep deprivation also prompts us to eat more by raising levels of ghrelin, the hormone that tells us when we’re hungry, and lowering levels of leptin, the hormone that tells us when we’re satiated, or full. Leptin mediates the long-term regulation of energy balance, which works in tandem with blood glucose regulation to provide consistent energy throughout the day.
When the time comes to go to bed, a higher body temperature actually interferes with the release of melatonin. Many people have the image of cuddling up in warm clothes and blankets as comforting, but extra blankets and warm or tight-fitting clothing can actually have negative effects on your ability to get to sleep. On the other hand, taking a hot bath or shower may be helpful to sleep because they cause your body temperature to drop afterwards, setting the stage for melatonin production.
If possible, studies have shown that calming activities such as meditation or journaling before bed can help to prepare your body for sleep, with the added benefit of winding down your mind. It’s often easier to fall asleep when you are able to do an activity that allows your mind to settle from the busy pace of the school day, and can also contribute to a more restful sleep.
Synthetic melatonin can also be produced as a sleep aid, and is intended to adjust the body’s internal clock. As with anything else, however, it is usually best to let the body do what it does best and naturally work it out, but if you feel that a melatonin supplement may be an option worth pursuing, it’s important to consult with your doctor before doing so.