College students between the ages of 18 to 22 need approximately seven to nine hours of… College students between the ages of 18 to 22 need approximately seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

This number does vary depending on the individual.

Many Pitt students do not receive the appropriate amount of sleep on an average night. Studies have found that sleep deprivation affects everything from the immune system to cognitive and emotional functions.

The risk of not sleeping enough can make people fail to realize how tired they really are. Ignoring the body’s natural urge for rest puts one at a greater possibility for microsleep.

Microsleep is when the body goes into a brief sleep state of at least half a second at a time. This is what normally takes place while sitting in a class and a person nods off for a few moments at a time, said Dr. Peter L. Franzen, a researcher at Western Psychiatric Institute ‘ Clinic.

More dangerously, microsleep can occur while driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “fatigue is the No. 1 cause of fatal crashes in drivers age 18 to 25.”

Drivers under the age of 26 cause more than 50,000 car crashes and account for 55 percent of crashes caused by sleep deprivation.

The late-night pattern that seems to have grasped college students may be caused by their delayed circadian rhythm and by obvious “social” reasons. Circadian rhythm comes from the Latin phrase “circa diem,” meaning “about a day.”

This rhythmic pattern fluctuates throughout an approximate 25-hour pattern. Its peak — the easiest time to fall asleep — varies from person to person and can change depending on the individuals sleep routine.

Because of circadian rhythm, staying up until 3 a.m. on school nights makes for a very difficult time falling asleep earlier on the weekend.

“The body needs to adjust and recuperate from sleep deprivation, which takes more than just a few days. It can take up to a month to see a real change,” Franzen said, a researcher at Western Psych.

“I’m extremely tired during the day. My coffee keeps me up, since I usually only get five to six hours a night,” sophomore Ari Miller said.

In response to the coffee craze, Franzen said that “coffee isn’t necessarily bad, but it takes about eight hours to leave your system. Even if you are able to fall asleep before the eight hours, your body won’t be able to get as much out of the sleep.”

Sleep deprivation not only slows your reflexes and cognitive response times — like how long it takes to do simple mathematics — but it also is directly linked to negative emotional responses.

“I get in a pretty bad mood if I only get three hours of sleep, which happens about four times a week,” student Lesley Noone said. “Naps definitely come in handy during the week.”

Dr. Christopher Nissen, another researcher at Western Psych explained that excess sleep on the weekends, the popular sleep deprivation remedy for college students, may actually make you more tired. This could be because of the muscles having been at rest for so long.

According to Franzen, sleep resets emotions. Sleep deprivation may be the key to psychological disorders like depression and high anxiety.

Sleep repairs and regulates many human functions, which is why it is so important for students to try to get work done as early as possible so they can get the amount of sleep their bodies crave.