I am totally NOT sorry to say this, but you have to get regular sleep as a graduate student. The culture in most graduate programs is one that high fives and commends students for constantly pulling infamous all-nighter’s and living on little sleep. However, this same culture also expects highly productive and efficient students that will produce notable scholarly achievements.
I know you want to stop me from going on because face it, you’ve pulled all-nighter’s many times and you made it through undergraduate right. You’re working off 4 to 5 hours of sleep during the week and are proud of yourself for crossing off a few things on your to-do list, or better yet nailing that exam in your graduate course. So, who am I to suggest that you need to put a damper on that lifestyle and get some sleep?!
Well here goes it. I am someone who remembers the impact of no sleep as a graduate student and also sees the impact of no sleep as a professor in constant communication with graduate students. I think back to my graduate years and can’t believe the way that I pushed myself to get things done and perform at a high level. This was all while frequently sleeping overnight on campus or not sleeping at all and rushing home from campus at 6 am to take a shower and return before everyone came in for the day. At the time, I was proud of this and joked all the time with my friends and peers like this was totally normal and necessary. And if I’m honest, it was actually fun sometimes because I never had to push this hard.
However, if I’m honest I also remember days and even weeks when I sat in front of the computer screen, looking at rows of numbers in Excel and could not figure out how to do a simple calculation to move my project forward. And when I finally woke up, I was able to accomplish the same thing in a matter of hours. Better yet, I remember that my inconsistent sleep contributed to a number of health-related issues (i.e., I gained tons of pounds, literally), straight mood issues (i.e., I was cranky and snappy sometimes), and addictive behaviors (i.e., I became a regular sometimes twice a day at Starbucks…Venti caramel macchiato with almond milk please).
Fast forward to today, and as a professor and visitor on many campuses and in discussions with graduate students all over the world, I can see some of the same fall-outs of lack of sleep happening. And worse, many smile about and think that it’s just a normal part of being in graduate school. Or even worser, some are too tired to say anything at all because they are walking around in an auto-pilot Zombie state.
So the first question is why is lack of sleep such a problem?
Many research studies have shown that lack of consistent sleep (7-8 hours a night) can have huge impacts on your health. It can weaken one’s immune system, cause respiratory issues, lead to weight gain, increase risk for major diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, lead to depression and anxiety, result in continued loss of sleep (insomnia), and unfortunately, can cause accidents that result in death.
It also leads to addictive behaviors or dependencies that you have to rely on in order to stay awake. For example, snacking, caffeine, or energy drink overload. It may not seem like a big deal that you have to go through two bags of chips, a pack of twizzlers, and a half a can of peanuts just to make it through your wake hours and be productive. But this unhealthy snacking can tie back to weight gain and increased risk of disease. Caffeine in moderation is not a bad thing…however, I wouldn’t recommend surviving on only 4 hours of sleep for 3 nights and starting each day with one cup of coffee in the am and ending with your 5th latte or espresso shot in the middle of the night. Not only are you promoting an addictive dependency on caffeine, but you’re impacting your ability to quiet down your brain and get some restful sleep. Feel free to fill in the blank with other examples here.
Finally, the biggest reason that lack of sleep is such a problem, is because it totally impacts your brain function. And face it, as a graduate student you need all of your brain function to master your courses, write well, and have success with research. When you don’t have enough sleep, you can’t focus as well. Your response times are slower. And your brain is just not as efficient. It also causes you to have impaired judgement. This isn’t just reserved for getting drunk or being on illegal substances…lack of sleep impairs your judgement. Certainly, for those working with chemicals or with people, you can’t have your professional judgements be anything less than the best of what they can be.
In sum total, lack of sleep = poor physical & mental health & brain function = less productivity. Let’s face it you have milestones to hit in your program and goals you want to achieve in life, so being less productive is just not an option.
How will getting routine and regular sleep help you?
- It will improve your brain function.
- It will improve your overall physical and mental health.
- It will increase your ability to focus.
- It will increase your productivity.
Sounds beneficial enough right. So, let’s challenge any culture that suggests that you routinely have to give up your sleep and walk around barely making it in order to survive. Take charge of your own health and get some sleep.
It’s simple. Regular sleep = increased productivity = win for you, your advisor, and all those around you.
Rest well tonight!
Renã AS Robinson, PhD
