Shreyas Saride

11th December, 2018

Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Sleep Culture at Centennial High School and its Neurological Effects

About this Paper:

Sleep is one of the most vital parts of our life for growth and repair. Yet, humans are the only

organism to put of the opportunity to rest on a regular basis. Some theories link the newer commitments

of human beings in the technological age. New work habits are increasingly pushing off bedtimes further

and further. Some theories also draw a correlation between the new distractions in the name of smart

phones which are very attractive to teenagers and adults. Regardless, the loss of sleep can have

detrimental effects on both the long term and effects of a person’s life, especially on a neurological scale,

which is the focus in this research paper. After conducting extensive surveys at Centennial High School

regarding their sleep, although many students claim it to be working for them, puts many of students at

risk for neurological problems.

About the Brain:

The brain is the most complex organ in our entire body, and arguably the most complicated thing

in the world. Although being only 2% of the body’s body weight, the brain uses 20% of the energy

humans absorb. Sleep for the brain is not a resting period. In fact, studies have shown that parts of one’s

brain are actually more active than while awake. Sleep is linked to better cognitive thinking, memory, and

decision making. This is primarily due to the fact that sleep, for the brain, is for restoring energy reserves

that were used up during the day. The synapses, or spaces between neurons, loosen up, allowing for the

flushing of toxic materials.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Data Collection:

Data collected for this research paper was collected in a form of a survey. This survey, more

specifically was conducted in Google Forms, an online survey administration app, that converted the data

collected into a spreadsheet, allowing for an easier method for refining and drawing trends in the data (the

word refining in this case refers to changing the format of any responses to make concluding information

from the data easier. For example changing the response “1” to “Very little”). A majority of the data was

based of the likert scale, which is a scale that relates qualitative responses to a quantitative scale, in this

case one to five. The survey was able to get responses from 288 people which is about 14.13% of the total

school population.

In addition to this was the creation of my own scoring system to determine a Sleep Score. This

Sleep Score is out of a scale of 0 to 100 ( 0 being at extreme risk for neurological disorders and 100 being

at extremely low risk for neurological disorders). To reiterate, the scores are to determine the neurological

risk for a particular person. The lower the score, the worse the sleep pattern, leading to a higher risk for

neurological problems. Scores were then put into four categories:

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Types of Sleepers

The Nocturnal The Yawner The Average The Sleeping Baby

(0-35) (36-65) (65-90) (90-100)

● Less than 5 ● 5-7 hours of ● 7-9 hours of ● 9+ hours of

hours of sleep a sleep a night sleep a night sleep a night
night ● Inconsistency ● Pretty ● Very
● High in sleep consistent in Consistent
inconsistency schedule sleep schedule Sleep
in sleep ● Resorts to ● Resorts to ● Usually
schedule school work school work or exercises or
● Resorts to and sometimes reads a book
technology occasionally exercises or before sleeping.
before going to technology reads a book ● Very low stress
bed. before going to before going to and anxiety
● Feeling very bed bed. ● Never drowsy
drowsy ● Still drowsy ● Barely drowsy during the
throughout a throughout the throughout the school day
typical day day day ● Never has
● Prone to ● Microsleeping ● Barely has any trouble
microsleeps occasionally trouble sleeping
● Has trouble ● Sometimes has sleeping
sleeping trouble
sleeping

● Bad sleep ● “Needs work” ● Acceptable ● Great sleep

pattern sleep pattern sleep pattern pattern
● High Risk for ● At risk for ● Not at a huge ● Low Risk for
Neurological Neurological risk for Neurological
problems problems Neurological problems
problems
Note: Although many people can have sleep qualities that belong to many of these categories as this is

just a generalization

The creation of this sleep score was based on the national average of sleep for common teenagers

and the suggested sleep numbers ( “The Average” and “The Sleeping Baby” columns), both numbers that

will be brought up often throughout this research paper.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Results:

Age vs. Sleep:

There is a direct correlation between age and sleep, and it’s a natural phenomenon. The natural

age and sleep curve looks something like this:

The Natural Curve

As we get older we tend to sleep more and more till it levels out at about 7-9 hours a day.

Teenagers are advised to sleep 8-10 hours with 7 hours as also an acceptable range. At Centennial High

School, however, the average hours of sleep for a student is 6 hours and 11 minutes (compared to the

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11th December, 2018
Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

recommended average of 8-10 hours a day), while the staff ,on average, sleep about 6 hours and 44

minutes (compared to recommended average of 7-9 hours a day). This sleep disparity can be attributed to

many factors of which including a lack of organizational skills, the ability to stay focused, and the overall

amount of work a student receives. Regardless, the disparity between the amount of sleep issue for

students is very alarming considering that the average student at Centennial High School sleeps about an

hour and 40 minutes less than the lower end of the recommended level.

Age Avg hrs

10th 5 hr 55 min

11th 6 hr 05 min

12th 6 hr 30 min

Staff 6 hr 44 min

Freshmen class data not included due to the lack of responses

This data reflects that many students at Centennial should consider changing their sleeping habits.

Less sleep means more sleep debt (the idea that un-slept hours carry over).. This is important because

during sleep, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is secreted in the brain. CSF is the primary agent in the brain that

helps repair and refuel brain cells. Less sleep means less regulation of these cells, leading to long term

neurological problems.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Age vs. Coffee/Medications:

The data also proves that a positive correlation exists between age and taking medications or

drinking coffee. What this means is that as people grow older, they are more inclined to take medications

or drink coffee.

Most of the groups show a huge difference

between people who do drink coffee or take

medications compared to those who do. This

pattern is completely conflicting with the pattern

of the staff, providing reason to believe that as

people get older, they are more inclined to take

supplements to help them sleep or stay up.

In this graph it clearly shows that age and the

people who take medication or coffee as a

supplement.

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11th December, 2018
Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Medication/Coffee vs. Quality of Sleep:

In the case of coffee, coffee is a stimulant, meaning coffee a substance that raises levels of

physiological or nervous activity in the body. Although, drinking coffee is not known to cause long-term

neurological problems, it can hinder one’s quality of sleep. Due to it being a stimulant, it makes it harder

to sleep especially if its consumed 12 or less hours before one goes to sleep. The following graph shows a

general outline of this trend as people who do drink coffee (yes) have more trouble sleeping than people

who don’t (no).

This graph focuses more

on the percentages,

showing that people who

drink coffee have a less

sleep quality compared

to those who don't drink

coffee.

This graph shows the number of

people. The trend is also continued

in this graph. It is clearly proven in

the data that there is a correlation

between sleep quality and taking

medications or drinking coffee.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Although coffee is addictive, it is important to remember that there still isn’t concrete evidence

that coffee is bad for one’s health. For people who drink coffee, it is advisable that they drink coffee at

least 12 hours before they go to bed. This is because coffee contains caffeine, the primary factor that

makes coffee a stimulant. Caffeine doesn’t get recycled out of one’s body until 12 hours later (depends on

the person), which makes it difficult for some to go to bed.

Consistency vs. Sleep Quality:

Another major factor that makes sleeping difficult is the lack of consistency. Consistency is

almost as crucial as the number of hours of sleep one gets. This is due to the human body’s ability to

adapt to its sleep pattern. Relating back to a previous reason, CSF is secreted on a regular, scheduled

process. When there is no consistency of sleep, CSF is not secreted on a regular basis, causing the brain to

not get adequate amounts of it, which is known to cause discrepancies in sleep. This graph shows a clear

trend between sleep quality and consistency of sleep.

Half of the surveyed population have a poor consistency in sleep.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Consistency vs. Drowsiness:

The data also proves a connection between one’s consistency in sleep and their activity levels

throughout the day. Those who have less consistency in sleep tend to be less active and more active

throughout the day and vice versa. This drowsiness can be attributed to the lack of quality sleep or the

lack of appropriate amounts of CSF given to the brain. Regardless this shows that short term neurological

effects occur due to a lack of consistency in sleep pattern. This means that regardless of how much a

person needs to accomplish, going to sleep at a set bedtime can actually improve efficiency.

85.9% of those who

reported that they had

significant drowsiness

throughout the day

also responded that

they have a

significant lack of

consistency in their

sleep

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Sleep vs. Drowsiness:

Although this is is a very obvious correlation between the amount of sleep someone gets and the

level of activeness this person has, it’s seemingly a very undervalued one. The process in which this

works is very similar to sleep debt, but on a smaller scale. Each day, as the day goes on, the need for sleep

increases (a natural process). When someone is deprived of sleep the day before, the need for sleep

increases exponentially faster, causing almost immediate drowsiness.

The data shows as

people receive more

hours of sleep, they

are less likely to be

drowsy throughout

the day.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Sleep vs. Stress:

The correlation between sleep and stress is very clear. In fact, this is the main problem that most

teenagers face to this day. The lack of sleep and its effect on the amount of stress that a person has. These

factors essentially act in a process called positive feedback. This is when an input leads output, but that

output leads to the input. Here's a picture to

visualize this:

Stress and anxiety are extremely common in

teenagers. According to the data, about 80.9% of

students suffer from significant stress. This can

have a huge effect on the sleep of that particular

student, creating the cycle pictured.

In this graph, it is evident that as people sleep less and

less, they are more prone to having more and more

stress and anxiety

There is a clear trend with the amount of sleep and the

percentage of people who feel stress.

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Sleep Culture vs Neurological Effects

Conclusions:

Understanding Why Consistency is Important:

Although data shows that consistency plays a huge part in one’s sleep culture, it is crucial to

understand why. The human body has an internal clock, the circadian rhythm. This “mechanism” is the

product of years and years of evolution and has the ability to tell the body when to sleep. Everyone feels

it. When the yawning starts to happen or one’s eyes start straining. This circadian rhythm is also

responsible for waking people as well. When people oversleep or undersleep (the latter being the more

common), they tend to mess up the circadian rhythm, which can disrupt normal sleeping patterns. With

the body’s ability the adapt, even if someone is sleeping 6 hours a day, which is not optimal, the body

can adjust by calibrating its circadian rhythm. But when there is no consistency, it is impossible for the

body to predict sleeping patterns, leading to a decrease in sleep quality.

Sleep Deprivation, Deficit, & Debt:

In the last 100 years alone, studies show that the average American, on average, has lost about an

hour of sleep each day. With this trend, sleep deprivation has also made its way to the world stage, and

continues to worsen. Interestingly, most of the change and sleep deprivation has been consolidated mainly

to teenagers. At Centennial High School, 84.5% of the students sleep less than 8 hours a day, compared to

the national average of teenagers in school, which is 70%. According to the data, the estimate is that about

48.6% of students at Centennial High School are at high risk for sleep deprivation, while about 63.5% are

at risk for sleep deprivation. Both those numbers are not good ones. Sleep deprivation can have extreme

consequences, from tiny microsleep sessions to sleeping behind the wheel. From a neurological

standpoint, the consequences of sleep deprivation are linked to dementia and even Parkinson’s disease.

Common symptoms of Sleep Deprivation

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● Excessive Tiredness
● Irritability and Nervousness
● Inability to tolerate stress
● Concentration Problems
● Memory Problems
● Tendency to get sick
● Blurred Vision
● Discomfort and Distractibility
● Increase in appetite
● Weight gain
● Clumsiness
● Reduced problem solving ability
● Needing caffeine to stay awake

If you have a majority of the symptoms, it may be time to see a professional regarding your sleep. To

further test whether or not you may have sleep deprivation, you can use the Epworth Sleepiness Test:

Rate each activity with a number 0-3,

● 0: would never fall asleep

● 1: slight possibility of dozing off

● 2: good chance of falling asleep

● 3: high chance of dozing off / sleeping

EES Test:

___ Sitting and reading

___ Watching Television

___ Sitting inactive in a public place (the movies, etc.)

___ As a passenger in a car for an hour without breaks

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___ Lying down to rest in the afternoon

___ Sitting and Talking

___ After lunch

___ In a car, stopped in traffic

Scoring:

● Less than 8: probably not sleep deprived

● More than 10: possibility that you are sleep deprived

● More than 15: CONSULT A PHYSICIAN

Although this may not be the most accurate form of diagnosis, it serves as a guide for those who

may not know if they are at risk. A lot of the time sleep deprivation is left untreated or even unnoticed and

can lead to progressive neurological conditions.

What can we do to prevent sleep deprivation?:

● Have consistency:

It is pretty clear that when there is no consistency in sleep hours, it can be detrimental to your health and

activeness at school or work. Try and limit the drastic changes of sleep on a day to day basis

● Have a sleep schedule:

When consistency happens, a schedule and a sleeping pattern form. Sleeping at the same time every night

and for the same number of hours helps your body adapt to a new schedule and get the best results

possible

● Get Help

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If you seriously believe that you may have a problem with sleep and may think you have sleep

deprivation, it doesn’t hurt to get screened and speak with a professional.

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Sources:

Harvard Medicine. (n.d.). External Factors that Influence Sleep | Healthy Sleep. Retrieved from

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/how/external-factors

Howard, M. E. (2018). ​The Sleep-Loss Epidemic: Understanding & Managing Sleep

Disorders​[PowerPoint slides].

MacMillan. (2015, April 8). Reasons You Aren't Sleeping. Retrieved from

https://www.health.com/mind-body/20-things-you-shouldn-t-do-before-bed?

National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Aging and Sleep. Retrieved from

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/aging-and-sleep

Sleep. (2014, October 27). How Does Stress Affect Sleep? | Sleep.org. Retrieved from

https://www.sleep.org/articles/sleep-and-stress/

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