Everyone has their own way of studying. Some people live by flashcards or Quizlet, others rewrite and rewrite the notes, another group reads and reads the notes, and some only think through the material. Students will stay up late using these methods to study, but the moment they see the test, all the material they memorized vanishes. All these studying techniques work in their own way, and they all fail under the same condition: lack of sleep.  

    Sleep may seem small compared to the importance of an upcoming major test or assignment, and understandably so. Skipping one night of sleep does not seem harmful when it is being traded to complete an essay or pass an exam, but that misconception is dangerous. Missing only one night of sleep has damaging effects on attention, mental stability and memory. The consequences that follow a night without sleep far outweigh the potential benefits of an all-nighter.

    Sleep deprivation is more widespread than one might expect. A study found that “more than 87 percent of high school students in the United States get far less than the recommended eight to 10 hours” (Richter). It should not surprise anyone that people not sleeping the recommended eight to ten hours of sleep every night and it may not seem like a huge problem. The issue involves something called sleep debt. Sleep debt is a phenomenon where cognitive impairments occur when people repeatedly get sleep, but not enough (Alic).

    Out of all the factors that prevent healthy sleeping, an unavoidable one for students is the school schedule. Across the United States, the average start time of school is 8:00 am (Suni, “How Would”). Although most schools start at eight, students’ days start earlier as they commute to school. One student from Connecticut must get up extremely early as the “bus picks her up at 6:15am and the first period bell rings at 7:20am” (Garey). On school-sponsored transportation, her commute begins more than an hour before her first class. Besides the early start time, schools provide students with homework that causes them to stay awake late. The amount of homework that some schools give cause unreasonable sleep schedules seem reasonable. The parents of a student in Manhattan consider “it is a good night when their 16 year-old son, Jake Multer, a sophomore … gets to bed by 12:30” (Garey). Both the early start time of school and the homework create an environment of constant sleep deprivation. 

    Besides school, there are many reasons why people do not sleep, some intentional, others not, but one factor undoubtedly prevents sleep - blue light. Visible light comes in different colors that correspond to their wavelength where red has the longest wavelength, and violet is the shortest. All types of light affect a person’s sleep. Research has shown that “exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms” (“Blue Light has a Dark Side”). Exposure to light prevents the body from producing melatonin and thus blocks sleep cycles. Evolutionarily this makes sense; the body wants to stay awake when there is light and sleep at night. Now, with artificial light being widespread, people stay awake longer than their bodies can handle. Blue light is the most common type of light and is the most effective at stopping the production of melatonin. The light coming from screens that people stare at emits blue light, and “even dim light can interfere with a person’s circadian rhythm and melatonin secretion” (“Blue Light has a Dark Side”). No matter how much light someone is exposed to at night, especially blue light, even dim, will suppress melatonin. 

    Not having adequate sleep comes with many consequences both physical and mental. All of them are highly detrimental in a learning environment where sleep deprivation is common. Without enough sleep, the brain starts to slow down. Attention is drastically reduced when sleep-deprived. This happens because “the stability of one of the brain regions responsible for the transition between sleep and wake becomes unstable, resulting in the uncontrollable intrusion of sleep into wakefulness.” It is impossible to focus for extended periods while sleep-deprived, because the part of the brain that swaps from awake to asleep can not function properly and unintentional periods of microsleep occur. The period of microsleep interrupts the person stopping them from keeping focus (Bianchi 16). In learning environments maintaining focus is instrumental to success, and it is impossible to do so while sleep-deprived. 

    Sleep deprivation causes more mental harm than reduced attention levels. Insufficient sleep can also cause emotional problems as “sleepless nights are tied to increased levels of the hormone cortisol, which is associated with stress.” Repeatedly having little sleep will cause an increase in cortisol and the stress that comes with it (Suni, “All-Nighters”). There are many problems created by sleep deprivation, but the one that has the most ramifications is that “individuals are unaware of their level of cognitive and behavioral impairments.” People can not tell when sleep deprivation has affected their brains. By not knowing that they are sleep-deprived, people are unwittingly restricting themselves. People are increasing their stress levels while simultaneously lowering their attention span. The effects of sleep deprivation are detrimental to everyone (Bianchi 17). There is no reason for people to stay up all night to study when they will be too stressed to think and unable to stay focused the following day. 

    The benefits of sleeping, especially for studying, are far more significant than skipping a night of sleep. Contrary to popular belief, the brain does not shut down while sleeping. While asleep, the brain is active and working; one of its jobs is moving memories into long-term storage. This is not something that can be circumvented as researchers “currently believe that memories initially stored in the hippocampus during waking, and later, during sleep consolidation, are transferred to other regions such as the cerebral cortex for more permanent storage” (Watson and György 74). Without sleep, it is impossible to commit thoughts into long-term memory. This completely undermines staying up all night to study. Anything that someone skips a night of sleep to learn will be forgotten as the brain can not reinforce the memory without sleep.

    Consolidation of memory does more than store memories. Beyond saving the memory, the consolidation of memory also enhances memory, “numerous experiments have been performed that support … [that] memories are not wiped away or simply made to decay less slowly, but are often actually improved, molded, and shaped.” The understanding of a memory is improved during sleep. This is why people “sleep on problems,” while they sleep, their brain is processing what they are “sleeping on,” and in the morning, they will have a heightened understanding. The shaping of memories also benefits studying. If someone studies and then gets adequate sleep, they will understand the information better than someone who studied but did not get enough sleep. Not every memory is consolidated during sleep; however this is obvious as people do not remember every little detail of their day, only some details of the day. Details that are consolidated can be controlled as, “there appears to be some emotional or even conscious control over which memories will be improved during sleep.” Since there is some control over what memories are reinforced, there is no reason to pull an all-nighter studying. A much better option would be to study some and get sufficient sleep. One way to select which memories become consolidated is through rewards. Telling someone that they will be rewarded for remembering certain information will cause that information to be consolidated while sleeping (Watson and György 74). This is perfect for study as the reward is built in, getting an excellent grade on the test. Staying up all night to study is a horrible idea. All the information being studied will be better retained and even enhanced by doing something far less mentally intensive, sleeping.

    Although staying awake all night to squeeze in last-minute studying seems like the best use of time, the repercussions of sleep deprivation far outweigh the benefits of staying up. Too much exposure to light at night, one skipped night or a few nights of minimal sleep will lower attention span and increase stress. Along with cognitive decreases, any sleep-deprived person has to deal with memories not sticking as well. Think next time you stay up late studying, or on the phone. What is one bad grade for cognitive and behavioral impairments that will last weeks?