Sleepless in Kentucky

For Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, it was Sleepless in Seattle. But according to a newly released study, the title of the movie could very well have been Sleepless in Kentucky. A nation-wide study released by the Center for Disease Controls and Prevention last month revealed that people in Kentucky are not getting enough sleep. More than 14 percent of Kentuckians said they did not receive a single good night of sleep in the last month.

Being a college student doesn't seem to help with getting the recommended amount of shut-eye. There are many obstacles that cause college students to miss sleep, experts said. Cramming all night for an exam, or staying out all night socializing with friends can play a role in students not receiving the sleep they need.

Young adults are recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Students like Tristan Willis, a sophomore criminal justice major from Grayson County, say that's hardly the schedule they adhere to. Willis said he manages five or six hours a night.

"I'm up mostly for social reasons. Studying, computer, women," he said.

Meghan Scott, a health educator at Eastern, said needlessly staying up is a harmful habit.

"For every hour of sleep that you miss each night, it makes catching up even more impossible," Scott said.

Experts at the CDC point to the stress levels in Kentucky concerning economic hardships and the role it may play in the high sleeplessness rate in the state.

The stress of being in college can also play a factor when you try to lay your head down at night.

"If you're stressed when going to bed, it's hard to just turn that switch off and forget about the thousands of things flying through your head," Scott said.

Many other factors can play a role in the problem of students not getting enough sleep while in college.

Energy drinks, while possibly helping you get through exams, can prevent you from going to sleep at night. Energy drinks are not a good idea Scott said.

Many energy drinks can be the equivalent of drinking up to five servings of coffee when it comes to the amount of caffeine in each serving. That amount of caffeine can mess up your rhythm, throwing your body out of whack, Scott said. The energy drink will give you a boost until you're able to metabolize the caffeine and then you may feel the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

"After consuming so much caffeine and there is none left to energize you, it is like hitting a brick wall," Scott said.

Andrew Shuck, a freshman pre-med major from Berea, said he often struggles to fall asleep.

"I drink too much caffeine," he said. "I'm up watching TV, studying, trying to fall asleep. I spend a lot of time staring at the ceiling at night."

Shuck, a student worker for Aramark, said he rarely attempts to stay awake, but pulls occasional all-nighters when he just can't seem to sleep or gets called into work early in the mornings.

"Oh, I feel it in my morning class, definitely," he said.

Alcohol consumption by college students can also throw off sleep cycles. While alcohol is a depressant, which slows the body down, it doesn't work in that sense if it is drank in excess.

Excess drinking can throw your internal clock way off, Scott said. While you may sleep for a long period of time after drinking the night before, your mind doesn't react to you receiving that much sleep.

Not getting enough sleep can lead to consequences worse than just oversleeping for a test. Lack of sleep can make you tense, irritable and make you lose overall focus.

Driving while extremely tired can be similar to driving while intoxicated, Scott said. Your reaction time and overall alertness are reduced when driving a car while extremely sleepy.

An increased risk of catching common colds is another side effect of not getting enough sleep because your body may lose some ability to fight the cold, Scott said.

"Another theory is that the stress of not getting enough sleep can actually weigh down many of the important functions of the body," Scott said.

Sleeplessness has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression. All of which have high rates in Kentucky

Advice for college students who have trouble failing asleep would be to begin a routine of going to bed every night and getting up in the morning at the same time. Turning off the television and not drinking soft drinks right before going to bed may help one go fall asleep faster and rest better, experts said.

Ashley Hild, a freshman nursing major from Englewood, Ohio said she does just that, and has enjoyed as much as ten hours of sleep in recent nights.

"I just enjoy sleep," she said. "I spend less time watching TV than other people, I guess."

She said she tends to get to sleep anytime between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.

"I don't do anything fun during the week; that's the trade-off," she said. "I'm happier, and sometimes it's easier to get up in the mornings."

Hild added she employs a buddy system on nights where she's forced to stay up late, but simply doesn't pull all-nighters.

"Yeah, I don't do that," she said.

The key to Hild's success, and successful sleep schedules in most cases is planning ahead.

"Have a game plan ready for tests and stressful times," Scott said. "This way you're not cramming everything in one night. It also relieves some of the stress when the time comes and gives you more time to enjoy college and have fun with your friends.