Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Benning / Daily Vidette Senior Staff Photographer Various sleeping aids in Meijer's pharmacy section. Sleeping pills should not be taken with certain substances.

It is no secret that college students often find that there are simply not enough hours in the day.

Voluntary all-night study sessions and parties lasting until the early morning hours can often cut into a student's sleep time. But for some, a lack of sleep is not the result of rigorous academics or weekend unwinding.

"According to a survey conducted at ISU in Spring '07 ... 30 percent have experienced a negative impact on their academic performance due to sleep difficulties," Jim Almeda, health educator and peer education coordinator, said.

Sleep deprivation and insomnia are problems facing many students in particular. While many Americans occasionally experience trouble sleeping, actual insomnia can become a problem that interferes with day-to-day life.

According to Sleepfoundation.org, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of sleep, insomnia is the most common sleep complaint facing Americans.

Although experts debate the actual definition of insomnia, Student Health Services staff physician James Terfruchte explained that insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep or non-restorative sleep for at least one month … not due to some other health problem." What makes insomnia such a medical enigma, however, is the fact that it is often a symptom of a larger health problem itself.

"It's important to not just treat the symptoms of sleep but also look at … problems like anxiety or depression that might be associated with it," Dr. Terfruchte said.

Because of the commonplace nature of insomnia, especially in a high-stress environment like college, students might be tempted to turn to sleep aid medications in order to get the rest they need. However, it is important to realize the inherent dangers associated with taking sleeping pills.

"Sometimes it feels easier to just take a pill," Terfruchte said. "[But] they aren't good long-term solutions because people tend to become tolerant to them over time."

But students have many other options that have been proven effective in treating sleep disorders.

"Cognitive behavioral therapy is quite effective in aiding sleep and may be a better long term solution for people who have insomnia," Terfruchte said. "Those are … things that people don't tend to be aware of, like using your bed only to sleep in. The treatment involves teaching people other strategies to calm themselves like deep breathing exercises."

Students facing sleeping disorders should especially avoid mixing medicines with alcohol or other drugs, including caffeine.

"If you look at a number of these medications, the risk of hurting yourself from these medicines is not especially high but if you take too much of them along with alcohol you could stop breathing," Terfruchte said. "I keep thinking about Heath Ledger being the latest [celebrity] to probably have central nervous system depressants."

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