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Internal Assessment

Hours of sleep and its influence on productivity

Name

Institution

Bachillerato Internacional IB

November 10 of 2021
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Introduction

Sleep quality not only refers to getting a good night's sleep, it also includes good

daytime functioning. Poor quality of sleep can affect different threads of attention,

relating it to the use of mobile devices, taking into account internet addiction

disorders and technology-dependent behavior. The prevalence of poor sleep

quality in young people is very high, therefore, the objective is to evaluate the

quality of sleep and its relationship with productivity in young people.

In the adolescent stage, it takes between 9 and 10 hours a day, but if there is a

delay in sleep time, this is also reflected in waking up. Under normal conditions,

awakenings during sleep decrease significantly in the prepubertal stage, compared

to childhood.

Good sleep is closely related to age and neurodevelopment, regardless of whether

sleep acquires particular characteristics at each stage of the life cycle, with

individual differences in sleep patterns also being observed. Sleep problems in

young people, unlike what happens to adults, will have a negative impact on child

development, referring to behavior, academic performance and growth. This will

undoubtedly affect the dynamics and quality of family life as well.

Sleep is a complex process that involves multiple systems, it is an indispensable

physiological function for life, fundamental to guarantee the physical and emotional

well-being of the individual, as well as harmony with their external environment. It

has been seen that the effects of «sleeping well- are not limited to the body itself

(need for neurological restoration and health), but rather influence the development
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and normal functioning of an individual in society, affecting work or school

performance, psychosocial will and road safety, among others.

Develop

In 2010, Pérez in his article highlights that resting the classic eight hours necessary

to have a good quality of sleep seems almost an impossible mission, due to

worries, work stress and economic instability among other factors, which conspire

against the rest of adults, and also of young people.

We must bear in mind that during puberty and early adulthood there are changes

with the growth and maturation of the body's systems, these physiological changes

in neuronal and endocrine functions also affect sleep. In the transition from

adolescence to early adulthood, habits are frequently adopted that are not

compatible with good sleep. Among them we have: inappropriate sleep schedule,

prolonged daytime naps, bedtime or wake-up time that depends on your choice,

habitual use of products that contain alcohol, nicotine or caffeine. Chronic sleep

restriction in adolescents can lead to significant neuro-behavioral consequences

including negative impact on mood, attention, reaction time, retention, behavior

control, and motivation. Similarly, adolescents and young adults who report

sleeping difficulties are more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression, anxiety,

tension, fatigue, lethargy, lack of self-esteem, stress, negative thoughts, and

emotional lability and are more vulnerable to cigarette smoking. consume caffeine

and alcohol.

In university life, lifestyle changes occur, one of the most frequently altered is

sleep. Perhaps due to social and academic demands, many college students
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adopt irregular sleeping patterns, which lead to variation in sleeping habits.

Despite this, the relationship between sleep and the characteristics of health, well-

being, and sleepiness have received little attention in university students. One way

to study this relationship is by classifying sleep into two components, quantity and

quality. The quantifiable components are number of nocturnal awakenings, latency

and duration of sleep; while quality contains largely subjective indices of it such as

depth of sleep, rest upon awakening, and overall satisfaction. (Picher, Ginter, and

Sadowsky, 1997).

Kelman (1999) indicates that academic performance is affected when there is lack

of sleep, comparing the amount of it with the way young people perform or act

during the day (in the way they feel, think, learn and remember) .

The quality of sleep not only refers to the fact of sleeping well at night, but also

includes a good daytime functioning of people, which is why in some countries the

problem of sleep deprivation has been taken seriously and epidemiological

investigations have been carried out on the risk factors that generate such

deprivation and excessive sleepiness, in which it is undoubtedly found that the

most vulnerable population to suffer this type of problems are adolescents and

young adults.

In a study conducted on students from Taiwan, a statistically significant

association was observed between sleep problems, sleep quality, and scores on

the sleepiness scale, as individuals with sleep problems have poor sleep quality

and experience drowsiness during the daytime.

Picher and Ott, (1998) demonstrated the importance of the sleep-wake cycle on

physical, mental and social health in the student population. Their results suggest

that students under stress, due to significant academic demands, had irregular

sleep and wake patterns and probably decreased alertness. This could reflect

poor academic performance, accompanied by mood and behavior disorders and

increased vulnerability to the use of substances such as alcohol, caffeine, and

stimulant drugs.

Other epidemiological studies have shown the high prevalence of sleep disorders

in different cultures and groups of subjects, estimating that around a third of the

population will present some type of sleep dysfunction throughout their lives.

In a study done on students of the Catholic University (UC) of Chile, with the aim

of knowing the quality and habits of sleep, found that there is a high vulnerability of

students to sleep disorders, because at this stage there are time demands and

performance demands. (Masalán, 2009)

In general, young people sleep an average of eight hours, but this figure drops to

about half the day before a test or a job is handed in. Sleep quality involves one of

the most widespread and least understood clinical aspects, so it is necessary to

know more precisely the incidence and the factors that may be determining it.

Sleep is essential to achieve and maintain a correct mental and physical

functioning of the human being, as it helps in the consolidation of memory,

learning, restorative processes and coding.

Sleep quality (SC) is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to define and

measure objectively. This includes quantitative aspects of sleep, such as sleep

duration, sleep latency, awakening numbers, and purely subjective aspects such

as "depth" or "rest" of sleep. All these characteristics can be evaluated through the

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (ICSP) that was validated by Rosales (2008) in

patients from the Neurology Unit of the Autonomous Institute Hospital Universitario

de Los Andes (IAHULA).

Good quality of sleep not only refers to a good night's sleep but also to adequate

performance during wakefulness. For this reason, poor quality of sleep is

associated with a reduction in vitality, poor social functioning, deterioration in

physical activity, mental health, cognitive processes, psychomotor performance

and quality of life. All these aforementioned factors influence the academic

performance of young people.

Sleep is defined as the state of unconsciousness from which a person can be

awakened by sensory or other stimuli. It exists in all animals and is essential for

life, since its absolute deprivation produces death in one to three weeks. A slight

restriction of sleep for a few days can impair a person's mental and physical

performance, overall productivity, and health. Therefore, we can assume that

sleep restores, in multiple ways, the appropriate levels of brain activity and the

"normal and natural balance" between the different functions of the central nervous

system.

Studies in recent years have confirmed the importance of sleep for certain

cognitive functions such as: memory consolidation, memory encoding, facilitation

to generate knowledge and learning (Diekelmann and Born, 2010); the same ones
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that are fundamental to obtain an adequate academic performance during higher

education, in which it is necessary to retain a large amount of factual and complex

knowledge in a short period of time.

Lack of sleep impairs a range of functions, including immune regulation, metabolic

control, and neurocognitive processes, such as learning and memory.

Academic life produces changes in the lifestyle of young people, one of the

aspects that mainly alter is sleep; young people adopt new sleep patterns and

habits due to social and academic demands. All the above factors have a negative

impact on the quality and quantity of sleep; and this in turn affects learning.

Especially after prolonged waking periods. Young people who have a bad

sleep quality are more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression, anxiety,

tension, fatigue, lethargy, lack of self-esteem, stress, negative thoughts, and

emotional ability and are more vulnerable to smoking cigarettes, consuming

caffeine and alcohol; therefore, sleep interruptions, associated with academic

demands, could constitute risk factors in the appearance of mental illnesses or in

the increase and / or maintenance of such illnesses if they previously existed

among students.

Likewise, research conducted at Harvard by neuroscientist Matthew Walker found

that good sleep improves brain efficiency by 20 percent. In addition, the report

indicates that you should sleep eight hours and that the last two hours of sleep are

the most important, "because it is the most critical time for learning."

The necessary amount of sleep in humans is conditioned by factors that depend on

the organism, environment and behavior. The influence of these factors shows
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considerable variations between people. Thus, there are people who sleep five

hours or less, others who need more than nine hours to feel well and, finally, the

vast majority who sleep an average of seven to eight hours. Therefore, we can

speak of three types of sleep patterns: short sleep pattern, long sleep pattern and

intermediate sleep pattern, respectively. To these can be added a fourth group of

subjects with a variable sleep pattern, which would be characterized by the

inconsistency of their sleep habits. The reason for these individual differences in

sleep duration is unknown. Regardless of the amount of sleep, the subjects can be

classified into sleep patterns that differ mainly by the quality of sleep. In this way,

we are talking about people with efficient or good quality sleep patterns and people

with inefficient or poor quality sleep.

Similarly, Daniel Kriple is one of the most recognized sleep specialists in the world.

After many years of study and research, he assures us that those of us who

usually sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours, in addition to living longer, are happier

and have a higher level of productivity. And for those who are more sleepy, a

conclusion to take into account: sleeping more than 8 hours can be more harmful

than sleeping only 5 hours.

Setting minimums with sleep is not easy. The necessary time for restful sleep

tends to vary from one person to another depending on their genetics, complexion

and even their daily activity. Of course, a person with lack of sleep can carry out

the same functions as another who has slept more (at least temporarily. Another

thing is that it becomes chronic) Our brain has a greater facility of concentration if it
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is rested and we are not lacking sleep. That is why productivity is associated with

a good quality of sleep.

The experts also pronounce themselves with the siesta. It seems that it can be

adequate to improve our quality of life, if we do not exceed a time of 25 minutes for

it. Establishing that nap time as a habit offers the benefits of a less tired feeling

and a better mood and happiness.

The amount of sleep has not only been linked to physical health but also to various

measures of psychological well-being. The greatest psychological well-being is

obtained by subjects who sleep between 7-8 hours. For example, in the study by

Duncan, Bomar, Nicholson, and Wilson (1995), moderate exercise and regular

sleep habits (7-8 hours) were predictors of better mental health in a sample of 490

university students. Insufficient sleep duration has been linked to an increased risk

of depression, anxiety, or a drug, alcohol, or nicotine abuse problem (Breslau,

Roth, Rosenthal & Andreski, 1997).

Results of some studies showed that at puberty adolescents develop a delay in the

sleep phase of approximately 2 physiological hours in relation to the sleep cycles

shown in middle childhood. Which is due to the hormonal influence on the sleep

cycle. In the same vein, adolescents have a physiological tendency to develop

levels of alertness that they used during the day, which were decreased in mid and

late puberty. Recent data suggested that in childhood, adults may begin to show a

preference for a circadian sleep (morning-evening) (Carskadon, Holly, Richardson,

Tate, & Seifer, 1997).

Not sleeping properly can cause us serious problems beyond our personal life. In

fact, the lack of rest is highly related to labor productivity.

Therefore, sleeping is not a waste of time. Rather, it is an investment in health.

When we sleep, our body activates processes that guarantee the proper

functioning of our body. A procedure that regenerates our body during sleep hours

and that allows our physical and mental state to remain healthy. It is for this

reason that we cannot ignore the importance of a good daily rest. Otherwise, there

are many consequences that we can suffer and that can play a trick on our health.

Most knowledge workers remain static for quite a few hours. This implies less

dopamine release and there is less connectivity in the prefrontal cortex, which is

where the executive functions are, fundamental in this type of work and in any

learning process. In addition, oxygenation levels in the brain drop and

concentration drops.

In the last five years, research has been produced that links physical activity with

changes in different areas of the brain. Some studies show alterations in the

hippocampus (responsible for memory and emotional processes) and others in the

prefontral cortex (affecting executive function), while laboratory research indicates

that aerobic physical exercise improves BDNF (neurotrophic factor derived from

brain), the protein responsible for the growth of new neurons and the production of

synapses between them, its importance having been recognized, especially in

long-term memory. From this point of view, having time for leisure and sports

should be mandatory.
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That is why the lack of rest has a direct effect on our productivity. The less rest,

the less we perform. Therefore, we speak of a double negative effect that affects

both our health and our work. Investing in our well-being is also investing in our

rest.

To conclude, Currently, different studies reveal that "sleeping well" in addition to

bringing multiple benefits related to high performance and productivity, is

considered one of the vital functions of the individual, people who sleep well, are

generating health through a series processes within the cells of your body, during

sleep the detoxification of tissues such as the brain, liver and kidneys is carried

out, this explains that when waking up after a good rest, people feel capable of

carrying out any activity that are proposed, the opposite occurs when the rest has

been insufficient or of poor quality, when waking up the body falls into a lethargy

that can last several hours. Good sleep increases concentration capacity,

preserves memory, favors cell regeneration processes helping to prevent

premature aging and chronic diseases, balances emotions, repairs muscle tissues,

levels blood pressure figures, not to mention the innumerable benefits for the

cardiovascular and hormonal system.

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