Many of the unseen and unrecognized effects of sleep deprivation are indeed related to cognitive function and have a very strong impact on academic performance. First, it should be noted that even when students are sleeping, the brain is still working. In fact, Tim Bono – assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University – was quoted by Terri Williams when he said that during sleep, “‘neural circuits connecting key brain regions become strengthened, which positions us for better functioning the next day’” (Williams). Therefore, when precious hours of sleep are not attained, there are various consequences in regards to decision-making, memory, and concentration.
Decision-Making In regards to decision-making, Pietrangelo mentions how “when you’re sleep deprived, it’s hard to concentrate” and “your creativity and problem-solving skills deteriorate” (Pietrangelo). This could certainly have an impact on academic performance because in order to make effective decisions, one must be able to think critically. Sleep deprivation certainly makes it difficult for one to think critically and make rational decisions because when one is lacking a significant amount of sleep, he/she cannot think straight.
Memory Lack of sleep also has an effect on memory formation and retention because certain stages of sleep have been found to correlate with learning consolidation - tying information together and storing it in memory. For instance, it is said that learning consolidation depends on “the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, where most dreaming occurs” (Buboltz, Brown, Soper). As a matter of fact, it was reported that students with an increase in REM sleep also had an increase in test performance (Buboltz, Brown, Soper). Nonetheless, students who receive an insufficient amount of sleep should take into account that they are losing “some of the last 2 hours of REM sleep,” which are essential in the integration of new information (Buboltz, Brown, Soper). Therefore, you would be better off sleeping rather than cramming in a few study hours because what is the point in studying when you will not even be able to retain all the information you are trying to remember the next morning? The effect that cramming-studying has on academic performance is apparent through the fact that one is not getting much out of the late hours that he/she dedicates to studying and attempting to remember.
Concentration When students are sleep-deprived, they suffer from inability to stay on task and concentrate on the topic at hand. For instance, it is not rare for a student’s mind to drift from the topic the professor is lecturing about to the fact that he/she is exhausted and is looking forward to the post-lecture nap. This simple scenario occurs more often than expected, considering 34% of the responders to the survey I conducted said that sleep deprivation affects them in a way that makes it nearly impossible to concentrate in class. Sleep deprivation’s correlation to lack of concentration certainly influences academic performance because if one cannot concentrate, the material is not processed and fully understood, thus making it difficult for the student to master the topic in time for the exam.