As a freshman in college my nights sadly consist of only 4 to 5 hours of sleep. That is the problem—sleep is taken to lightly. “Sleep is not optional. Its a health imperative, like eating, breathing and physical activity” Dr. Judith A. Owens states in Jane E. Brody’s article.

Sleep controls many aspects of ones life. Insufficient sleep can be fatal, it causes various amounts of health problems, negative effect on ones happiness, which could lead to depression and even impair ones judgement—“The level of impairment associated with sleep deprived driving is equivalent to driving drunk.” That is scary to think about, driving drunk endangers you and others on the road, it could result in death and/or jail time; and people who drive with not enough sleep under their belt are experiencing that same compromise of judgment. That is a prime example of how important a full night of rest is.

I find myself going to bed late and rising early due to my work load. However the better rested I am the better I would be able to handle my heavy work load—isn’t that ironic? Dr. Owens explains that just one more hour of sleep can cause an increase in a students grade point average, and test scores. She also explains that “it takes a sleepy student five hours to do three hours of homework.” That proves the power sleep has.

Brody’s article also lists the health problems that result from sleep deprivation, which is, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even obesity. Unfortunately there is more—lack of sleep could depression, which could than lead to suicide. Life is already hard, people deal with a lot, from love drama to financial difficulties; I’m sure no one wants lack of sleep to be what killed them.

After reading it is clear that the power of sleep is not something that should be undermined. As explained sleep controls so much of ones life; so for our own good we need to give our bodies what they need—and take sleep seriously.