What comes to your mind when you think about an average college dorm room? Parties, a sink full of dishes (should you be so lucky to have a sink), outdated wooden furniture? Sure, college is a time for self-exploration and autonomy, but the time spent in a college dorm can also put a significant toll on physical and mental health. Sleep deprivation is the number one issue facing college students with 70% of college students reporting frequent insufficient sleep. It's no wonder that companies are honing in to perfect sleep accessories such as mattress toppers, which can significantly improve these sleep woes. But why is getting enough sleep so difficult?
College students need more sleep than the average adult, which is about 8.5 hours of sleep each night. Anyone who has lived in a college environment knows the challenges associated with getting enough sleep at night. Between Tipsy Tuesday keeping the whole floor up until 3:00 AM and the hard wooden bed frames that are easily felt through the tired flimsy mattresses used year after year, a good night's rest comes as no easy task. Not to mention the added issue of the copious amounts of germs circulating within the communal spaces that are a terrible cold waiting to happen. Sleep-deprived students face severe consequences to their emotional and physical health, including a higher risk of heart disease, deficits in concentration, moodiness, and a compromised immune system.
Imagine trying to focus on a midterm when you’ve only gotten a couple of decent hours of sleep and are fighting off a week-long cold. If you guessed that you wouldn't do well on the test, you're right! A recent study published found that students who slept well for the month leading up to their test outperformed those who only slept well the night before the test. Thus, high-quality sleep all the time is essential for college students who wish to perform well academically. This connection makes sense; we're taught early on that as we sleep, our brain stores our memories from the day into our long-term memory, but if you don't get a good night's sleep, then all the studying and knowledge from that day goes down the drain.
Grades aren't the only issue associated with poor sleep; mental health symptoms rise as sleep quality decreases. The old saying, "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," holds true in that not sleeping enough can cause depression and anxiety, and vice versa. Mental health and sleep go hand in hand; if one is experiencing mood disorder symptoms, then they may have insomnia, and if one is not sleeping well enough, then they may develop a mood disorder. Let's cut out one of these factors and provide a tool for restful sleep.
Sleep deprivation, sickness, and mental health concerns are frequent defeats that many college students succumb to during their dorm-staying years, but there’s an easy and effective way to prevent these issues: A mattress topper. A mattress topper will provide a cushy buffer between the uncomfortable school-provided mattress and your body, allowing you to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep. To fight away the pesky germs that inevitably circulate your space, Sleepyhead's advanced mattress topper comes infused with copper, which is known to have antimicrobial and odor eliminating properties. Although the time spent in college is short-lived, it is a valuable experience that doesn't need to be hindered by inadequate sleep. A mattress topper is a cheap investment into a college student’s mental health, physical health, and academic performance.
