University students becoming sleep deprived or insomniacs?

Around 74% of university students are suffering with sleep deprivation, an investigation by the interior designer Hillary’s has found, with more students pulling “all-nighters” as a consequence.

The most common reason students reported staying up late included: “up late watching TV” (32%), “leaving university work until the last minute” (22%), and “socializing late at night” (17%).

This correlates with student TV viewing habits, with the BBC admitting last year that people aged between 16-24 had spent more time watching Netflix than any of their content, as students demand flexibility in a demanding schedule.

Whilst TV isn’t solely responsible for sleep deprivation in students, it is a factor.

Another part of the study also found that 10% of students confessed to be napping between seminars, and consequently didn’t sleep as much in the night.

The university to be most affected by sleep deprivation, according to the study, was the University of Sheffield, with 49% of students said to be suffering with such a condition.

Whilst no Kent or London university were in the top five, 83% of students in the UK reported they had endured ‘all-nighters’ to get work done, a sentiment many students in the south east will relate to.

Healthcare students were also found to have the least amount of sleep than other courses, consistently averaging only 4 hours and 49 minutes of sleep per night.

Marketing management, law, economics and sports coaching students were also found to have an average of less than 6 hours sleep a night. Public Health England recommend an adult should get around 7-9 hours of sleep a night.

Earlier this year a report also by Public Health England found that 1 in 3 people in the UK suffer from insomnia and that 200,000 hours of working days are lost due to sleep deprivation.

A spokesperson for Hillary’s said: “Late nights are very much part of the typical student experience, whether it’s from hours spent in the library studying or out partying to celebrate exam results.”

“However, it’s important to try and make sure that these don’t become too regular – a decent night’s sleep brings a whole host of physical and mental benefits, ensuring you’re feeling your best.”