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Tossing and turning in their sheets, frustrated with their inability to count enough sheep, chug enough milk or find some way to force themselves asleep, more students are turning to drugs despite concerns from healthcare officials.
Irregular schedules featuring early-morning classes and late nights of studying or drinking put many students’ sleep schedules out of whack. To deal with irregular and insufficient sleeping, more students are turning to new drugs such as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata, which are advertised as quick fixes for sleep deprivation.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, 75 percent of Americans ages 18 through 29 have difficulty getting a good night sleep every night or almost every night, the highest rate of any age group.
Anran Wang, a sophomore biology and classics major, doesn’t think he has a medical problem inhibiting his ability to sleep, but since he can’t fall asleep before 2 a.m., he typically stares into his computer screen until 4 or 5 a.m.
Unless his roommates force him to wake up, Wang usually doesn’t wake up before noon, even though he has morning classes every day.
“I’m tired a lot and it makes me not want to do work; it’s definitely having a negative effect,” Wang said.
Wang said he has only used melatonin, a hormone that can be taken in supplemental form to treat sleep deprivation, but he knows students who have turned to over-the-counter or prescription medications for a good night’s sleep.
The sleep aids trigger neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain that induce sleep, said Dr. Allan Krumholz, associate director of the University of Maryland Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore.
Krumholz prescribes the sleep aids only after analysis determines medication is the only solution, warning that these drugs should not be viewed as a quick fix for sleeping problems such as insomnia.
“I think they are a little too aggressive in their advertisements because they are promoting their medicine as a cure-all,” said Krumholz.
Lack of sleep can increase the body's susceptibility to illness and for mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, said Dr. Robert DeRubeis, associate dean for the social sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
However, no studies of long-term sleep deprivation have been conducted. Forcing subjects to forgo sleep for several days is unethical, he said.
“Our abilities to tend well to things and stay on an even keel emotionally are impaired by sleep deprivation, but we don't know if emotional difficulties are causing the sleep difficulties or the sleep difficulties are causing the mental disorder,” said DeRubeis, who served as an expert panelist for a National Institutes of Health’s conference on chronic insomnia.
At the University Health Center, the physicians discourage student use of sleep aids, fearing side effects such as dependence and problems maintaining long-term memory. Health center officials also are concerned students who use Adderall, a drug used to treat ADHD, for recreation are turning to sleep aids to help them sleep.
Health Center Clinical Director Dr. Gail Lee only prescribes sleep aids when students are suffer from traumatic stress. Health center officials recommend students to adhere to a regular sleep schedule and avoid caffeine, sugar and exercise directly before sleeping.
Megan Hanford, a junior English major, said she never tried to make such lifestyle changes to treat her insomnia, but instead resorted to sleep medications that all failed. The drugs either had no effect, caused hallucinations or she developed a tolerance for them.
She said the the health center’s suggestions were unrealistic.
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