College can be a great experience both socially and academically but it is also a balancing act that leads to lack of sleep for many students.

Academic achievements and social existence are things that students strive to accomplishment through their collegiate journey. However, those wants and needs do not come without a price. Late night cram sessions accompanied by idle chit-chat on the phone, can cause lack of sleep resulting in the inability to succeed in school.

In an article on thehuffingtonpost.com, it said that in some studies that were done, students who were getting an average amount of sleep were receiving, on average, a full grade higher than those who weren’t.

While students strive for high grades by studying into the wee hours of the night, not only are they becoming sleep deprived but are costing themselves the grades they wanted in the first place.

“What college student isn’t, I would say I get four hours sleep max,” Jessica Leves, 21, sociology major, said. “Studying for multiple classes takes a toll on me, plus work and friends makes it difficult to get a full eight hours.”

On a certain level students realize how lack of sleep can affect their academic performance but old habits are hard to break.

” I don’t think anyone gets the sleep they need, there’s always some kind of work to do,” Richard Brown, 23, computer science major said. “I know studying until you crash isn’t a good thing but you just get used to it.”

Sleep deprivation in students can be attributed to lower grades and also can be associated with serious health risks.

According to an article on latimes.com, sleep deprivation can lead to health risk to those who lack the proper amount of sleep, work early in the mornings and work late at night. The same article further stated that the genes from sleep deprived individuals were being damaged while those who slept well were producing new cells.

The article also states that health risks for people who suffer from sleep deprivation include diabetes, stroke and high blood pressure.

“I wasn’t aware that not sleeping was that serious,” Leves said. “It really makes you think but people are so concerned with getting decent grades and probably won’t care about the health risk.”

Students have witnessed first hand what the lack of sleep can do when dealing with the stress of school work.

“There was this guy last year in my class that fell asleep in his book,” Laura Ramone, 19, English major, said. “It was hard waking him up, he basically crashed from studying for his finals.”

While students see sleep deprivation as an overwhelming problem, they do believe that simple remedies can take place.

“I think it’s a problem that’s talked about but not something people try to deal with,” Ramone said. “If people manage their time more, stick to a schedule and try not to do everything, it can be avoided.”