Download Insomnia: Effects Of Distance Learning On Students Health and more High school final essays English in PDF only on Docsity! Insomnia: Effects Of Distance Learning On Students Health Chapter I: Introduction A shift in academic instruction to online classes has led to a rapid change in the typical lifestyle for many college students. Asynchronous lectures, which allow students to watch them at their own pace and time, have become more common. Students can take online quizzes from their dorm rooms, meaning they no longer have to walk across campus to get to their next class. They can start an online quiz at any time of the day or night. Research suggests that changes in sleep patterns have impacted our behaviors. The more we learn about the importance of sleep for human health and the consequences of not getting enough sleep, the greater our awareness of our need to make sleep a priority. Sleep is a complex mixture of physiological and behavioral processes. It is essential to every human's mental and physical health; it helps with memory consolidation, memorizing motor skills, energy conservation, and body repair. Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night to do their best (Avidan et al., 2014). The sleep-wake cycle is a nearly universal daily pattern of behavior within the circadian rhythm. This biological process is controlled by an internal "clock" located in the anterior hypothalamus. This cycle shows that it is influenced by external cues such as light and temperature that influence the SCN through the retinohypothalamic tract (Rosenwasser et al., 2017). Several studies have addressed the possible effects of sleep deprivation on optimal cognitive functioning. For example, undergraduate students enrolled in a University of Toronto online program were interviewed regarding their sleep habits. As a group, they report sleeping less regularly than they did the previous year; all- nighters and naps are more common when compared to their first-year schedules. In addition, students indicate that they are getting less sleep each week than they did the previous year. Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to obtain sufficient restorative sleep for optimal day-to-day functioning consistently. Inadequate sleep often results in impaired cognition, negatively affecting health. According to Rupp, Killgore, and Balkin (2010), sufficient sleep is essential to fulfilling social and job-related duties. In a study by Gilbert and Weaver (2010), insomnia reduced students' performance and increased their anxiety. In addition, students in online classes spend the bulk of their time answering activities, considerably limiting their opportunities for physical activity. These issues are consistent with those raised by a study conducted by Sundarasen et al. (2020) in Malaysia, where students cited the constant strain of 6 to 8 hours of online classes as increasing their stress levels. The present study sought to determine whether distance learning adversely affected students' sleep patterns. The online survey also evaluated students' sleeping problems, and the results were compared with outcomes from a traditional face-to-face environment.