TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Even in broad daylight you could be just drifting through life because you did not get enough sleep. Now a University of Arizona study suggests sleeplessness is more than something that will slow you down and make you foggy; it could actually make you suicidal.
A long, restful, good night’s sleep can be a rare luxury. But good sleep is a necessity, for physical, and mental health.
College students are notorious for not getting enough sleep, maybe from late night study, long, loud parties, or both.
Doctor Andrew Tubbs and a team of Psychiatry researchers at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine have found lack of sleep can be so hard on mental health that it can lead people to suicide.
He says, “There are a lot of other studies that show that sleep problems develop a lot earlier than certainly a number of mental illnesses, depression, anxiety. The sleep problems come first and after a long battle of poor sleep those people can develop depression and anxiety, which then increases their risk of developing suicidal ideation.”
UA Sophomore Christian Martinez understands sleep is important and we rarely get enough.
“I can see it and like really extreme cases, but ultimately it's just about self care. Just make sure that you budget yourself that five to six hours even that, at that low amount to like take care of the mental health.”
Doctor Tubbs says you can develop positive habits that increase your chance of good sleep like striving for seven to eight hours, being consistent about when you go to bed and get up, limiting caffeine and staying off your phone and all the agitating content that comes through it.
He says there’s therapy to help build those behaviors if you can’t build them up on your own.
At UA’s Campus Health Service, students can reach counseling help round the clock. Director of Health Promotion, David Salafsky says there is other help for people who do not have a University connection.
“One of the new changes that's not just on campus, But in the wider country is the 988 number. So that's the new crisis line that people can call or text and they can get immediate help.”
But you could prevent some of those problems with something as simple—-or as challenging as getting a good night’s sleep.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
