Apr 20, 2017 12:00 PM EDT By Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald Reporter

Sleep deprivation among college students is actually a big problem than what most people think. While many believe that this should be normal and understandable among students who always have been busy with school, sleep deprivation has many negative consequences and can be detrimental to a person's overall wellness.

Sleep deprivation and irregular sleep schedules are really common among college students, and 50 percent of these students reported to be experiencing daytime sleepiness and 70 percent reported getting insufficient sleep, NCBI reported. This is alarming considering the many negative consequences it can bring including lower GPAs, higher risk of poor or failure in academic performance, impaired mood, compromised learning, and many others.

But what really causes sleep deprivation among college students?

The Chegg study surveyed 473 students from different public and private colleges to find out what keeps them from getting enough time for shut-eyes. These reasons include balancing grades and social life, Huffington Post reported. Students fail to give sleep the respect it deserves because of the pressure of academics and at the same time, social opportunities. For many students, it is also the new found freedom that they experience in college that keeps them from allotting enough time for sleep.

On the other hand, many students also acknowledge the fact that there is a clear association between sleep and academic performance as more than half of the respondents agree that students who do well in school are the ones who get enough sleep.

Another major reason for sleep deprivation is the social media because they admit that they spend too much time online doing non-school related activities.

The good news is that according to Chegg's survey, most college students still have plenty of time each day which means that they should be able to still get at least 8 hours of sleep. This opportunity should not be taken for granted because sleep is vital in every aspect of the life of any individual.

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