Staying up late and then waking up early for class might have a more adverse effect than falling asleep in classes.
A new study, published in a psychology journal, interviewed about 10,000 students at more than 100 colleges and found the number of college-aged students treated for depression has doubled since 1989.
The study prompted medical professionals in the country to re-evaluate the connection between depression and sleep deprivation.
"It's like the chicken and the egg - it can go both ways," said D. John Lee, a MSU Counseling Center psychologist. "For someone who may have a disposition toward depression, lack of sleep may be a trigger, but people with depression might not be able to get to sleep."
College students average six to seven hours of sleep a night, down an hour from the nightly average in the 1980s, and less than the suggested 8 to 9 hours.
Human biology senior Jason Beatty said he can tell when he doesn't get enough sleep.
"I get really irritable. I snap at my kids and wife a little quicker," he said. "I'm not mean, but not very tolerant."
But no matter how tired he is, Beatty said he always tries to avoid a nap - which Lee said is a good decision.
Lost sleep can't be compensated for with a few naps, he said. It needs to be made up overnight with a solid night's sleep.
"I don't recommend napping on a regular basis because it messes you up," Lee said. "There are critical sleep stages your body needs to go through, and if you don't, you develop sleep debt."
That means sleep debt can lead to more serious problems, such as reactive depression, which Lee said is the sort of feeling people experience after a loss or when they're under stress. Reactive depression can even lead to clinical depression.
Emilie Sweet said she gets about seven hours of sleep - the same amount she got in high school. The psychology freshman said she usually feels rested, but that a lot of her peers wind up tired because they can't say no to "the social stuff."
Lee said students not getting enough sleep need to re-think time management to balance homework and fun.
"A lot of people my age will be exhausted and still go out," Sweet said. "People will keep pushing them to go even if they say, 'No, I'm tired.'"
