For Kate Dewan, a junior marketing major and anthropology minor, sleep doesn’t come easy. With a heavy course load and intense involvement in her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, she can’t find enough hours in the day. A majority of her time spent in the library combined with stressful thoughts about the future, keep Dewan from quality sleep.

Dewan says her exhaustion has a negative impact on her ability to get all of her work done. While she doesn’t know if she would label her sleeping issues as insomnia or if she is just too stressed out to sleep, Dewan said that with her mind constantly racing, falling asleep is tough.

“I rarely have time to get enough sleep. When I do finally get in bed, I usually just sit there thinking about everything I have to do,” she said.

Dewan is not alone in her struggle for quality sleep. In a recent survey of 70 students at Southern Methodist University, 77.1 percent said that they often feel too tired to complete their schoolwork and 32.9 percent said they must take something in order to fall asleep. Students say they take over-the-counter sleep aides like Melatonin or prescription sleep medication like Ambien to help them fall asleep. Similarly, 58.6 percent of students said they need sleep to perform academically. Without it, they feel worthless.

“Even on the days where I have nothing to do and no stress, I still have trouble falling asleep. It’s so frustrating to want to sleep but not be able to,” Leslie Shipp, a junior business administration and Spanish double major, said.

Other students don’t have trouble falling asleep, but still don’t get enough. Eduardo Garcia, a senior triple major in political science, Latin American studies and foreign languages, said that he can always fall asleep. Garcia, who only sleeps an average of two hours per night, said that his large amount of schoolwork limits his ability to sleep.

“I can always fall asleep, the problem is staying awake,” Garcia said.

While Garcia doesn’t struggle to fall asleep, many people, SMU students included, do. More than 70 million Americans suffer from sleeping and wakefulness disorders, according to the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders’ Web site. Officials at the center say that insomnia is the most prominent sleep disorder, affecting 30 million Americans.

According to the SMU Memorial Health Center’s Web site, there are two categories of insomnia. Transient insomnia is a type generally caused by moments of high stress, such as midterms or final exams. This type lasts only a few nights or weeks. Chronic insomnia lasts several weeks, months, or in the worst cases, years. Officials at the health center say these different types of insomnia can take many forms.

Indicators of insomnia are as widespread as the number of Americans that suffer from the disorder. Officials at the health center say insomniacs may experience difficulty falling asleep, sleeping lightly and waking often, lying awake in the middle of the night and waking early and being unable to get back to sleep. Whatever form of a sleeping disorder students experience, the impact can be devastating.

Laura Wentrcek, who manages the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders, said that there are many physical and emotional impacts the lack of sleep, or lack of quality sleep, can have on a person. She said that the impairments caused by lack of sleep affect people in any situation and lead to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease and high blood pressure.

“It impairs judgment, slows reaction time and decreases awareness,” she said.

Wentrcek said that lack of quality sleep results in a negative impact on one’s ability to learn and retain information, as well as a possible negative effect on grades. Many students across the globe have become advocates of the “all-nighter” to prepare for exams. Students who partake in this will stay up all night to study the night before an exam. Wentrcek said that sleep is closely related to academic success and all-nighters can lead to bad results.

“Though staying up all night sounds like a good idea, it hinders a person’s ability to function at their best,” she said.

Wentrcek also said that not getting a good night’s sleep results in sleep deprivation. This impairs a student’s ability to concentrate, be verbally creative, utilize creative problem solving and overall mood and motivation.

“Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to performing at the top of a person’s ability both physically and mentally,” Wentrcek said.

While there is no group of people who tend to struggle with sleep disorders most frequently, Wentrcek said, college students are presented with challenges unique to their environment to getting enough sleep. Studying all night, drinking alcohol or caffeine within an hour of bedtime and the overall stress of classes and busy schedules make it very common for college students to get too little sleep.

In the survey of SMU students, which was conducted using surveymonkey.com, 85.7 percent of students said that they were unaware if the University offers to help for sleeping issues. Representatives from the health center’s counseling and psychiatric services were unavailable for comment. But the center’s Web site does offer some information about sleep disorders at http://smu.edu/healthcenter/counseling/ct_insomnia.asp.

For SMU students experiencing any type of sleep disorder, there is hope. Wentrcek said that in some cases, insomnia is an indicator of another underlying sleep disorder. That is why, if the insomnia persists, it is important to seek the help of a specialist. If there are no indicators of an underlying sleep disorder, then insomnia is usually treated with a sleep aid, Wentrcek said. The Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders also offers a workshop for patients who struggle with insomnia that teaches cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques and sleep hygiene. Officials at the center say that this workshop generally results in patients being able to take lower doses of their sleep aid or stop the medication completely.

The easiest way for a student to improve their sleep habits is to follow the rules of good sleep and hygiene. Wentrcek said that keeping regular sleep times, having a comfortable bedroom environment, not exercising within 3 hours of potential sleep, avoiding caffeine after lunch, avoiding drinking alcohol at least two hours before bedtime, avoiding naps during the day and setting up a relaxing bedtime routine have all been proven to help those with sleep trouble. However, sometimes these efforts do not prove to be enough to help those with sleep issues. In such cases, Wentrcek said they might need to meet with a doctor for a consultation.

Wentrcek said that many patients come to the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders for a consultation with Dr. Raj Kakar, a leading specialist in sleep disorders. During this consultation, Kakar reviews a patient’s history and symptoms, many times involving an overnight stay at the center. At the overnight sessions, patients go through a “polysomnogram,” Wentrcek said. This is a test that measures brain waves and stages of sleep, eye movement, breathing and snorting and body movements while the patient sleeps, she said. Through this test, Kakar is able to diagnose a disorder, if one appears, and go over the results with the patient.

“The Dallas Center for Sleeping Disorders prides itself on our patient care and follow up. Treatment for each disorder varies, but Dr. Kakar makes sure that the treatment agreed upon is working well and that the patient is seeing the result desired,” Wentrcek said.

Wentrcek said that SMU students who are experiencing such sleep difficulties can simply call the center’s office to set up an appointment. The center is in the network with most major medical insurances, and can typically see patients within days of their call, she said.

“We are happy to answer any questions students or their parents may have regarding a possible sleep disorder,” Wentrcek said.

For more information on sleep disorders, or receiving help for one from the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders, visit their Web site at dallas-sleep.com.