How Do the Sleeping Habits of College Students May Lead to Failure

Chapter I

Introduction

A.   Background of the Study

Sleep deprivation is common among college students. College students are often found to balance their priorities in their studies, social life, and sleep. Most college students choose to prioritize their social life and studies leaving out on their sleep, resulting in their sleep deprivation.

Hesher, S. and Chervin, R.’s research entitled “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness among College Students” tackles the importance of sleep and sleep hygiene among college students. They have shown that most of college students are getting less sleep than needed, and has also reported very few of students get at least 7 hours of sleep.

It also stated in the research of Hesher, S. et. al. that “At least 3 days a week, 60% of students report that they are dragging, tired, or sleepy” (http://www.dovepress.com/causes-and-consequences-of-sleepiness-among-college-students-peer-reviewed-article-NSS).

College students usually sleep later and longer than kids. It is normal for college students to change to a later and longer sleeping time due to the physiological changes that occur in the body. Normally kids sleep early at night and thus wake-up early, but when they reach their teenage years sleep and wake-up much later.

A paper done by Siri Carpenter, she revealed that teenagers naturally sleep later, wake-up later and sleep longer than when they were younger. For years people believed that as kids grow older they are required less sleep. But in recent studies it was shown that teenagers actually sleep little longer. “But to researchers' surprise, in the past two decades studies have shown that teen-agers require considerably more sleep to perform optimally than do younger children or adults” (http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx).

But despite the norms of sleeping late for college students, this is actually harming them. There has also been a survey done by American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (NCHA) where the effects on students with are sleep deprivation is comparable with drug abuse and drinking of too much alcohol.

A lot of people including college students themselves believe that they could easily adjust to sleeping late and waking-up early and have no harmful effects on them. Although the reality of that belief is that college students’ sleep behaviors do not adjust accordingly and their deprivation from sleep is as harmful to them as to adults.

Having knowledge on the effects of sleep deprivation can convince students to improve their sleeping habits and plan out how they schedule their work. Therefore sleep deprivation harms college students in their performance and, more likely than not, their future.

Instead of focusing on sleep deprivation caused by sleep disorders, this paper will focus on explaining how the sleeping habits of college students that may lead to failure.

B.    Statement of the Problem

This paper aims to study the question:

1.      How do the sleeping habits of college students may lead to failure?

C.  Significance of the Study

College Students — This paper will help college students in better knowing the adverse effects of sleep deprivation. In effect this will assist them in planning out their evenings and day work schedule to have better sleeping habits.

College professors —College professors and the institution will benefit from this paper in planning out the schedule of their classes to benefit these said college students reach their best performance.

Future Researchers — This paper will benefit future researchers in creating similar studies since sleep deprivation among college students is a new topic in the Philippine nation.

D.   Scope and Delimitation

This paper will focus on the effects caused by the sleeping habits of college students. This paper will not focus on sleep deprivation based from sleeping disorders or college students who have work in the graveyard shift.

E.    Materials and Methods

Data needed for this research paper were gathered from official articles available on the internet.

F.    Definition of Terms

Sleep Deprivation – The lack of sufficient sleep on an individual to function properly.

College students – An individual who is taking on college education usually aged 16-22; adolescents – individuals between teenage and adult years.

Chapter II

Discussion

How do the sleeping habits of college students may lead to failure?

I.    Effects of Sleep Deprivation

A.   On The Circadian System

Sleep deprivation can alter and disturb an individual and their normal functioning bodily functions. Similar to the digestive system being altered when an individual eats too much or too less or eats at times unfamiliar to its regular function, the digestive system will function abnormally. Sleep deprivation can harm a person’s circadian system, the system which tells the body when to sleep or wake-up.

Dijk and Archer, in their article “Light, Sleep, and Circadian Rhythms: Together Again”, gave a study on light dependency on bodily systems such as the circadian system and how they affect the sleep cycle on an individual. They have shown that certain chemicals are substances that aid the system in when to sleep and its quality.

It was also stated that “the current study demonstrates that … alteration of light input to the brain by genetic ablation of Melanopsin alters sleep duration, wake consolidation, the quality of wakefulness” (http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000145) i.e. Changes in the surrounding’s light changes the individual’s sleeping patterns,  and in turn affect the person’s behavior when awake.

B.    On Dopamine Receptors

The circadian system is also largely affected by and also affects dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain much like adrenaline but activates when a person is awake or senses fulfillment (e.g.  When an individual feels happy). The longer the person stays awake, the more dopamine is active in the brain, but as dopamine levels increase in the brain dopamine receptors or D2 receptors become more immune to it, making the person feel more sleepy.

 Bethany Brooskhire, under the pseudonym “Scicurious”, wrote an article “Sleep Deprived? Mind your dopamine” highlighting the research done by Volkow et al. on how dopamine affects sleepiness and wakefulness. Brookshire wrote that the experiments does show decrease in dopamine reaction in the sleep deprived group than when they were well rested. The research continued to test that the decreased reaction was due to increased levels of dopamine. The results show no significant difference.

Brookshire stated that “…The changes in D2 type receptors could help explain some of the other changes in behavior that come with sleep deprivation, changes like increases in risk taking behavior, impulsivity, and drug relapse. These are all things which increase when people are sleep deprived.” showing that the amount of dopamine on the brain can create multiple effects to an individual (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/2012/06/04/sleep-deprived-mind-your-dopamine/).

II.    Negative Effects of Sleep Deprivation

A.   On Driving

Sleep deprivation causes an individual to have slower cognition and decline in alertness, evidently seen in car crashes. While driving, the individual requires constant vigilance and awareness. Drowsiness and sleeping on the wheel can cause major incidents like car crashes for both the driver and those around them.

In an article written by Namni Goel entitled “Losing Sleep: the Causes and Effects of Sleep Deprivation”, he states that a prime example of how lack of sleep affects real-world functioning is driving. Goel continues on to say that individuals who increase their chances of drowsy driving also decrease their ability to respond correctly to emergency situations.

“Sleep deprivation affects physical coordination and reaction time in a way that is very similar to excessive alcohol consumption.” states Goel (http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/sleep/art1950.html?getPage=4). Studies have shown that teenagers and adolescents are more likely to be in car crashes than more experienced drivers (http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/sleep-deprived-teens-cause-crashes-study-shows-f6C10002034 , http://www.livescience.com/34520-young-drivers-sleep-car-crashes.html). Goel and other studies states that car crashes caused by drowsiness on the wheel is at par with over consumption of alcohol, or binge drinking.

B.    On Work Performance

Sleep deprivation can also have adverse effects on people’s work performance. Other than decreased awareness, sleep deprivation in an employee can cause failure in their work performance. Sleep deprivation also causes impairments in an individual’s memory and cognitive ability – the ability to think and process information.

In “How Sleep Deprivation Affects Work Performance” written by Vicki Bell, she stated that “Without adequate sleep, employees have more difficulty concentrating, learning, and communicating.” Impairments in cognitive abilities and concentration alter other brain functions causing memory lapses, decline in problem-solving skills, and intolerance to others. This can chain into problems for an individual that could cause the individual to higher stress levels. Thus make the individual uneasy throughout their day up until when they sleep (http://www.thefabricator.com/article/safety/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-work-performance).

C.  On Students

Negative effects of sleep deprivation in cognition, memory, and overall performance are already evident among employees which lead to failure, should be no different among college students. Consequently, sleep deprived college students can lead to their failure. These effects from sleep deprivation on students are comparable to the effects of students who participate in marijuana use and binge drinking.

In an article by Russell Westerholm entitled “Sleep Deprivation in College Students as Detrimental to GPA and Class Participation as Marijuana Use and Binge Drinking”, Westerholm discusses the results of Dr. Roxanne Prichard’s research done on 43,000 students. After taking factors of clinical depression, anxiety and chronic health issues out, results show that the effect on of sleep deprivation on college students on the students’ class performance and GPA is as harmful as students who do participate in marijuana use and binge drinking (http://allhospital.org/sleep_deprivation_college_students_989/).

Westerholm quotes Dr. Prichard saying “Sleep really isn't systematically approached in a way that could have major economic benefits to both the students and the universities in terms of increased retention.” Westerholm also discusses that most colleges and universities undermine the value of sleep deprivation among adolescents. This neglects the proper health of their students and just leaves them to somehow adjust their life to these abusive requirements and just walk it off.

III.     Conclusion

Since, evidences point that sleep deprivation alters how a person’s body functions, such as the circadian system and dopamine receptors, and in effect alters how an individual performs while awake, evident in the number of car crashes caused by sleep deprivation and work performance of sleep deprived employees; therefore college students who are sleep deprived will also exhibit signs of low cognition and delayed responses in their work, which results in low performance in class and low GPA grades i.e. resulting to failure.

Chapter III

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Summary

This paper attempted to evaluate how the sleeping habits of college students lead to failure.

The method used for this paper was to gather official articles available on the internet. The research findings are as follows:

1.      Sleep deprivation can alter an individual’s bodily functions such as the circadian system and dopamine reactions.

2.      This, in effect, also alters how the individual performs while they are awake, evident in sleep deprived drivers and employees.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1.   Sleep deprivation is a real dilemma on college students that seeks needed attention to be addressed.

2.   Sleep deprived college students will have low performance levels affecting how they perform in class and among others.

3.   Due to low performance levels, sleep deprived college students are at risk of low GPA grades and failure.

Recommendations

After drawing the conclusions of the study, the researchers hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:

1.   Colleges, universities and their professors should understand that too much homework and projects and very early class hours are harmful to their students.

2.   Professors of colleges and universities should also educate their students on why sleeping late, whether for fun, friends or school work, is harmful to them.

3.   Sleep deprivation on college students should be treated accordingly by local health authorities similar to other possible causes of hindered class performance like binge drinking and marijuana use.

4.   Future researchers should conduct local surveys of sleep deprivation on college students, the effect on their school performance, and possible causes of sleep deprivation.

References:
Bell, V. How Sleep Deprivation Affects Work Performance. Retrieved December 12,  2014 from http://www.thefabricator.com/article/safety/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-work-performance

Brookshire, B. Sleep Deprived? Mind your dopamine. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/2012/06/04/sleep-deprived-mind-your-dopamine/

Carpenter, S. Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx

Dijk, D. and Archer, S. Light, Sleep, and Circadian Rhythms: Together Again. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1000145

Goel, N. Losing Sleep: the Causes and Effects of Sleep Deprivation. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/sleep/art1950.html?getPage=4

Hesher, S. and Chervin, R. Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness among College Students. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://www.dovepress.com/causes-and-consequences-of-sleepiness-among-college-students-peer-reviewed-article-NSS

Westerholm, R. Sleep Deprivation in College Students as Detrimental to GPA and Class Participation as Marijuana Use and Binge Drinking. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from http://allhospital.org/sleep_deprivation_college_students_989/

Blog #9: Causes of Sleep Deprivation

nightmare Perspectiveby alltelleringet

There are various reasons on why people lack sleep. One would be that you have work to do, and the other, tackled before, was that certain chemicals in the brain are being not blocked or regulated properly. Or it could be that sleep was just simply disturbed and you didn't get enough sleep that night.

Better Health Channel provided a short list of the definition of sleep deprivation, its causes and effects on a person. The list of causes is as follows:

• Personal choice – some people don’t realise that the body needs adequate sleep. Instead of regularly going to bed at a reasonable hour, they prefer to stay up late to socialise, watch television or read a good book.
• Illness – illnesses such as colds and tonsillitis can cause snoring, gagging and frequent waking, and have a direct effect on sleep by fragmenting it.
• Work – people who do shift work disrupt their sleep-wake cycles on a regular basis. Frequent travellers (for example, airline crew) also tend to have erratic sleeping patterns.
• Sleep disorder – problems such as sleep apnoea, snoring and periodic limb movement disorder can disturb the person’s sleep many times during the night.
• Medications – some drugs used to treat disorders such as epilepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can cause insomnia.
• The sleeping environment – sleep may be disrupted for a range of environmental reasons; for example, because the bedroom is too hot or cold or because of noisy neighbours or a snoring bed partner.
• Poor sleep hygiene – some people’s habits are disruptive; for example, drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes close to bedtime stimulates the nervous system and makes sleep less likely. Another common problem is lying in bed and worrying, rather than relaxing.
• Babies, older babies and toddlers – parents almost always experience sleep deprivation because their young children wake frequently in the night for feeding or comfort.

In the article "Losing Sleep: the Causes and Effects of Sleep Deprivation" by Namni Goel, Ph.D., and David F. Dinges, Ph.D. showed that jet lag and night shifts or better known as the graveyard shift — The shift runs from 8 P.M. to the wee hours in the morning — affect and impair the person's circadian system.

The authors states a study saying "More than 50% of shift workers complain of shortened or disrupted sleep and overall tiredness, with total amounts of sleep loss ranging from 2 to 4 hours per night." And for jet lag, they state that "Flight crews often experience disrupted circadian rhythms and sleep loss. Studies have documented episodes of fatigue and uncontrolled sleep (microsleeps) in pilots. Flight crew members tend to remain at their destination for a short period of time and therefore do not adjust physiologically to a new time zone and altered work schedule before they embark upon another assignment, further compounding their risk for fatigue."

People working in the graveyard shift and people working in a flight crew obviously are associated with sleep deprivation due to impaired circadian systems. But what about everyday people who do not work at these hours?

R. Morgan Griffin's article "6 Surprising Sleep Wreckers" enlists and explains what are could interrupt a person's sleep and feel tired in the morning. Some of these enlisted are obvious and some are not so obvious. He enlists

1. Sleeping with pets
2. Alcohol and nightcaps
3. Undaignosed REGD — gastroesophageal reflux disorder, a condition in which the stomach contents leak backwards from the stomach into the esophagus (the tube from the mouth to the stomach). This can irritate the esophagus and cause heartburn and other symptoms.)
4. Medicine, vitamins, and supplements
5. Pain — including mild pain
6. Being exhausted
7.  Sleep disorders

Morgan writes in his article "Why such confusion?  “People often wake up in the night without realizing it," Roth tells WebMD. "You can be awake one or two minutes at a time in the night and you won't remember it the next day.""

One night of missed sleep may not affect greatly on the person but continuous lack of sleep can make a person sleep deprived. Continuing with this unhealthy practice may lead to a person to suffer great effects of sleep deprivation.

Blog #8: Sleep Deprivation on the Wheel

Don't Drive Tired Please by Beth

Texting while driving is a hazard rising and with cellphone communication greatly improving with data services for other messenger apps to distract you on the wheel. And drunk driving is continually being a danger for both the driver and those who are near them. But what about driving while feeling sleepy? Won't that be just the same hazard too?

In an article by Namni Goel, Ph.D., and David F. Dinges, Ph.D. entitled "Losing Sleep: the Causes and Effects of Sleep Deprivation" one section shows the effects of sleep deprivation while driving. They say that driving is a prime example on how being sleep deprived can affect real-world functioning. They even state a study that shows sleep-related crashes rose in drivers who are reported to have an average of less than 7 hours of sleep.

They even state that "Sleep deprivation affects physical coordination and reaction time in a way that is very similar to excessive alcohol consumption. Sleepiness-related motor vehicle crashes are on par with alcohol-related crashes in terms of their fatality rate and likelihood of injury." in short, being sleep deprived while driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.

Driving requires the driver's full attention on the road and his surroundings. Being impaired of their attention could result in dangerous crashes for the driver, their passengers and those around them. It has also been stated that "Fatigue is considered to be a factor in 20-40% of heavy truck crashes." But a study states that teenagers are more likely to fall asleep than those who are older.

In the articles "Sleep-Deprived Teen Drivers More Likely to Crash" by Rachael Rettner and "Sleep-deprived teens cause crashes, study shows" by Maggie Fox, both of them cited a study where teenagers aged 17 to 24 are more likely st sleep on the wheel and fall asleep usually between 8 P.M. and 6 A.M. It has also been estimated that 20% of all car crashes in the united States is due to drowsy driving.

It has also been stated by Fox that “Risky driving, sensation seeking, self harm ... and greater drug and alcohol intake were reported more often by individuals who obtained less sleep.”

The intake of drugs and alcohol could be a cause of why the driver is sleep deprived. And the signs that the person has taken in alcohol could brush the driver's crash as drunk driving rather than being sleep deprived. Of course, alcohol would probably be the greater value in this equation for disaster. 

Needless to say, being sleep deprived is dangerous, and being sleep deprived while driving is also dangerous and to those around people who are sleep deprived. Turning on the radio can help with staying awake but only for a sort term.

Blog #7: Sleep Deprivation Amongst Students

 

Student @ work by Plueschopossum

A lot of testings and observations are done on adults for sleep deprivation. Adults do run the market and practically the whole nation. So, what about the adverse effects of sleep deprvation on adults so what about teenagers? Are they just as bad for adults? Well, the effects of sleep deprivation on adults are just as bad for teenagers too.

In an article by Russell Westerholm entitled "Sleep Deprivation in College Students as Detrimental to GPA and Class Participation as Marijuana Use and Binge Drinking," he shows that sleep deprivation for teenagers is as bad as marijuana use and binge drinking – drinking large amount of alcohol in  a short amount of time. Theses effects of marijuana use and binge drinking has a similar effect on a student's grade point average (GPA) as sleep deprivation. He also states that sleep deprivation is also the cause of students getting worse grades and dropping out of classes.

Westerholm quotes Dr. Roxanne Prichard, PhD in saying "...most college freshmen are independent for the first time in their lives and staying up late is something they can see as harmless... younger college students are also more likely to want to stay up late because of their age. Known as a 'delayed phase.'

The effects of sleep deprivation on students evidently affects their grades, and sleep deprivation also affects a student's entire wellness such as emotional problems and of course performance problems which leads to the decline on a student's GPA.

Now, in an article by Siri Carpenter entitled "Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health" she shows that teenagers actually sleep later in the night than children. It also stated that for teenagers who biologically sleep later and wake up later than usual, "are tantamount to abuse." Also, schools who have pushed back their morning classes to a later time has shown that students have shown some improvement to the student's grades and emotions.

Carpenter quoting Amy R. Wolfson, PhD says "changing school start times isn't the entire answer. 'I think we have to be educating children, parents and teachers about the importance of sleep, just as we educate them about exercise, nutrition and drug and alcohol use.'"

Having students wake up early is abuse being all groggy and unfocused in the morning. And having students wake up naturally to be in school without knowing why could be wrong without proper education on why they go to school at a later time. Students can feel the difference of being ready for school by waking up later in themselves but don't know exactly why they have to.

Blog #6: Sleep Deprivation and Work

Sleep by Sithzam

We have now seen the benefits of sleep, how the body demands for sleep and how the body stays awake. Now let's see how this affects people in their day to day lives. It was already shown that sleep is essential for a person to function well, so how about the consequences of missing out on sleep? We will tackle on sleep deprivation's effects to a person at work.

Vicki Bell wrote an article about and entitled "How sleep deprivation affects work performance." Here Bell shared facts that in a poll that most Americans are not getting the right amount of sleep. She also lists down facts about the short and long term consequences of sleep. She also wrote a short summary of problems an employee could face if he or she does not get enough sleep.

Bell writes "Work and relationship problems increase stress levels, which in turn exacerbate sleep problems. Combine sleep problems, added stress, and the anxiety sleep deprivation sufferers feel as they approach bedtime—will I have trouble falling asleep; will I sleep through the night; will I get enough sleep—and the situation can appear hopeless."

Bell writes that stress and sleep deprivation can be a vicious cycle. The person will be sleep deprived and stresses out at work then in stresses out in their bed which leads to more sleep deprivation and continues on and on. But this cycle can be cured avoiding more sleep disorders.

In an article written by Carolyn Gregoire entitled "5 Things You Should Know About Sleep Health in the Workplace", Gregoire enlists five problems brought up by sleep deprivation for employees and gives a small explanation on each problem. She writes that insufficient sleep is linked with decreased productivity, less innovation, lower job satisfaction and unethical behavior in the workplace. To list it down here it is:

1. Sleep Affects Not Just Productivity, But Innovation.
2. Sleep Deprivation And Stress Are A Vicious Cycle.
3. 24/7 Jobs Are Taking A Big Toll On Sleep Health.
4. Not All Naps Are Created Equal.
5. Corporate Wellness Programs Need To Address Sleep And Stress. 

She writes that "Lack of sleep affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the area that controls innovation, self-control and creativity. A 1999 study found that just 24 hours of sleep loss impairs innovative thinking and flexible decision-making."

So if the brain is greatly affected who's to say that how you tackle the day? As obvious as these effects are what we avoid to be sleep deprived, a lot of people constantly choose to be sleep deprived, by sleeping late and waking up early. One problem is that like in Gregoire's article she showed that businesses indirectly support sleep deprivation like praising their employees for responding to an e-mail at 3.A.M.

Corporations should stop supporting these values and support values that matter to the customer and employee to be at their best performance for the company and their private lives.

Blog #5: Dopamine

Sleepy Explorer by ZoranPhoto

Now what is dopamine? Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that becomes active when the person is feeling happy or a certain amount of pleasure – Much like adrenaline when there is a certain kind of emergency. Dopamine goes around the brain giving the person a sense of fulfillment. Now what does dopamine have to with sleeping or the circadian rhythm?

Bethany Brookshire – who is better known by her pen name: Scicurious – wrote an article entitled “Sleep Deprived? Mind your dopamine” which covers on dopamine and its effect of being sleepy and awake. Here she said that the current hypothesis for being awake that utilizes the effects of dopamine may be partly controlled by its D2 receptors.

The author also stated from an earlier study from Volkow et al. that “increased dopamine release, which would cause decreases in D2 receptors (this is a basic idea in pharmacology, when a group of receptors is overstimulated, some receptors will leave the membrane, making the membrane less sensitive to stimulation).” In a nutshell: If there is too much dopamine in the person’s system then some of the dopamine’s receptors will be lost or be less sensitive to the dopamine itself.

The experiment made by Volkow et al. resulted in showing that the decline in D2 receptors that was hypothesized with sleep deprivation is not because of the increase in dopamine release during sleep deprivation. Although as the author stated the opposite may be true that it may be the receptors themselves that make a person sleepy with the lack of dopamine.

In Krista Conger’s article entitled “Research shows dopamine plays crucial role in sleep regulation” summarizes experiments done by Stanford University Medical Center.She explains that dopamine is a neurotransmitter used for communications between brain cells. She continues and says that methamphetamine blocks the transporter complexes of dopamine and that modafinil binds to the dopamine transporter. 

In Conger's article she quoted Jonathan Wisor, PhD – a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dale Edgar, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science – that "Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in the world, and it's thought to work through another neurochemical, adenosine." She continues on by saying that "Caffeine works by blocking the receptors for adenosine and preventing the sleep signal from being transmitted."

Dopamine is an important chemical towards the person's sleep and wake cycle. Certain subjects in the experiment showed that stayed up longer experienced daytime sleepiness. If this were also applied to human beings, daytime sleepiness could lead to the person missing a lot of activities during the day. this would probably be de to overfatigue from staying awake too long; the brain ignoring certain chemicals for it to work longer.

Blog #4: Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells

Eye by BarbaraTheKid

Ever wonder how your body knows when it's daytime while your sleeping? Or how you feel sleepy during certain times of the day? Yep, It's because of the eyes reacting to light but more specifically Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells. What are Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells? Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells, or mRGCs,  are photosensitive cells found in the eye and play a vital role in the body's circadian system, as previously stated in the last blog.

In Caitlin Sedwick's article "Melanopsin Ganglion Cells: A Different Way of Seeing Things" there are three photopigments in the eye. Photopigments in rods detects dim lighting like during nighttime, and photopgiments in cones detects brighter lighting. And the third photopgiment found in the eye is called the Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells. These cells helps set the circadian cycle for when the person is going to wake or sleep. But recent research tells us that these cells actually play a vital role in visual perception, eyesight.

Sedwick also stated that "The potential for mRGCs to contribute to visual perception may explain why people with conditions or diseases that progressively destroy their rods and cones can often still perceive the presence of ambient light" In other words: People with any illness that destroys the person's rods and cones for the person's eyesight could still detect whether the place where the person is placed could have any light at all.

Aside from the fact that the person could normally see with the photopigments in the rods and cones located in the person's eye, mRGCs are responsible for detecting light from the surrounding area and notify the brain the presence, absence and intensity of light. Helping set the circadian cycle for a person who is in good health or who is sick.

Dustin M. Graham also expounds on this discovery in his article "Melanopsin Ganglion Cells: A Bit of Fly in the Mammalian Eye by Dustin M. Graham." He states that mRGCs are much less sensitive to light and are responsible in informing the brain in changes to the ambient light throughout the day. mRGCs's primary role is to signal light for unconscious visual reflexes such as the activities in the circadian rhythm.

Graham stated that "All these findings heavily suggested that these ganglion cells were the mysterious third photoreceptor type Keeler had predicted almost 80 years earlier." Keeler experimented on mice that lacked most of their rod and cone photoreceptor which made them virtually blind but Keeler found out that these mice's eyes are still reactive to light.

Melanopsin Retinal Glangion Cells play a vital role in the body's circadian rhythm. Even though the person may be virtually blind from the lack of photorecptors in the rods and cones from their eyes, mRGCs react to the surrounding light and help the person see the surrounding's light. But we're strolling a bit too far from the importance of sleep. Next time we tackle on the chemicals that help us stay awake.