Is it bad for your health?

davito · #1 26th March 2009, 09:53 PM

Do you brother/sisters know if sleep deprivation is bad for your health or heart?

I am asking this because I am about to finish my bachelor and I want to get into medical school, but I need to improve on my GPA. Before, I wanted to give up my dream and go to grad school. But, some people encourage me to try harder. If I try harder that means I will have to sleep very little every day like 5 hours or less or even none at some days and be dependable from higher dosage of stimulants, caffeine and all nighter. That would increase stress, mental issues, and heart complications I believe. I had deal with leaning disabilities since I was a kid and scchizofective disorder high functional. I usually have to try twice as hard as a regular person. I have feel infirior to society because of this. I dont know if it worth to fight for this goal or should I ask God to put new dream and goals into my heart?

What you brothers/sisters think? Have you guys done somthing similar during school? have you had any health complication due to this?

Thanks!!
God bless you.

Mrs Butterworth · #2 26th March 2009, 10:51 PM

What you are considering is bad for both your mental and physical health. There has to be a better way you can achieve your dreams and still preserve your health. Pray and look for better options, you might find something or some way you haven't considered. Don't give up, there has got to be a better way. I hope things go well for you.

alphacheese · #3 22nd April 2009, 12:52 PM

I'm in the same boat you are. I plan to attend med school soon and I have some pretty big problems with sleep. I sleep very well but have trouble getting there. I am a very health conscious person but my main struggle is getting more sleep. Sleep is incredibly important to good health, both mentally and physically. You’re body uses the physical rest to rebuild and repair. Mental rest is equally important and this is the hardest for me to achieve. My mind is always going going going and I have trouble calming my mind enough to finally fall asleep. The brain uses an enormous amount of energy compared to other organs of the body. It feeds on simple carbohydrates which we typically think as bad, but the brain metabolizes so much sugar that it needs rest after the day just as a sore muscle would after a workout.

I don't know if my sleep habits have affected me through high school and college but I’m always under high stress. This semester has been especially trying for me. I’ve just now been prescribed medication for my attention problems and so far it seems to be helping. I’ve recently felt that God has been telling me to take some time off of school right now. Boy was I surprised! I’ve always been so driven and done so well in school but I’ve been dealing with some personal problems recently and my grades have never been so poor. All I want to concentrate on is going to church and bible studies and reading some new devotionals I got. I still feel God is leading me down the path towards medical school, but perhaps I need to be placing my concentrations and studies in school aside for now and building a closer relationship with God.