Author Archives: jocelyn benji

Are all-nighters really that bad for you?

 

University students always seem to have endless deadlines but not enough time to complete them. A strategy that many students use to combat this problem, is to pull an all-nighter to catch up on their work. Adults are supposed to have at least 7 hours of sleep each night so this sleep deficiency may help get work done, but students need to consider the detrimental effects that may occur as a result.

The video attached below discusses some of the main effects sleep deprivation has on not only your mind but also your body. Sleep deprivation affects your learning, memory, mood and reaction time. All of these factors can impact your ability to study and therefore negatively affect your grades. 

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 A study conducted on university students, compared the actions of pulling an all-nighter with depression and academic achievements. Those who pulled all-nighters were seen to have higher tendency of depression symptoms, which can negatively affect their academic performance and mental health. Students often do all-nighters to finish work and study for exams but the study also shows that staying up all night correlates to lower academic achievements as seen in their GPA’s. Along with these factors, sleep deprivation can greatly impact your brain.

University students tend to pull all-nighters without thinking about the negative impacts on their mental health and body. These factors include depression, grades, memory and health. Next time you plan to pull an all-nighter to finish that essay, you may want to consider all the risks you are adding to your body due to sleep deprivation.

Written by Jocelyn Benji

Does eliminating plastic straws actually make a difference?

It has become a common trend for businesses to ban plastic straws in order to “save the oceans’. The real question is, how much do straws affect our planet?

In a recent study, it has been estimated that between 4.8- 12.7 million tons of plastic waste has entered the ocean. With the knowledge of there being great amounts of plastic in the oceans, we can now consider the effects they have on the ocean.

According to the Ocean Conservancy organization, there was over 9.3 million kilograms of trash picked up through the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Out of the ten most picked up items in the ocean, plastic straws was ranked 6th, with over 600,000 straws being picked up. This is an excessive amount of plastic that isn’t necessary for most people. This effect would  likely have detrimental impacts on the ecosystem.

The video called ‘Why plastic straws suck’, discusses some of the main problems with plastic straws that has the potential to have negative impacts. One problem with plastic straws is their size. They are often missed in modern recycling equipment and therefore end up in the trash.

 

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Plastic in the ocean system as discussed in another study, has potential risk to marine animals, from being poisoned due to digestion of the debris and entanglement in the plastic. It’s a known fact that marine animals are essential to our ecosystem, so humans should try to protect them from plastic pollutants.

The ban of plastic straws has the potential to greatly reduce the top 6th plastic pollutant, therefore making a positive impact on the marine ecosystem. Eliminating straws has been shown to make a difference to our planet,  but in order to ensure that we protect our planet, humans should focus on reducing all their wastes. There are many alternative options such as straw less lids, paper and metals straws are now a highly popular alternative to plastic straws. Humans should consider small steps they can take that will positively support the marine ecosystem and overall the planet itself.

 

Written by Jocelyn Benji