When it comes to taking care of one's health, getting the adequate amount of rest is at the top of the list. Of course, we'd all love to sleep more, but oftentimes, the stress and challenges of life can get in the way. For college students, especially, getting enough sleep while trying to succeed in school may seem almost impossible.

While it may seem like a good idea for studying students to put off a few hours of sleep to get more work done, the truth is that you're only hurting yourself. By robbing yourself of those essential hours of rest, you're putting yourself in an unhealthy sleep-deprived cycle. If you're a student struggling to get enough sleep, read on for five reasons to make the most of your rest.

1. Improve your focus

Students that have poor sleeping habits are likely to become easily distracted and fatigued throughout the day. Instead of getting some shut-eye in your early morning class, do your best to get our eight hours the night before. When you are well rested, you will be able to perform better in class, take quality notes, and retain more information. Trying to attend a class running on fumes is a waste of time, energy, and may even cost you a passing grade.

2. Avoid unnecessary weight gain

According to research, people that have a shorter sleep duration often weigh more than others that are getting the right amount of sleep. In a recent study, adults and children that slept for shorter periods of time were each significantly more likely to gain weight and become obese. The reason that sleep is so important when it comes to managing weight is that the lack of sleep severely affects various factors like the motivation and energy needed to exercise as well as hormones that may cause weight gain.

3. Strengthen your immune system

In college, many students find themselves suffering from the common cold. This phenomenon is likely due to their erratic sleep cycles. When students fail to get the right amount of sleep, they are sabotaging their immune systems, leaving them vulnerable to germs, viruses, and bacteria. If you want to improve your health in one simple step, start with getting more sleep.

4. Have a better mood

When I was in college I spent money on a very nice mattress. I learned that your bed quality is extremely important, but even if your sleeping on a high-quality latex mattresses, if you are spending too many hours awake, your new, fancy bed won't help that much. Having little sleep will undoubtedly put you in a negative mood. Oftentimes, when you are less rested than usual, you will find yourself giving into the stress of life more easily than you might if you were better rested. Similarly, depression has been linked to sleep deprivation.

Students that are constantly pulling all-nighters or failing to get quality sleep are likely to experience long bouts of depression. To avoid that unexpected emotional breakdown in the middle of your psych class, try to get to bed earlier on a regular basis.

5. Improve your skin

Beauty rest isn't just an urban legend. Sleep is necessary for your skin to restore itself. Throughout the night, your body produces more collagen and skill cells, kick-starting your skin's cellular repair, allowing you to have healthy, glowing skin after a good night's sleep. When you deprive yourself of sleep, you'll notice dark circles under your eyes, as well as puffy and discolored skin throughout your face. Do your body a favor and let your skin rejuvenate overnight.

Changing your sleeping habits is easier said than done, but it's worth it. With finals approaching, sleep will most likely be at the bottom of your priority list. However, if you're hoping to succeed in school while maintaining your health and positive mood, you need to make sleeping well a priority; your grades and your skin will thank you.