Email This StoryPoint of View: Sleep lacking from college-student lifestyle
Nov. 20, 2009
By Caty Hirst
As a very active college student, I don't sleep. I go to class, I go to work, I go to my respective meetings and I do homework. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I get five hours of sleep.
In a good week, I get six or seven hours of sleep a night.
Last week was a very, very good sleep week.
I read a study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that said college students need eight hours of sleep a night. They cited poor performance in school, poor physical health and poor mental health as possible side effects of poor sleep.
Concerned for my grades, my health and my sanity, I experimented with sleep last week and took to heart some of the suggestions offered by the study for better sleep.
Step No. 1: Go to bed early.
My bedtime last week was midnight. Period. No ifs, no ands, no buts. I did not stay up to work out, I did not stay up to get more homework done, I did not stay up to visit with my friends. I got off work, and I went to bed. (My only saving grace in this experiment was that the deadline for my beast of a paper over "The Republic of Plato" had been pushed back.)
Step No. 2: Get out of bed.
It sounds so simple. It is just the application that is a little bit difficult. I need to work on this one. My roommate, Rena, can testify to my inability to turn off my alarm and get up. This is a daily struggle.
Step. 3: Limit naps.
Haha ... yeah right. But really, I did not take a nap. Not one, all week long. Naps are supposed to keep you from going to sleep earlier, so I was diligent in not napping.
Step 4: Avoid caffeine.
What? Pardon me? Caffeine is the well of life for college students. Despite this, I did not have a Monster all week, or even something as harmless as Dr Pepper. (I did have some chocolate, but I am not sure if there is enough caffeine in chocolate for it to count.)
My conclusions:
Going to bed before you get your homework done is bad. This negatively affected my class performance. (Who would have thought that?) Going to bed before you work out is bad. This negatively affected my physical health. Going to bed without going to meetings is stressful. This negatively affected my mental health.
Getting out of bed when you have slept a lot is just as hard as getting out of bed when you have slept a little. I am sorry, Rena, for my belligerent alarm that I never hear.
Naps are a gift from God. Naps are the key to the energizer bunny. (They just don't show that part of the commercial.)
Caffeine sharpens your mental awareness even when you are tired, which makes sleep completely superfluous. It keeps you awake and active for class -- so I don't fall asleep in the front row.
Final conclusion: Sleep is overrated. Homework is important and must get done. My million and one activities look great on my resume, but where am I supposed to put sleep on my resume?
So, future employer, I know I did not get good grades in school and I know that I was not involved in very many activities, but I got eight whole hours of sleep a night. I bet none of your applicants are that impressive.
Caty Hirst is a Caddo, Okla., junior majoring in journalism and a copy editor for the Baylor Lariat.
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