Get Real: College Isn’t for Sleeping Sissies

If you had to take a test after getting a really bad night’s sleep, what do you think the chances are of acing it? Okay, so maybe you’re able to put yourself together for the hour or so (thank heavens for that adrenaline brought on by your anxiety) that you need to wrack your brain. But then you have another test to take soon thereafter, and then there’s the next day, and the day after that…

The Arizona Daily Star recently published an article sharing how detrimental poor sleep habits are having on students living on campus at the University of Arizona. (Which assumes the study can relate to any college student on any campus.) Not only does a lack of good sleep cut into one’s grades, but it’s so severe that many students would qualify for a clinical sleep disorder diagnosis.

I’m all for kids learning healthy sleep habits as early as possible in life so by the time they get to college they can hopefully make good decisions now that they are, for the most part, living on their own and don’t have parents yanking them out of bed in the morning.

But I have to be honest here. I know that the average college student takes on way too much—juggling both a (busy) academic schedule and an (even busier) social calendar, all the while trying to meet the demands of a future career in something. It’s just a fact of life here in American college culture. And it’s nothing new. (Some might argue that today’s college students have it worse than previous generations, given higher demands and expectations placed on them and the sheer weight of the load they take on to compete in this world. I don’t know if that’s really true, but I do recall many of my own sleepless nights working, studying, and praying that I could stay alert and be ready to go for my next exam. Granted, I didn’t have the same distractions as today’s kids—such as the Internet and 24-hour cafes—but there were plenty of distractions nonetheless.)

I wonder what those kids at MIT average a night.

What I find funny, however, is the recommendations made in the article. Of course these are common words of wisdom for anyone looking to get a better night’s sleep: “avoid long naps, exercise regularly, steer clear of stimulants like caffeine after lunchtime and consume alcohol in moderation.” Now think of telling that to a young coed! Oh, and here’s the other piece of advice given: “Do all of your mental planning for the next day before you go to bed. That way, you aren't tossing while planning last-minute changes in your upcoming PowerPoint presentation.”

Sorry, but I just don’t see the “average” college student doing any of these things. Hey, college for many is a rite of passage. And so is college life—which is, at the end of the day, rife with excuses for not prioritizing sleep. Most students squeak by and don’t experience truly negative effects from their chronic sleep deprivation. I just hope, though, that those who do begin to tumble at the mercy of their Zs get sensible about their sleep habits (and please, don’t make Psych 101 your napping time). And that by the time graduation comes, where the real world beckons, they learn to act more adultlike—choosing a reasonable bedtime and waketime with the cyclic nature of a real job. Because that’s when making the grade really counts.

Comments

[Jeff]

Thomas Edison supposedly abhored sleep the same way today's workaholic entrepreneurs do. But his all-nighters were also followed by 16-hour crashes :)

I admit I occasionally pride myself on feats of short sleep - in all fairness, I think it does come from the natural wiring of "man vs nature".