I am on my laptop at 3 a.m. and what concerns me more than the blank Microsoft Word document on my screen is that tonight, I will again fall shy of the fabled eight hours of sleep everyone is supposed to get each night. “O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how I have frighted thee,” lamented Shakespeare’s Henry IV. On this campus, it’s the lament of many students. For various reasons, hardly anyone in college has the time to consistently enjoy eight hours of sweet, sweet sleep every night.
The question is, “Why not?” After all, I have never met a person who did not enjoy sleeping. Perhaps the only common thread tying together our diverse student body, besides ID cards, is an appreciation for sleep. So much so, in fact, that virtually everyone has emulated senior English major Sarah Espinosa, who says, “I’ve skipped class before to catch up on sleep.”
Several current reports indicate the average student sleeps only six hours a night, a number confirmed by many people I surveyed, although a large number of them are in the four-to-five-hours range. Brown University Health Services says that “only 11 percent of college students have good sleep quality.” From weakened immune systems to affected mental health, students pay a steep price for their poor sleeping habits. Senior neurobiology major Tram Nguyen admits lack of sleep has taken its toll on her, affecting her memory and ability to concentrate. Recently, she “almost fell asleep behind the wheel while driving back home from campus.” Yikes!
Why does getting enough sleep remain lowest on our totem pole of priorities? Homework may be the culprit for some students, but I know I am not alone when I say it is only occasionally what prevents me from getting my beauty rest. After all, this semester I am not burdened by 19 credits and/or multiple part-time jobs, yet my free time is still being spent doing something besides sleeping. Senior biology major Gina Pokrashevsky knows how important sleep is yet says with “the little free time you have … you want to chill, hang out with friends or watch TV, so sleep just gets pushed back.”
College students treat sleep as a luxury, even though we know it is a necessity. A large part of the blame can be attributed to cultural factors. There is a societal expectation today that we should be constantly busy, and the presence of a vibrant social scene in college provides us with plenty of other activities to rank above sleep. For senior finance major Dara Khan, those activities include enjoying “that new episode of The Office … a new Facebook wall post … and a hilariously out-of-place headline on CNN.com (‘Monkey in diaper attacks people’).”
We rationalize by saying we will make up for lost sleep on the weekends. Junior history major Glenn Licker, who is often “exhausted” on weekdays, “sleeps in as late as possible” on weekends. It’s an unhealthy practice, but many more students don’t even get the extra hours. Like senior Crystal Wu, they choose to temporarily “celebrate their freedom” from serious responsibilities. Explains senior Belen Pappa, “I try to get most of my sleep on weekends, but after having such a stressful week, I also want to go out and have fun with my friends.”
So this morning, if you didn’t hit the snooze button, chances are you will find yourself yawning through your lectures. So will the rest of us, because these days, everyone is – *yawn* – too busy to sleep.
Jay Nargundkar is a senior finance major. He can be reached at terpnews@gmail.com.
