Yah Snooze Yah Lose

Juliana Del Beccaro
Pi Beta Phi

Sleep.  Most of us college students don’t get enough of it.  Staying up way into the night and waking up early for class puts a heavy toll on our emotional and physical existence.  Parents are caught off guard when we go home and sleep in until 1:00 in the afternoon until finally our sleep pattern is restored.  But the amount of stress, partying and distractions we face day-to-day throw out any chance of having a reasonable sleep schedule.  And finally when break is over and we come back to school, our balanced hours of sleep per night gets smaller and more sporadic all over again.

There’s really nothing more brutal than that Monday-Wednesday-Friday class at eight or nine in the morning.  When almost everyone fights to get the classes that start later in the day, it’s hard not to be a little resentful when you’re sitting in Accounting Friday morning and almost everyone else is sleeping.  Potentially even still partying from last night.  We all know there is an unwritten teacher-student agreement detailing the optional Friday class attendance.  Whoever invented the snooze button on the alarm clock should held responsible for the lack of class attendance. Not you.

And then of course we fight our sleep schedules by going out every other night and socializing until we physically cannot socialize anymore.  If you’re one of the few who makes it to the 4:00 a.m. late-night party you are a true champion.  There’s nothing more needed after a long night then a good half of the next day catching up on sleep and probably a quick nap before you go out again. 

But really there’s nothing more detrimental to your sleeping pattern then a solid week of finals.  Students will find every way to get their hands on stimulating energy drinks and pills to fight off the drowsiness and power through the night.  Our need to cram for an upcoming test will drive us to stay in the library until the wee hours of the morning until we hit a wall and can no longer fight off the exhaustion.

When sleeping is absolutely essential and fantastically rewarding, why is it that we fight it?  Your brain begins to increase production of melatonin when nightfall beings.  The direct correlation between light and melatonin production is undeniable.  So popping up Pinterest on your laptop probably isn’t a good idea if you’re looking to catch some Zs soon.

So maybe consider a solid power hour nap before you go out so you can have a head start on catching up with all the sleep you’re about to lose.

Juliana is a sophomore studying international economics. You may contact her at juliana@odyssey-west.com.