Here are a few things that people should know about a college student's life before saying "you're too young to be tired"...
1. The average college student takes 15 credit hours per semester.
2. The average college student works 20-34 hours a week.
3. To be a good college student, you have to volunteer often or join several organizations (sororities/fraternities included). So let's say 5 hours per week.
4. Professors expect students to spend 2-3 hours studying for every lecture hour that you're in class. (i.e. 3 hours per week in class = 6-9 hours studying per week in class)
5. Students are expected to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
6. To be healthy, all students need some down time. I don't think 2 hours a day is a bad estimate for "brain recovery time". So, 14 hours per week.
7. It's always good to exercise at a minimum of 30 minutes per day. So, 3.50 hours per week.
8. Then students have things like showering, cooking, shopping for groceries, laundry, driving, etc. So, let's say an average of 3 hours per day spent doing these things. (21 hours per week)
Added all up (MINUS SLEEPING), that's a whopping 137 hours per week out of 168 hours per week. That leaves 31 hours per week for sleep. That's an average of 4.42 hours per night.
So the next time an older adult asks you why you're so tired, tell them why. Like most people, I'm sure some of these things get cut out due to LACK of time. Exercise usually gets thrown under the bus along with the studying 3-9 hours per class period. Eating healthy takes money, and only working 20-34 hours a week barely pays living expenses. Extra curricular activities take up a lot of time. Stress takes over and the brain essentially force quits and shuts down. It's hard to be a college student during this era...Prices continually go up (causing stress) which means students have to work more (causing stress) which means students sleep less (causing stress). Stress is more work on the mind and more work on the mind leads to a feeling of mental exhaustion.
Stress isn't fun. College life is stressful.
School. Work. Volunteering. Food. Driving. Shopping. Studying. Showering. Sleeping? Essentially, from all college students (and even struggling young adults), yes, we (as in those that try to do all that we are "supposed" to do) are tired and rightfully so. Live the life of a college student for 1 year and see if your mind is tired at the end. Five 3-hour classes will take a lot out of you. It's the life of a college student. Think before you blurt out the words "you're too young to be tired", because you don't know that person's story or what time he/she started his/her day, nor do you know what time his/her day will end.
Now, if you'll excuse me...I've gotta get back to doing homework...
Sincerely, a college student.
