The Clackamas print., May 13, 2015, Page 5, Image 5

MAY 13,2015 • CLACKAMAS PRINT
5
Students take a sleep of faith
by Erin Carey
It’s 2 p.m., and you’re sitting in class. You were
once attentively taking notes, but as your eyelids get
heavier, the pen gets slower and the desk in front of
you is starting to look like a pillow, until your teacher
yells at you to wake up, drool covered and all.
This is the life o f a college kid these days. W ith
loaded class work, jobs and if you can dare to man­
age a social life, there’s a simple truth th at college
kids these days are simply not getting enough sleep.
My boyfriend considers me “a professional nap-
per.” And while I should probably take th at as an
insult, I really don’t. My ability to cur, up anywhere
and doze off has been beneficial on long car rides,
in between classes, and even through classes. (In
high school, I mastered the ability of waking myself
up before my math teacher would change the notes
slide, so she could never use the excuse that. 'Wei,
if you had your notes you would know the material,
w ouldn't you?') I can snooze w ith ease.
Many people would say, “That can’t be good for
your sleep schedule," but is it really harmful? The
National Sleep Foundation says th at 85 percent of
mammals are polyphasic sleepers, or sleep m ulti­
ple times throughout the day in short periods, but
humans generally don’t.
Have you ever been so cranky th a t you couldn’t
think straight? Did you nap afterwards and feel a
million times better? That’s because it’s been proven
th at a nap of 20 to 30 minutes can improve mood,
alertness and performance, according to the NSF.
Now, consider your bedtime. 1 a.m.? 2? Or, if you're
really daring, 3 or 4. If you have to be up around 8
to get to a class, the math is simple: four hours of
sleep is not enough; you should be aiming for at least
eight hours every night. The University of Georgia
polled their students, and found that “1 in 4 UGA
students indicate th at lack of sleep has impacted
their academic performance in a negative way. They
have made lower grades, missed a paper or project
deadline, or had to w ithdraw from class.”
For most college students, even getting a norma,
night’s sleep is nearly impossible, much less squeez­
ing in a mid-day snooze. “I think if I’m willing to not
do my homework," said student Jourdan Mosey, on
if she got enough sleep. “Because I’m either work­
ing, or I’m doing homework. Between the tw o of
those, then no. But if I'm willing to risk not doing my
homework the night before and do it before class
to get sleep instead, I could."
Students Shelby Anderson and Nathan Kugler
laughed w hen they were asked how much sleep
they got. “That’s funny," Anderson said. “ It really
depends on the day, and if I have class the next
morning. It's usually very minimal, like four to six
hours, and that's usually because I stay up and try
to help some other people w ith their homework."
Kugler said, “If I have class really early in the
morning I probably get about five or six hours.”
And when asked about napping? “No,” said Ander-