After occupying myself with endless TV shows, movies, albums and books, I grab my phone and I press and illuminate the screen, which forces me to confront the fact that it is four in the morning. Unfortunately, this is a reality that is far too common for many college students. Trying to maintain a normal sleep schedule is one of the many challenges that comes with being on your own for the first time, and breaks, such as winter and summer, don”t help.
The first day back from winter break was like the opening scene of a zombie apocalypse movie. I was unprepared to be thrown back into classes after my first three-week winter break from college.
Megan Hall | Rawr
Instead of the squealing excitement that comes from high school students who are reunited after winter break, I found more of a growl and slight murmur from everyone around me on campus. Everyone tended to look straight ahead, as though only undeterred focus would get them to where they were going.
There were a few exceptionally excited students, but aside from that, I ended my first day back on campus wondering if anyone was looking forward to the new semester Then I realized that the unmotivated, scattered looks weren”t due to a lack of excitement, but rather a lack of sleep.
Sleep is one of the most important parts of a person”s health, but it”s also one of the easiest things to throw away. Instead of establishing a consistent sleep schedule, college students fall into the habit of developing wildly erratic sleeping routines – like sleeping three hours a night and taking naps during the day, or not sleeping all week and crashing all day during the weekend.
Students should learn from the college-student-who-stays-up-all-night-cramming-for-an-exam stereotype. Even faculty members try to warn students that staying up to last-minute cram for an exam will only lead to failure.
In order to cultivate success, students need to remember that it”s better to wake up on time, stay busy throughout the day and evening, and go to sleep at a proper time, rather than napping and procrastinating so much they have to spend their nights frantically completing assignments.
While starting a new semester in which all-day napping isn”t an option might seem like a daunting and impossible challenge, especially when over winter break it was the norm, classes are actually one of the best ways to get on to some sort of normal schedule.
Will Meyer
My ever-fluctuating winter break bedtime was soon whipped into shape (though I do admit weekends are continually a challenge), and I don”t have as hard a time getting out of bed at 8 a.m. as I did that first day of spring semester. Unlike myself on break, my college-student-self has been restructured yet again as I perfunctorily walk from class to class.
Though I miss the objectiveless days that melded into nights that melded into days, knowing that I will get up at the same time as I did yesterday, and that I will get up at the same time tomorrow isn”t half bad. Classes provide a strict schedule that helps students become used to waking up and falling asleep at the same times. While it won”t always be easy to keep up a consistent sleep schedule, it definitely won”t hurt to try.
Will Meyer can be reached at [email protected]