How Many Hours of Sleep Do I Need?

Guest Blogger: Aundrea Rogers

In movies and television, college is depicted as a place where you go to class during the day and stay up into the wee hours of the night studying, watching TV, or just hanging out talking with friends.

Contrary to popular belief, those late nights will eventually catch up to you, which is why it is very important for college students to get enough sleep.

For many students, college is their first time away from home and on their own. You are away from your parents and are somewhat independent and can make your own decisions. One of those decisions (which was mine as well) is to stay up as late as you want without an adult telling you what time you need to go to bed.

Going to sleep at 2 am and 3 am in the morning sounds good, but it is in no way healthy. As a college student, you have to deal with classes, homework, studying, a social life and extra-curricular activities and these things combined can cause stress. Add in only getting five hours of sleep a night and it’s a recipe for disaster.

If you think that you can be an effective student on only a few hours of sleep, you are wrong, this I can tell you from my own personal experience. The second semester of my freshmen year, I had a class that met twice a week at 8:00 AM. I however thought that I could function properly going to bed at 3:00 and waking up at 7:00.

I soon learned that those four hours of sleep were not enough. I found myself barely staying awake not only for that class (when I made I to class), but also to my other two classes that same day. Yes you will reap the short-term benefits of staying up late; having fun but the long-term effects can be costly.

In addition to falling asleep (in class), there are other physical effects from lack of sleep. You are not well rested, cranky, irritable, and your memory begins be affected. You may study, but the chances of you retaining the information is slim to none if you are not getting enough sleep.

My suggestion for students going into their first year of college and even those who have been in school for a year or more is to learn how to manage your time wisely and set aside seven or eight hours for sleep. Sit down and plan out a list of things you must do and about how long it will take for you to complete these tasks. If this

means that you have to cut out that extra 30 minutes in the dining hall or catch the replay of your favorite show on the weekend to accomplish academic goals AND get a good-nights rest then the sacrifice is definitely worth it.

You may think that once you get to school, you need to see, do and experience everything at the expense of losing sleep, but I am hear to tell you that nothing is more important and precious to a college student than sleep so be sure to catch those Zzzzzzzzs!!