A seemingly impossible trinity in college: GPA, sleep, and social life.
In a recent survey conducted in K College with 10% of the student population, many seem to sacrifice sleep. The survey shows that 70% of the students are not satisfied with their sleep. Instead of the average of 6.7 hours they are sleeping now, 8.6 are what they want.
However, more hours of sleep may not make many students happier. In the survey, students are asked about their current and potential satisfaction level of academic and social life if they can sleep the hours they want. While 50% of the surveyed students think that their satisfaction level will go higher with more sleep, the other half does not. Some students express the concern that more sleep will lessen their study and social time, making them worse off. It seems that if you sleep when your friends are studying or hanging out, you will not be happy. Statistics also shows that there is negligible increase in average satisfaction level in academic and social life with more hours of sleep.
So how important sleep is to students? In the survey, students are asked to rate the importance of sleep on a 0-10 scale, and the average is 7.6, which means, “somewhat important.” On NSF (National Sleeping Foundation) website, sleep is regarded as “an essential for health and wellbeing”. Lack of sleep will lead to both physical and mental fatigue and will contribute to depression. College students are supposed to sleep more than eight hours everyday, but 72% of K students cannot fulfill this requirement. Rigorous academic, athletic, social and personal life seems to deprive K students from the luxury to be peacefully in bed for over eight hours daily.
What is more alarming, most students have some problems falling asleep and/or waking up. On a scale of 0-10, students have an average of 5 on the frequency of sleeping problems. Facing the fact that sleep revitalizes your brains and prepares them for challenges to come, it is essential to maximize your utility even when your eyes are closed. After all, many people believe a good night sleep is better than sex.
As a K College student, how can you be happier? From the results of the survey, we have the following suggestions:
1. Have a regular sleeping schedule. Nap to fill up the gaps.
2. Sleep more if you can. Sleep sound if you cannot sleep more.
3. Try to put away electronic devices and other distracting objects or thoughts when you sleep.
4. Plan ahead to avoid staying up rushing homework.
5. Pay less attention to the red letter on your paper, but more to your learning process and health.
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