Catching some elusive Zzzzs

While it's nearly impossible to fit enough hours of sleep around late night cram sessions for midterms, sleep deprivation is not unique to exam periods. For most students, lack of sleep is a fact of college life.

"Most students want to burn the candle at both ends," Health Services Director Margaret Higham said. "Classes are often in the morning and [students] want to stay up late, do things with their friends, and then there's probably still work to do after that."

In an attempt to increase their time to sleep without sacrificing time with friends, some students avoid registering for early morning classes. "I definitely choose classes according to how late I'll be able to sleep," sophomore Preston Dickey said. "It was very important for me not to have late classes on Mondays, and no classes on Fridays."

"I usually try to steer clear of anything before 10:25 AM," sophomore Daniela Fairchild said. "But I wouldn't be hindered from taking a class that I really wanted because it was earlier."

Some students, however, have no choice but to take early classes. Many classes required for the pre-med program, for example, only meet at 8:25 a.m.

"I don't have an 8:25 this semester, but I did last spring," sophomore Adrienne Poon said. "I was completely exhausted, and I would only wind up being awake because of the coffee in my system. Actually, I learned very little in the class."

Along with early class times, schoolwork and the general dorm environment are other factors which contribute to student's sleep deprivation. "I don't sleep too much because the walls are paper thin in Lewis, and homework keeps me up until about two or three every night," Dickey said.

Other common student sleep-stealers include extracurricular activities and jobs. Junior Matthew Pohl works two jobs -- an internship and an on-campus job as a tour guide -- and has had to readjust his sleeping patterns. "The new hours have been somewhat disruptive, especially since I've had to switch my tour guiding times around twice," Pohl said.

Students also attribute their lack of sleep to procrastination and distractions. Many find chatting over instant messaging programs addictive and consider it a prime cause of late nights.

"In the end, it's not how much work you have that keeps you up [at night]," Fairchild said. "It's how many conversations you had on AIM for the three hours you wasted before doing work."

"AIM can definitely mess up your time management because minutes suddenly become hours," Pohl agreed.

According to Higham, the ideal solution to inadequate sleeping habits is better time management. Many students, however, devise their own -- admittedly less effective -- alternatives: "I take naps all the time," Fairchild said. "It's really bad, because reading between classes always turns into a half hour nap."

Instead of catching catnaps, Higham recommends that students make and adhere to a sleeping schedule. "If students aren't on a schedule, their bodies never really have a chance to catch up," she said.

It's also helpful for students to jettison those activities that eat away at their sleeping time. "I've come to realize that I can't do absolutely everything," Pohl said. "Some activities take priority over others, especially if those [other] activities have anything to do with academics."