A furious flapping of pages breaks the otherwise tense silence of Tisch Library's quiet room as you stuff your notes into a backpack and get up to finally return your dorm. On the way out, you glance at your watch: It's 3 a.m., which leaves only a few precious hours for you to sleep before class.
Though many students have spent almost a month waking up well after noon each day, they will soon be returning to life in college, where nights like this are commonplace.
According to a new study, however, students' unhealthy sleep habits may be hurting them academically. The study, published in the Dec. 18 issue of the Nature Neuroscience Journal, found that information learned late at night when students are tired is difficult to recall or keep in long-term memory.
For sophomore Katrine Dermody, late nights are unavoidable.
"I prefer not to go to bed late, but usually that's what happens," Dermody said, adding that she gets about six to seven hours of sleep per night. "Mostly it's because of work. Being in the library for late-night study is always a good time."
Among college students, Dermody is not alone. In a 2001 study of students at Louisiana Tech, only 11 percent of students reported regularly getting a good night's sleep, which requires 8.5 to 9.25 hours for high school and college-aged students, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
Dermody explained that her schedule makes it hard for her to manage an adequate night of sleep.
"I have a lot of things during the day, so I have to start my work later," she said. "Last semester, especially, I had a really heavy workload, and I was in Tisch every night trying to keep up."
As a freshman last year, sophomore Matt Nix faced a similar challenge in finding enough hours for a good night of sleep.
"Last year I did crew, and I had to wake up early in the morning," he said. "I got like four or five hours [of sleep] per night, which wasn't enough."
Now that he's no longer practicing for crew, though, Nix said his schedule has improved - to an extent.
"I stay up late and get up at eight or nine o'clock," he said, "but I feel like I'm getting enough sleep now. Usually if I don't get enough sleep it's because I was up late doing work that's due the next day."
According to the Dec. 18 study, working and studying when tired can be ineffective. By examining how the mind recalls, organizes and solidifies important information into students' memories, the researchers found that knowledge is less likely to stick when students are low on sleep. When knowledge does stick in tired students' memories, the study found that students are less likely to fully understand it.
A self-proclaimed "night person," sophomore John Yager typically does his homework late at night. For him, fatigue is a common concern.
"I feel like I can get work done pretty well late at night - but not too late," Yager said. "By about 12 or one [a.m.], it starts to get pretty difficult to focus. I try not to work much later than that unless I have to."
Yager said the effects of constantly staying up to do work can begin to add up.
"On the weekend, I'm really tired from the week of a lot of work and activities, so I need to get more sleep," Yager said. "I wouldn't call it crashing, [but] maybe towards the end of the semester it feels like that."
"I always aim for eight hours," he added. "I just don't always get that much."
While many students are able to manage from day to day on less sleep than doctors recommend, some sleep-deprived students may be paying the price.
According to the NSF Web site, a 1998 study of high school students, who are biologically in the same "adolescent" demographic as college students, found that those getting C's or lower reported getting less sleep per night than students getting higher grades.
According to Dermody, who often sacrifices sleep time in order to study, managing fatigue is a matter of willpower.
"I can honestly say that I feel tired most days, but it's not extreme," she said. "If I know I need to do things, I just get past that tiredness feeling to get them done."
Freshman Meera Gajjar may be at the extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to her sleep habits. Gajjar says she gets an average of five hours of sleep each night.
"I could get more sleep than I do, but I tend to waste my time at night just lazing around," Gajjar said. "I'm not up doing homework - I'm just hanging out, watching TV, whatever."
Gajjar said the lack of sleep catches up with her, but that she likes staying up late anyway.
"I always nap during the day, so I guess it's because I'm tired," she said. "I guess I've gotten used to it, really."
According to the NSF Web site, such deprivation can hinder communication skills, abstract thinking and mental sharpness in some people. For sophomore Dhimiter Kondili, these negative effects have spurred him to set a regular schedule that allows for eight hours of sleep each night. When studying throws his routine off, though, Kondili said the effects can be aggravating.
"It always happens to me before my math finals," he said. "You get very easily frustrated, and simple things take longer to do. It doesn't really affect how I think, but [thinking] does get harder and I do get headaches more often."
Kondili said he would have trouble maintaining a sleep schedule that didn't allow for ample sleep time.
"I don't think I would do well. My eyes would be closing, but at the same time I wouldn't be able to sleep because I'd know something was hanging over me," he said.
While none of the students interviewed said they got the recommended minimum of 8.5 hours of sleep per night, some said their schedules in college allowed for healthier sleep patterns than their high school schedules did due to early start times.
"When I was in high school I got less sleep because I had to get up at six in the morning," Nix said.
Sophomore John Mazella agreed.
"I always feel tired when I wake up early," he said, "no matter how much sleep I got the night before."
