Speaking as a college student, there are few things more precious in this world than sleep. In fact, I'm having trouble coming up with a single one. While a sleek Audi A8 or a timeshare in Hawaii may initially seem like a better offer, everyone has reached that point - seven hours into a marathon study session at Tisch - where they would give up almost anything for just a little shut-eye. You've all been there. In the end, sleep trumps anything. That's a normal thing to say, right? Well, apparently not. If you turn to the Internet, as I have just done, you'll find that you, too, may be addicted to sleep.
If you Google addictive behaviors, one of your first hits will be the University of Indiana's website, which will tell you that any activity "that has become the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities" is considered an addictive behavior. In addition, "some experts suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity ... he/she may get into an addictive cycle ... thus leading to continuation of the behavior." Jumbos, I must confess that I am completely addicted to sleep. I am trapped in a vicious cycle; I continue to sleep every night, which has gotten me into an addictive cycle and leads to continuation of my harmful behavior.
As further proof, I offer three of the most common characteristics among addictive behaviors (U of Indiana really knows their stuff!). First, the person will "compulsively engage" in the behavior, which means they'll do it over and over again and find it difficult to stop. Check. As much as I'd like to stop sleeping entirely - think of how many more hours I'd have in the day! - there's just no avoiding it. For me, sleep has often become unavoidable; that is, I'll involuntarily fall asleep during German class.
Second, the person does not appear to have control as to how long he will continue the behavior. Couldn't be truer! When I pass out at night, there's no telling when (if ever) I'll see the light of day. Half-asleep me has developed a remarkable knack for turning off alarm after alarm in a matter of microseconds, no matter how many I set the night before or how creatively I stagger them. While this is undeniably an impressive skill, it does present a bit of a problem, as your guess is as good as mine regarding when I'll actually start my day.
Third, upon cessation of the activity, withdrawal symptoms occur, including irritability and craving. This one is hard to refute. For those of you who haven't ever interacted with me when I'm sleep-deprived, lucky you. From what I hear, it isn't pleasant. Another of my winning characteristics when I'm a little short on sleep is intense jealousy of anyone who has managed to snag those coveted eight hours. Therefore, if you approach me and brag of your restful night when I've got bags under my eyes as black as the coffee I'll be inhaling all day, consider yourself warned: the claws will come out.
I've heard warnings of how you shouldn't use the Internet to diagnose yourself. This is definitely true. I had a mild sore throat a week ago and used WebMD to discover that my top three diagnoses were strep, scarlet fever and the plague. Keeping my newfound cynicism of Internet diagnoses in mind, maybe I'm not actually addicted to sleep after all. It's a blurry line, after all. I'll figure it out eventually - but first, I need to go take a quick nap.
Lex Erath is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at Alexandra.Erath@tufts.edu.
