Late Nights Common Among Students

by Heidi Crabtree

Des Moines, Iowa (Jan. 31, 1997)-- The time is midnight, it's a school night. Do you know where your college student is? Not likely in bed asleep. Late nights, sleeping in as late as possible, and making up for it on the weekend are the routes many Drake University students follow.

To make matters more complicated, some students have not developed a regular pattern of sleep. Scott Jennings (E3) said, "I have no normal time to go to bed. I t just depends on how much work I have that night. My RA (resident assistant) is never home to enforce the quiet hours, so it is a rodeo around there and that makes it hard for me to get any sleep."

Marinee Dresback (AS1) said, "I try to average 1 a.m., but other activities just seem to come up. I have no regular sleeping schedule. I go to bed whenever I get things done, but I have to get up at nearly the same time every morning. One time last week I got to go to bed at 11:30 p.m., I about danced down the hall."

A wide range of activities keep students up late. "I have to admit a large part of it is socialization," said B.J. Rosanova (AS2). "I'm bad about it. The benefits of dorm life definitely outweigh the sleep factor, though. I love those late night conversations with friends," he said.

Dresback said, "I try to go to the social room to study, but someone will come in and it interrupts my studying. If you wanted, though, you could shut your door and go to bed, but I think an important part of college is learning about people."

Jessica Hoey (J1) said, "People are noisy in the social room, and I am always up late studying. It is also just a fact that I am used to my own room at home, and it is hard to get used to sleeping here. I do manage to usually keep a regular schedule unless there is a big test or paper that I have due. Lots of people can run on little sleep, but I'm one of those people who need at least six hours or I can't function the next day."

Kate Vosburg (AS1) said, "I stay up late doing homework, chatting on the internet, or playing cards with friends. I get enough sleep to function, but probably not enough to stay healthy. I do not have a sleep schedule. It varies from day to day, depending on how much I have to do and how long I put it off."

Many of the students said they feel that they can make up for the late nights by sleeping late on the weekend. Rosanova said, "I try to get a lot of sleep on the weekends. Some days I will wake up and wonder where the day went, especially when there is only two hours of daylight left."

Students have found ways to manage to stay awake. Rosanova said, "If I don't get enough sleep I will take a catnap in the afternoon. I could fall asleep on a dime. I do not take caffeine pills or any kind of caffeine-based supplement."

Dresback said, "I called my doctor, and he recommended I take vitamins daily. This has helped a lot."

Jennings said, "I drink coffee or something with caffeine in it. This helps me stay awake during classes and throughout the day."

Hoey said, "I do not take any medications to stay awake. I do some exercises to wake me up or take a shower. Sometimes even just going outside gives me more energy. This has worked better for me than caffeine."

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