Colorado College Students are Sleep Deprived

Published in The Catalyst 

A major survey of undergraduates on campus has drawn light to the tremendous lack of sleep amongst CC students, while providing some surprising figures on the leading reasons. While it may not shock you that exactly 6 in 10 students get an inconsistent amount of nightly rest, its worth noting that 95% of those 6 claim they receive too little sleep and only 5% allege too much.

Young adults between eighteen and twenty-two generally get less sleep worldwide than they should. This makes perfect sense, as the recommended figure according to the American Sleep Disorders Association stands at nine and a half hours on the average night, and getting this much sleep is “simply impossible”, says sophomore Denali Gillaspie. “There are so many things we want to do that sleep just isn’t high on the priority list”.

 Despite the conscious effort students’ construct to make-up sleep on the weekends, all grades are behind on both weekdays and weekends. In fact, 96% of the 410 students who took the survey receive under 9 hours Sunday thru Thursday. Although a significant drop occurs on the weekend, the majority (56%) still get less than nine hours on Friday and Saturday night.

Since nine is realistically asking too much, consider that 35% of students receive six or less hours a weeknight, with another 35% getting just seven. Far less, only 25% get 8 hours on weeknights. On a brighter note, it’s nice to know that over 70% of participants prided 8 or more hours of sleep on Friday and Saturday night.

Perhaps most alarming is how little sleep students receive on the final week of the block. “It’s the stress week” claims sophomore Noah Gallo-Brown “Why do you think the library is open till 4am?” Nearly 8 in 10 participants receive less nightly sleep on the final three nights of a block than he or she received the previous three weeks.

Next time you’re in class, look around the room and see if anyone is dozing off. This is not always the professor’s fault. Of course homework loads can ruin sleep schedules, but it’s often the undergrad who doesn’t make efforts to get the sleep he or she needs. “CC students push themselves beyond what’s necessary, packing their schedules with clubs and commitments” declared freshman Alyssa Northam. “I know I am often too busy to take a nap I really need”.

While 20% of students say they never or very rarely nap, nearly 2 in 5 surveyed claimed they napped one to three times per week, with 1 in 3 napping just once every two weeks to a month. I personally nap nearly every day, making up for the lack of sleep I get at night.

The reasons behind Colorado College student’s lack of sleep may surprise you.  While 83% of students claim homework keeps them up, 62% claim hanging out interrupts sleep time. More students claimed friends kept them up than parties kept them out. “My roommates have a great time keeping me from sleeping” said Denali Gillaspie. Another 1 in 5 students claimed their surroundings were too loud.

Although the survey was completed by over 20% of the student body, men made up only 30% of participants. And while many studies show women receive less sleep than men nationwide, conclusive evidence has yet to reveal weather male or female college students get the leg-up on sleep. For now, just try and figure out- Are most class time dozers guys or girls?