Want A’s? Get Z’s!

Anyone who is in college or knows someone who is, knows that sleep is just not happening there. There’s too much to do, and no one wants to miss out.

“It’s like, well, I could do my calculus homework or it sounds like the girls next door are doing something fun so I’ll just walk over there,” Kelsey Barton, a Tufts freshman recently told the Boston Globe. Kelsey has averaged 3 hours sleep per night since she got there last month.

College administrators are starting to fret about the situation. “Most people feel it’s a badge of honor. ‘I didn’t sleep. Parentheses, aren’t I great,’” said Dr. Vanessa Britto, Wellesley’s Health Services Director. “Until you point out to them that pulling an all-nighter is the equivalent of driving drunk and is detrimental to their reaction time and memory,” she added.

And then there’s the oft cited Behavioral Sleep Medicine study which found that students who had pulled at least one all-nighter had lower GPAs than those who never did.

So, many colleges are taking action. One school sponsors dorm pajama parties featuring popcorn and tea. Another holds a Biggest Snoozer contest. There are awareness campaigns with catchy names like the one appearing in the title of of this post. And then, there are the hand-outs…everything from white noise machines to memory foam pillows, ear plugs and relaxing CD mixes.

It ain’t gonna’ fly, Orville.

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