During fall and winter quarter I had a roommate that slept from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. and napped from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. I moved.
She was 21 years old, and I told her repeatedly that by the time you hit your early 20s, you should know how to function normally in the world. For example, you should operate during regular working hours, you know, like during daylight, and know your physical and mental limits.
It’s a small percentage of the population that regularly works the graveyard shift. Sleeping all day and staying up all night doesn’t work out too well in the real world. Neither does skipping out on your work.
If students treat their jobs like they treat their classes and schoolwork, we’re in for a workforce comprised of George Costanzas. More work will go into keeping unemployment benefits than just doing the original job, and everyone will be changing their answering machines to “Vandelay Industries” or some other official-sounding, but completely fabricated, company.
It’s unrealistic to think that sleeping at 3 and waking up at 11 will last forever. Maybe during the weekend you can do it, but making a habit of it is a bad call. It tends to negatively affect others as well.
One of the most annoying things a roommate can do is sleep all day and stay up all night. It makes it uncomfortable for everyone else to live their lives normally. For third-year art history student Tara Tiger, being paired with a nocturnal roommate has affected her usual sleep patterns.
“It’s really frustrating having a roommate who sleeps all day when you have normal sleep habits. You go to bed around twelve and wake up at eight for classes and when you come back at two your roommate is still asleep. You have to creep around, and you can’t relax in your own room,” Tiger said.
However, college students with normal sleeping hours are considered weirdos. Living in accordance with the real world’s hours of operation makes you a social leper.
According to the March/April issue of Psychology Today, “Mood and sleep share basic biological mechanisms. … The single most common symptom of depression is some form of sleep disturbance. Getting lots of sleep is crucial. The challenge is in admitting that you just may not be able to do as much as you want to ““ and then sticking to your guns, even when life throws drama or excitement your way.”
This sentiment is especially important during college. Oftentimes students overwhelm themselves with their friend dramas, going out and their studies. Then they try to compensate at Night Powell but end up passing out. Either that or they make a friend with someone who has a prescription for Adderall.
The physical and mental side effects from lack of sleep can take a toll on students’ studies. Aside from sleeping through classes either in their bed or in lecture hall, lack of sleep combined with stress causes the immune system to slow down and therefore increases the chances of sickness. Mentally, lack of sleep makes the brain go into overtime and function less quickly or accurately than when the student is well-rested.
Despite being a college student, you’re still an adult, and as an adult you should be able to take care of yourself and do what is best for your mental and physical being. You’re a budding little professional, and by the time you leave this place you’re expected to handle yourself just as well as your 40-year-old colleague whose idea of “getting crazy” involves endless buffalo wings and fire sauce.
People who claim to work better at night or have recently begun to claim that they’re a vampire had better start living during daylight hours or they’re going to be sunk in the job market. Once you make a habit of going to bed around midnight and waking up around 8 or 9 you’ll realize that those weirdos who aren’t really stressed and are totally on top of their work load might not have been so crazy in the first place. It’s not them, it’s you.
E-mail Jagerman at njagerman@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.