Studies show that the average college freshman needs 8 ½ to 9 ¼ hours of sleep each night to function at their best. While 9 hours is what a college freshman’s body needs, it is unlikely this is achieved. In high school, I thought I already had established a great sense of time management. I managed to juggle school, extracurricular activities, and work. However, I often forgot sleep. My bad habit followed me to college.
For the first few weeks of college, I didn’t sleep. I balanced a 16 hour course load, dance rehearsals, and various activity fairs for almost three weeks until I crashed. I often ran on 4-6 hours of sleep. Not only did I constantly feel tired, I could not perform at my best. Lack of sleep limited my ability to learn, concentrate, and retain information. Lack of sleep can contribute to acne and aggressive behavior. I even started to become sick. I was so focused on not missing anything and excelling in all areas that I forgot the importance of sleep. I decided to make sleep a priority.
I established a schedule which made it easier to get to bed at a reasonable time. Luckily my sleep deprivation did not affect my grades, or my skin for that matter, but I know it eventually would have affected that and more. I now realize that I cannot go to every informational meeting or activities fair or party. I’m not saying that I get 9 ¼ hours of sleep each night but I am averaging more than four and this has made a huge difference. Sometimes I miss out on a trip to the dining hall or a social, but I know I will benefit in the long run.