Kara Eisenhower, an ambitious freshman, is not necessarily on the prowl for money or power.

She is looking for something that everyone needs—but not everyone gets enough of: she simply wants more sleep.

According to a recent survey gauging sleeping habits, 59 percent of Elon students feel they are sleep deprived. Similarly, in a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, researchers found that college students get the least amount of sleep of all other age groups in America.

At first glance, this number may not seem surprising.

Although it clearly does not imply an absolute—a large number of students are getting enough sleep—there is a majority of students that are dissatisfied with the amount of sleep they receive each night.

Ironically enough, the same survey found that 72 percent of Elon students receive six to eight hours of sleep each night, the amount recommended by doctors to function properly throughout the day.

So, if students are receiving the recommended hours of sleep each night, why do they still feel sleep-deprived?

Director of the Center of Sleep and Wake Disorders at the National Sleep Foundation Helene Emsellem believes that the large numbers of students who are sleep deprived imply a culture that encourages students not to get enough sleep. Some blame the fast-paced, non-stop, multi-tasking nature of modern society.

“The underlying culprit is that this is a 24/7 world,” Emsellem said on the National Sleep Foundation Web site. “It is now in a student’s genetics to stay up late into the night and sleep in late.”

Trends in the behavior of the average American adult have shifted, with more people living to work rather than working to live—cutting out the time formerly devoted to sleeping.

Because people are working more, they are putting more physical strains on themselves and require more sleep now than ever before, National Sleep Foundation Executive Director Richard Gelula said.

The same can be said about college students, especially those at Elon, where there is a constant emphasis on being engaged and staying involved, said Professor of Religious Studies Jim Pace.

Between schoolwork, extracurricular activities, jobs, friends and other obligations, students rarely find time to stop and rest.

“On the whole, I do think that we are demanding more of students these days,” Pace said. “But we are also getting better results.”

Sleep deprived students, competitive job markets and graduate school admissions processes encourage students to try to pursue multiple majors and excel in their classes, she said. Although these concerns are justified, devoting inordinate amounts of time into academics is not always the best means to achieve such ends.

“Students are so active now,” Pace said. “They can hardly sit still anymore. They don’t allow themselves the time to mull over and process information. Yet a lot of learning has to be done with reflection.”

Studies done earlier this year at St. Lawrence University in New York found that students are incapable of doing their best work when they are sleep deprived. Studying the sleeping patterns and transcripts of 111 students to see the correlation between sleep and their GPAs, Associate Professor of Psychology Pamela Thacher discovered that consistently pulling “all-nighters” resulted in a slightly lower GPA on average.

Although students often view cramming for an exam as more effective preparation than receiving a good night’s sleep, many experts disagree. Even if students retain knowledge from a late night study session, information is often not available for recall by the next morning.

In fact, The New York Times reports that a healthy night’s sleep is imperative for consolidating memories for future ease of access.

“I think that a lot of students believe that less sleep means that you’ll gain extra hours to do more, giving you an advantage over others,” Eisenhower said. “Ultimately, though, I think you’ll get burnt out.”

Students often participate in several extracurricular activities. The sheer size of the student bodies at colleges and universities nearly guarantees that students will find extracurricular groups focused on their particular interests.

Ranging in focus from ballroom dancing to varsity athletics to drama and politics, students can easily become overwhelmed by the number of groups that are eager to recruit them.

Freshman Julie Smith said she believes the demands of our schedules prevent students from getting enough sleep because of the pressures to get involved and stay active.

“But sometimes we take that to the extreme,” she said. “We suffer from not having enough time in the day to get school work accomplished and then leave sleep as a last priority.”

Finally, college is a time for students to socialize with their peers, as the environment makes it convenient to see and make friends. Whether it is enjoying a leisurely meal in a dining hall, going to a party or sitting around doing absolutely nothing, students typically set aside time in their schedules to relax.

Still, the decisions to take difficult classes, participate in demanding extracurricular activities and spend time socializing are generally voluntary.

To stay involved, students make the conscious decision not to sleep.

Observing the long-term effects of these trends reveals how skewed students’ norms have become. Their idea of a typical night’s sleep can be as little as four hours, Horton said.

“You are how you sleep,” Gelula said. “Some of the problems we face as a society from road rage to obesity may be linked to a lack of sleep or poor sleep.”

According to an article entitled “Why Sleep Matters” which appeared in Newsweek, self-imposed sleep deprivation does result in substantial negative effects on the physical and mental health of college students, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression and a shortened life span.

Junior Darani Nguyen said he does notice a change in mood when he sleeps less.

“It’s especially noticeable when I pull all-nighters or get no sleep,” he said. “The next day, I’m the most irritable person on campus. Cranky does not even begin to describe me on those days.”

There are some students like junior Terrell Hudgins who believe that sleep deprivation should be blamed not on demanding schedules but on the personal choices of students and poor time management.

“I think that if you don’t have good time management skills, then that can contribute to your lack of sleep,” Hudgins said. “If you get your work done earlier in the day or at a reasonable time, you should be able to go to bed at the time you’d like.”

According to LiveScience, an online journal documenting scientific developments, regardless of whether demanding schedules or personal choices are to blame for sleep deprivation, balance is the key.

Even in such a fast-paced society, students must find a healthy medium that will allow them to remain active and involved in the university community without having to sacrifice their health.

Special Features Editor: Andie Diemer - 11/14/07