Written by Christopher Wong, 2014-2015 CAHS Ambassador
I had a recent conversation with a faculty member in the College of Ag and Human Science on the topic of sleep. This certain faculty member asked me “What do college students need sleep for? Sleep after you get your degree!” The average adult sleeps for seven hours on the regular; the average college student gets 6 hours of sleep. It is recommended that all adults get at least eight hours of sleep per day. How is that even possible to reach with the hectic schedule of an active college student?
Well, I get from as little as four to seven hours of sleep per day. With being a national student officer of an organization, taking 15 credit hours, being a CAHS Ambassador, volunteering, and still finding time to do things I actually enjoy, like photography, eight consecutive hours of sleep is hard to come by. I sleep whenever there is time available to wind down and relax. I need that sleep to energize and recollect myself for the next unanticipated late to all-nighter for the project with no guidelines or that exam we have no study guide ;).
But, to you students that get nine or more hours of sleep on the daily- there is something wrong with that picture. Be more active in the CAHS, volunteer, make a difference! I charge you all to participate in something constructive besides your studies that you enjoy, with other people who enjoy it.
The some of the most successful and most innovative people in history received less than 7 hours of sleep on the daily. For example Barack Obama, our nation’s president receives 6 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period. Thomas Edison only got 3 hours of sleep per day because he felt that sleep was a waste of time, so he took short naps throughout at 24 hour period. Donald Trump also gets 3 hours of sleeps and has said often that he doesn’t understand how someone who sleeps more can compete with those who get fewer hours.
I say all of this to say, give up some sleep time hours if you have the room and do something constructive, it will definitely pay off in the long run. I believe Benjamin Franklin who only got 6 hours of sleep a day on average said it best, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
