Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Oct. 4, 1996, edition 1 / Page 3
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OCTOBER 4,1996 — THE DECREE — PAGE 3 Campus Life College women shortchanged on sleep By COLLEEN DEBAISE Tamara Hahn doesn’t have time to sleep. Hahn, a 20-year-old junior at the University of Illinois at Chi cago, juggles a full classload, soft ball practice, and a part-time job at a sandwich shop. “During the [softball] season, I get no sleep,” says Hahn, as she spreads mustard on a roast beef sandwich. “It’s hard to go to classes sometime. It’s hard to pay attention.” Weekends are a time to catch up on sleep, she says, although sometimes, “I try to make up my sleep right after practice, but that’s when I have to do work or study.” “It’s really hard,” she adds. An increasing number of college stu dents, like Hahn, are spending less time snoozing and more time feel ing tired and listless, according to recent studies. In a report in the journal “Sleep,” scientists speculate that Americans today are less well rested and feel worse than their parents and grandparents. “The simple truth is contem porary Americans aren’t getting enough sleep,” said lead study author Donald Bliwise, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Emory University Medical School. “People prioritize all the time for work, family, nutrition, exercise and more.” The report compared the re sults of mental health survey of 1.200 healthy adults living in the Midwest in the 1930s to those of 1.200 adults of comparable age, gender, area of residence and other factors 50 years later. There is a surge in the number of people who report being fa tigued, which indicates they’ve has insufficient sleep, scientists said. Another study indicates that women college students, in par ticular, are more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation than their male counterparts. An Elmhurst College study of 82 college undergraduates found that similar percentages of women (53 percent) and men (58 per cent) said they required seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Sixty-percent of the men re ported getting in seven to eight hours of snoozing. But only 38 percent of the women students said they got that much sleep, and slightly more than half (51 per cent) reported sleeping less than 6-1/2 hours per night. “Students, particularly women students, do suffer firom sleep dep rivation,” says Dr. Kathleen Sex- ton-Radek, chair of Elmhurst College’s psychology department. Women went to bed earlier during the week, but stayed up later on weekends than did men in the study. During the week, while about half of the men and women in the sample went to bed by 11 p.m., more than 20 percent of men re ported staying up past midnight as compared to only one percent of the women. But on weekends, the tables turn. About 40 percent of the men were in bed by midnight and 80 percent by 3 a.m. Only 20 per cent of the women students were in bed by 1 a.m., and 60 percent by 3 a.m. Women also were less likely than men to take a nap to make up the difference and more likely to be up on weekdays by 8 a.m. than are men. Many women said they try to catch up on their sleep on week ends. Nearly 40 percent of women reported not rising by 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, while only 26 percent of men slept be yond 10 a.m. on weekends. “Napping and sleeping-in on weekends is counter-productive,” says Sexton-Radek. “Napping be havior needs are complex. While the body craves sleep, the urge to sleep must be ignored to main tain a healthy, synchronized sleep cycle.” Sexton-Radek says that one of the most important habits for a good sleep cycle is to go to bed and get up at about the same time each day. “This will give you a consistent rhythm and will syn chronize your biological clocks,” she explains. Almost all, 77 out of 82 stu dents, reported needing alarm clocks to wake up. About 20 per cent experienced insomnia at times, they said. Join the Campus Activities Board Student Activities Center For information, call 985-5257 or e-mail us at cab@ncwc.edu Name Class (this year) Residence Hall Room No.. Local Address Phone No. Major Year Applying For, List hobbies or interests: List any extracurricular activities, clubs, groups, and special interest areas in which you have participated: Do you have any experience organizing events? What types of events would you be interested in planning and organiz ing? Why are you seeking membership with the Campus Activities Board? Is there any information you would like to give that might be relevant to seeking membership in CAB? I realize that the Campus Activities Board (CAB) offers me the opportunity to develop leadership and organizational skills. I agree to work cooperatively with the advisor and other students of CAB in accomplishing this personal growth and in providing quality program ming for my fellow students. Signature Date Television needed North Hall Council is looking for a new television to replace the one that was stolen last semester. Anyone willing to donate a television or is willing to sell one at a cheap price is asked to contact the North Hall Council President, Michele (Buffy) at 5323. Any donations will be greatly appreci ated. Thank you!
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