| Women Living Well Seminar
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FORUM ARCHIVE
Sleep Deprivation
Name: Amy Campbell
Username: acampbel@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Forum Question Sleep Deprivation
Date: 2002-04-24 18:49:34
Message Id: 1952
Comments:
Dr. Pien illustrated some of the effects on performance resulting from loss of sleep. Most notably was the comparison to alcohol consumption and the BAL and also the obvious physical effects of lack of sleep that remain constant over a period of days even though the ability to perform at a high level continues to drop. Thereby creating an illusion that one's ability to perform is no more impaired with two days loss of sleep as it is with four.
Given the schedules and the kinds of lives led at Bryn Mawr, how do you manage to get enough sleep in order to be productive and able to think clearly? How do you decide to choose bewteen giving up sleep hours to get more done? Is the outcome always successful? Are their insights you gained that will be helpful during the upcoming exam period?
Name: Amy Campbell
Username: acampbel@brynmawr.edu
Subject: question for final paper
Date: 2002-04-24 18:52:57
Message Id: 1953
Comments:
NOTE: DO NOT POST PAPER ON FORUM BOARD, POST PAPER ON THE WEB PAPER POSTING LINK.
Question:
Mind and body are often thought of a separate and distinct aspects of humanexperience. In ways does talking about them as inter-related, as we have for this series, help your thinking about lifestyle habits, practices, and choices? In general? Here at Bryn Mawr?
The paper must be a minimum of one page in length (12 pt single spaced).
Please post on the web paper link and deliver a hardcopy to the athletic office. Due Date: May 3
Name: Diana La Femina
Username: dlafemin@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep deprivation
Date: 2002-04-24 19:41:00
Message Id: 1954
Comments:
Sleep? What is sleep? In the beginning of the semester I'm lucky if I get six hours of sleep. At this point in the semester, I get maybe three a night, I'm not too sure...I kinda lose count. And it's only going to get worse. If sleep deprivation can be likened to having a hi BAC, I should be dead from alcohol poisoning right now, but this isn't any different than any of my fellow Mawrtyrs. I'll live, I always do. And my parents are used to the fact that when I come home from college for vacation I sleep for like sixteen hours a day for the first week I'm home. It's just become normal really. Mmm...sleepy...papers...arg...
Name: aeronwy
Username: hhuang
Subject:
Date: 2002-04-24 21:05:32
Message Id: 1955
Comments:
given the schedule and kind of life i lead at bryn mawr, i frankly don't get enough sleep to be as productive and clear-headed as i could be. however, i am resigned to this as being the truth because i know that it is in my personality to procrastinate. i do this purposefully because i hate school and i won't work until i feel the pressure. i know you might say, "well, just start earlier". but i mean it. i really CANNOT work unless i feel the heat. i have sat down and attempted to be productive in advance of deadlines, but there's never a thought in my head. since i've managed to make it to bryn mawr, and i've done all right for myself here, i feel like this method is really successful for me, and if sleep deprivation is the price i pay for it, so be it. i like my life and in some ways i'm almost proud of being sleep-deprived. it's practically normative for a college student, so that i'd almost feel guilty (perversely so, i grant you) if i never felt tired - almost as if i actually WEREN'T being productive enough! knowing the character of women at bryn mawr and the lives they lead, if they felt like they had spare energy they'd probably go out and volunteer somewhere. which is great, but my point is that we naturally will always strive to push ourselves to our physical and psychological limits. if we don't feel burned out or we don't think we're impaired, we'll take on more.
as for how i make the call between sleep and work, it's very simple - how critical is the work? if it absolutely has to be done by the next day, then i need to do what it takes to get it done. i've crammed for every test i've ever taken, and i've gotten kick-ass scores. no, i didn't actually learn the material (consolidate learning for the long term), i admit, but then again i really have no interest in spanish or calculus anyway. hey, i'm smart. i like learning. that's very different from being a "good" student. but back to sleep... yes, i would say that the outcome is usually successful. i would call myself an academic success, sure. because of that, even though i did learn a lot of new information today, there's nothing i feel that i need to change about my behavior just because exams are coming up.
Name: shanze
Username: smunir@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-25 11:40:56
Message Id: 1958
Comments:
For me sleep is very important. If I don't get enough sleep, i can't concentrate in my classes, I become very grumpy and get mad easily, and feel miserable for the rest of the day. Here at Bryn Mawr, I make sure I get atleast 8 hours of sleep every night. In order to get that sleep I manage my time well so that I can finish my work and do anything else I need to and still go to bed on time. Some days I have more work than others and so I don't get enough sleep but I make sure to try and sleep early the following night.
Name: Irum Shehreen Ali
Username: iali@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep ... or lack thereof
Date: 2002-04-25 12:08:38
Message Id: 1959
Comments:
Sleep - that very elusive thing! The past few weeks and the coming few have/will be very stressful for me. I have not been sleeping nearly enough and its beginning to affect my health, and I can almost feel my immune system getting weaker. Its extremely difficult, at this time of year and stage of my academic career to get enough sleep and to make sensible decisions about when to stop going and just go to bed. I usesd to be of the just push myself til I collapse variety, but now not only can I not do that, I have realised that it makes me a miserable, unhealthy person to do so. Not that I am anywhere close to getting enough sleep now, but I have learnt to prioritise sleep in a way that makes me a more productive person. If you are pushing your body to the limit, you need to give it some rest so that it can keep up the pace.
Name: Hedya
Username: haryani@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sLeEp
Date: 2002-04-25 12:54:52
Message Id: 1960
Comments:
I've never like to procrastinate because my worst fear is not being able to go to sleep because I'll have to complete an assignment due the next day. Does this happen now and then anyway? Sure. There are days when I have so many things lined up (classes, meetings, tasks, etc.) that I know I have to keep myself busy in between them. I can't lie down in my room to kill that half hour of time in between scheduled tasks for myself because i WILL fall asleep.
To improve this situation, the best solution would obviously be setting a definite sleep pattern for myself at night. But with the upcoming finals week, I don't know if that's going to happen so soon. I should, however, learn to utilize the magic of naps. I'm one of those people who usually takes 1 1/2 hour naps, which the Dr. said wasn't a good idea. I'm going to start limiting them to 20-30 minutes and see how I feel.
Name: Nana Ama
Username: nadomboa@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-25 13:45:37
Message Id: 1961
Comments:
Sleep is very important to me even though i never get enough of it on weekdays. I however make up for it on weekends but I've learnt that its not even enough to make up for lost sleep. I see the direct relation between sleep and performance ie.. whenver i dont get enough sleep, going to class is just a waste of time.
Its an "abusive" cycle. I stay up all night to do my work, perhaps go to class the next day and end up understanding nothing in class or miss class ... then i stay up all night again coping notes and struggling with my assignments because i either missed class or understood nothing class. Well Bryn Mawr is a tough place but it dont think my schedule is such that I would not be able to get hrs of sleep each night. I just need to be more organised then I would get enough sleep.
Name: Marie Brown
Username: mgbrown@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep Deprivation
Date: 2002-04-25 16:55:42
Message Id: 1964
Comments:
I was a little upset after this week's talk because even though I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night I take hour naps almost every other day, which, according to Dr Pien means I'm sleep deprived. I think that I sleep better than most of my friends so I couldn't imagine that I could be classified as sleep deprived. Thinking back on it now I realize that Dr Pien didn't touch upon lethargy. Maybe its just a myth, but I believe that, though 75% of the time I'm taking naps because I am exhausted, other times I take naps simply because I am inactive. I think this is where exercise becomes very important. I can't give any scientific reason for it but I know that I often feel more tired on the days that I am realtively inactive than on the days when I am out and about. I believe I could probably improve my sleep quality and break out of my napping cycle if I was to become more active. We also didn't talk about sleep as an escape mechanism. The high stress level of Bryn Mawr often motivates us to seek escape. Sleep is one of the easiest ways that we can find that escape for a few hours. In that sense, sleep can be more than a bodily function when it becomes a tangible substance that we can use (and abuse).
Name: Liz Bonovitz
Username: ebonovit@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep Deprivation
Date: 2002-04-25 17:01:28
Message Id: 1965
Comments:
I find myself frequently cutting down my sleep time in order to get more work done. Then, during the day, I might take a nap to catch up a little.
This lecture made me think about the importance of saving time to sleep especially because sleeping more seems to contribute to academic success. A wonderful solution would be to lengthen our day so that everyone can get more than nine hours of sleep per night. Obviously, this is not possible, so the next best thing to do seems to be set priorities, making sure to put sleep at or near the top of the list. When people realize the amount of time they are spending doing things besides academics and sleeps perhaps they can see that there are many things that could be cut out of their daily schedule that are less important than sleep. During finals, I tend to cut down on socializing a little but I always get enough sleep because my body is able to setting into a natural rhythm of going to bed at around 1:30 or 2:30 and waking up at around 10:30 or 11:30. During finals this semester I will be sure to get enough sleep because my schedule will be more flexible.
Name: Elizabeth Marcus
Username: emarcus@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Wanting Sleep
Date: 2002-04-25 18:10:22
Message Id: 1967
Comments:
One of the wisest pieces of advice I received last semester around finals was from a fellow Mawrtyr. She said that no matter how much work you feel you need to do, getting sleep is more important. This has helped me greatly. I know I don't function without eight hours of sleep. Therefore, it's counterproductive to stay up late working since there's not way I'll function at all the next day. I don't always get the eight hours, but i think it's really about keeping tings in perspective. How helpful will it be to finish reading for a class if you're going to be falling asleep in it? Granted, there are times when it is more necessary to stay up late, but moderation is definitely key. Bryn Mawr is intense and demands a lot from students, but is it really worth being exhausted and exhibiting signs of someone who would be considered legally drunk?
Name: Kristina Davis
Username: kdavis@bmc
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-25 20:31:55
Message Id: 1968
Comments:
i would like to thank the inventor of Diet Coke, Starbucks, and other "unhealthy" stimulants. that is the secret to life - caffeine. I don't think that with all of our requirments we can sleep at all.
Name: Nicole Pietras
Username: npietras@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-25 23:34:58
Message Id: 1970
Comments:
Here at Bryn Mawr it is very difficult to maintain a healthy sleep level, however I have found that when I get enough sleep I become more productive, however I work better at night so I find myself sleeping later in the mornings and staying up later during the nights. I think there isn't anything special one can do during exams except to set up a schedule and stick to it, which insures you get enough sleep during such a stressful time.
Name: Jennifer Prince
Username: jprince@brynmawr.edu
Subject:
Date: 2002-04-26 21:45:53
Message Id: 1972
Comments:
In reference to the question of addictions, I think that it is a feeling which is specific to the individual. Only that person can know when they are crossing the line. I think that it is dangerous to generalize a concept like addiction. However I can not ignore the fact that often people realize too late. It seems like a double-edged sword. You just have to have faith in someone's knowledge and adaptation of right and wrong.
Name: Jennifer Vaughan
Username: jvaughan@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-27 23:52:04
Message Id: 1975
Comments:
I am one of those people who, as Dr. Pien described so aptly, "gets a little loopy" if I don't get enough sleep. Anything less than about eight hours a night and I'm useless the next day, so my self-imposed bedtime is practically an absolute. The only reason I would consider giving up some of those hours is to finish something that was due the next day, and I'm usually organized enough not to find myself in that position. During exams, my rules are stricter: sufficient sleep has priority over everything else. I never stay up late to study, because I know it would do more harm than good.
Name: Ana
Username: asalzber@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-28 10:16:56
Message Id: 1976
Comments:
Sleep has always been a proiority for me because I know that with the kind of schedule I keep (early classes, etc.), I need to be rested. Basically, I do my homework during my free time in the day and then finish up at night. I hang out with my friends and have some "me time," and then I go to bed.
Name: Monica Locsin
Username: mlocsin@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-28 14:24:36
Message Id: 1977
Comments:
I love to sleep! When I am well rested I can function very well! Lack of sleep also influences my mood for the day. When I do not get enough time to sleep, I sometimes feel more awake in the morning and then as the afternoon settles in I become so tired. I always try to have suffient time for sleeping but at the same time I have to also take the amount of work that I have into consideration. For exam week, I am going to try studying ahead of time so that I get enough sleep to do well on my exams.
Name: Sara Press
Username: spress
Subject: Depression
Date: 2002-04-28 18:04:36
Message Id: 1979
Comments:
I forgot to post a comment about depression, so here it is:
The range of moods a person goes through has a large effect on their performance. It is hard to work when you are really depressed, or really excited, any extreme mood makes a person less productive (in general). Also, if you are in a horrible mood, it is harder to play and enjoy your life.
When I need to change my mood I can do a few things, sometimes I like to just enjoy moping around the house for a while, but bubble baths, coffee, and an evening out with friends always seems to cheer me up.
I used to enjoy playing the piano to calm down or just reflect, but here it is not really an option. Also, if stressed and irritated often times a group of us go to the gym and see how long we can work out, although this is rare.
Name: Sara Press
Username: spress
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-28 18:10:35
Message Id: 1980
Comments:
I must agree that getting enough sleep is the best way to do well during day to day life. But it is rather hard to get to sleep at a decent hour when you know you have work piling up or your friends are all going to the club. We all try to get enough sleep, especially during finals, but often times with a busy lifestyle, we end up with less sleep than we would like. Often times we just drink lots of coffee to make up for the sleep we lost. But given a choice, i would choose sleep over a cup of coffee any day. I found that once i moved out of the dorm I have gotten a lot more sleep. The distractions and chaos of the dorms I lived in always had me up late and then dragging to class or sleeping through my alarm the next day.
Name: Rabia
Username: rqureshi@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-28 21:45:09
Message Id: 1981
Comments:
Undoubtedly sleep is very important and a key to maintaining a healthy mind and body. However, I disagree that we need 8 or so hours of sleep a night. I usually average 4 hours a night with a light, half hour nap after noontime. I also find that sleep cannot be "made up" on the weekends, so I don't engage in this practice. And, in fact, I do believe that I am healthy and productive since the rest of my habits, such as drinking water, exercise, etc. complement my sleep schedule. For me, the balance between sleep and productivity is mitigated by attention to keeping a schedule and sticking by it. I believe that what has helped me during my time at Bryn Mawr and hopefully after I leave here is that I prioritize my activities.
Name: Lelani
Username: lsanchez@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-28 22:05:11
Message Id: 1982
Comments:
I never ever ever seem to be getting enough sleep. Even when I get the perscribed 8 hours, I still wake up feeling sleepy. And I am big on naps. It nearly broke my heart when Dr. Pien told us we shouldn't be doing the two hour mid-day deal. But I do think that she was on to something when she said we shouldn't leave the tv on when we go to sleep. Generally I leave it on the timer with the volume really low because I like the white noise and it serves as a big night light. But usually I end up sitting in bed watching the late night talk shows...I can't help it. I love my Conan and my Leno and my Letterman and my PI and I'm even growing fond of Carson Daly...And when those are over, I'm totally mesmerised by the infomercials...Personally, I think that I don't get enough sleep at school because I'm not a day person. At home, I am awake all throughout the night and I sleep the morning thru afternoon away.
Name: Sherolyn Oh
Username: soh@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep Deprivation
Date: 2002-04-29 01:48:05
Message Id: 1984
Comments:
The Women Living Well seminar has helped me to see the strong relationship between health (including lifestyle habits, exercises and choices) and the ability to function effectively. As a student, I often place my studies as my first priority and push back exercise, sleep, and healthy eating when I have too much work to do. This seminar has helped me understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and reminded me to take better care of my body.
Name: C.D.
Username:
Subject: Sleep Deprived
Date: 2002-04-29 03:26:18
Message Id: 1985
Comments:
Well...how do I make sure that I get enough sleep? Well in my earlier college experience, before that of my senior year, I never slept if I had work that had to get done. If it was a reading assignment I did what I could and wouldn't lose sleep over this. But there were many nights that I was up late working on a paper or doing other work for campus related activities. My body actually used to be able to take it. I would then go home during breaks and sleep the days away. But now I find it really difficult to stay up all night. I remember my junior year spring semester when I had five papers in the same week, four of them due on the friday before final exams began. I worked the entire week with literally NO SLEEP (except for the occassional 15 minute power nap that was timed by friends doing the same exact thing). I dont know what happened between then and now but now I can't stay up that long. My body really does scream for sleep so much now where I find it really difficult to stay up. Now I listen to my body. I sleep when I have to sleep and to be truthful, my grades look worse than when I used to fight not to sleep. This just shows that the seminar on sleep deprivation, while true and insightful, cannot work for college students. I sleep now when I have to but my grades aren't nearly as good as they used to be.
Name: Lois
Username: lmcaffre@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-04-29 12:27:53
Message Id: 1988
Comments:
One of the many things I am learning here at Bryn Mawr that is not on the syllabus of my classes is that's it okay to not always be the best at everything, it's okay to not give 110% all the time. Which means me and my health come first. And if I don't do as well on an exam or paper because I went to bed at my usual hour, well, so be it.
I am the most important thing in this school classroom equation - and I am in school for me, not to prove something to others. Which means I want to feel good. Which means I need to get enough sleep.
Plus I know I do better work when I'm rested.
Now if I can just manage to organize my awake time a little better.
Name: Tasneem
Username: tpaghdiw@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep!
Date: 2002-04-29 22:45:45
Message Id: 1997
Comments:
I know that BM is rated one of the hardest colleges in the country. I know that classes are hard because I take them. I know we are assigned a lot of work each day. But I do manage to get enough sleep. Do I do every single assignment given to me? Absolutely not. I'd say I do about 70% of the assignments. And I still do as well as I'd like and get a lot out of my time here. So I think that the real challenge is not learning to sacrifice on sleep but learning to prioritize. Learning to just let go and pay attention to our bodies over our deadlines every now and then. As we learned in the lecture you can't study/memorize well if you haven't gotten enough sleep anyway, so we're just wasting time if we don't re-learn how to sleep properly.
Name: Shanti Mikkilineni
Username: smikkili@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-29 23:42:11
Message Id: 1999
Comments:
I've realized that I absolutely need my sleep. The less I have the harder I find it to function. It is very easy at Bryn Mawr to get hung up on a grade and to make it be more important than it really is. I try to remind myself that no grade is worth my sanity and that I need sleep. I usually try to work enough in advance that I don't have to choose between sleep and work but the times I do, sleep wins over. Mostly because I know if I don't get enough sleep, it won't matter if I had stayed up or not and at least then I'll be able to do what I need to for the future.
Name: Daniella Forstater
Username: dforstat@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep deprivation
Date: 2002-04-30 00:58:24
Message Id: 2005
Comments:
I've always known how important it is to get enough sleep. When I'm going on too little sleep, I'm always exhausted by mid-day. Honestly, I think the only time I'm ever truly rested is when I get 10 hours of sleep. But I guess that's a little bit much for me to expect as a college student. What I didn't know, however, was just how much a lack of sleep can affect your performance in all different areas. I would love to say that this past lecture has inspired me (along with all of my friends in the class) to get my act together and make absolute certain that I get at least 8 hours of sleep every night--but I really feel that is unrealistic at this point, especially as we are approaching finals. I think that sleep deprivation is an unpleasant but inevitable part of college life. Then again, people in high stress jobs could say the same thing about their work environments...and then, when do you stop? When do you get to the point where you tell yourself that 8 hours of sleep a night is a true priority? I really don't know the answer to that question. Truthfully, all I am thinking about right now is how I'm going to get all my written work done for Friday. But I do think that this new knowledge I have obtained about sleep deprivation will motivate me to try and control my sleep habits more in general...Sorry if this posting is a somewhat incoherent. I'm actually going on three hours of sleep and my eyes are beginning to close. LOL. :)
Name: Meghan
Username: mlammie@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep Deprivation
Date: 2002-04-30 12:15:28
Message Id: 2010
Comments:
I have to agree with C. in her earlier posting. At a certain point I think our bodies just burn out on lack of sleep. As a senior I get FAR more sleep than I used to. In fact, I have found it nearly impossible to wake up before I've slept 7 hours. (Scary!) As a Bryn Mawr student I confess to a lot of guilt about how much sleep I get. [[Especially when I overhear those college "competition" conversations: "You got 3 hours of sleep? I only got 1 1/2!" "Did I say 3 HOURS? I meant minutes! You're lucky I'm even alive!" etc.]]
While my grades have suffered much for my new and improved amounts of sleep, it is easier now for me to see all of this work in the light of the rest of my life. Learning is important, as is doing a good job on papers and being able to be proud of what we do. But I confess that the insights I gained about sleep deprivation have scared me into wanting MORE sleep, and just doing the best I can on my exams and papers. For example, the fact that lack of sleep can induce a pre-diabetic state in many people is terrifying! Research like this really shows that losing too much sleep over too long a period just isn't worth the strain.
Name: natalie
Username: nmerrill@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-30 14:17:07
Message Id: 2011
Comments:
I have found that, though sleep is VERY important to me, often during finals weeks and crunch times, it is the first thing to go. Of course- if you have a paper and eight hours before it is due and you haven't slept in two days- what are you going to do? You're going to write the paper. Sleep is just lower on the priority scale compared to homework. I have developed unique sleeping patterns though for finals week and have learned ways to cope with little sleep. Of course this often includes resorting to large quantities of caffeine and remaining in a lit social area (yay for 24 hour computing services). After I get all my work done though, the first thing I do is catch up on sleep and try to get back to a regular schedule.
Name: Rachel Wright
Username: rwright@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-04-30 23:40:45
Message Id: 2015
Comments:
I don't get enough sleep. I am one of the people that the doctor described who is so chronically sleep deprived that I cannot even judge how it effects my performance. During my freshman year, I was extremely (dangerously) anemic and had no idea because I thought that the crushing exhaustion I felt was only a normal part of the college experience. All my other friends were tired too. NOw I know how dangerous the communal sleep deprevation is... it tricks us all into believing we can do more than we can, into ignoring the natural boundaries of our bodies and the limits of a single day. Now, though I am chronically sleep deprived, I never stay up all night-- no matter what. That is the boundary I set for myself but I need to learn how to make every night one of fuller sleep.
Name: ashley
Username: lgarriga@brynmawr.edu
Subject:
Date: 2002-05-01 10:57:06
Message Id: 2018
Comments:
I try to get enough sleep, and usually I do. I do all-nighters when necessary, but it's not exactly fun to be up at 4 am pouring over those 20 chapters in your geology book you never read for that test in 6 hours. Lately, instead of choosing between giving up sleep hours to get more done, (these are the last few weeks!) i ask myself this question: should i go to sleep now and get up an hour earlier in the morning, or should i go to sleep an hour from now and get up an hour later in the morning? sometimes this method works, and sometimes i just end up going to bed right after i consider my options And get up a Couple of hours later in the morning. As far as exam period, i think my method will be do everything as quickly as possible, pray for a miracle that it turns out good, and then sleep for about the whole summer.
Name: molly finnegan
Username: mfinnega
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-05-01 11:14:43
Message Id: 2019
Comments:
I think it's difficult to know how much sleep you need. Last weekend I really cranked out and did so much work, but still got a good deal of sleep. But I was still exhausted. I needed to take a mental vacation. I can't decide whether it is an important experience to have so much work in college you think you are going to drop dead (because you build stamina) or if the system is entirely looney. But with guilt, I have to admit that I try to never compromise my seven or eight hours of sleep every night, even if it means not finishing work.
Name: emiko saito
Username: esaito@mindspring.com
Subject: sleep deprivation
Date: 2002-05-01 11:58:41
Message Id: 2020
Comments:
To be honest, I don't think anyone gets enough sleep at this institution. The demands that are placed on the students don't allow for a healthy lifestyle, let alone, adequate amounts of sleep. Often I find myself saying, "There aren't enough hours in the day..." I feel there really is no 'managing to get enough sleep' in order to be productive. It seems more the norm that sleep comes secondary to work that needs to be finished.
Although I know that the lack of sleep will impact my actual productivity and ability to do work well, I really can't take that into consideration. Usually, the choice made in my life is to compromise the luxury of sleep in order to get everything done. Granted, the outcome is not always what I want it to be, but there are deadlines to adhere to and other work waiting to get done. But the bottom line is that I feel sleep is a luxury rather than a necessity. There have been many occasions when I have fantasized about not needing to physically sleep. I would imagine how productive I would be and all the things I would be able to accomplish. Its almost disturbing.
Dr.Pien brought home the importance of sleep, I recognize that it is integral to remaining healthy. But like most types of self-care, I feel it is a luxury that my work cannot afford. Unfortunate as that is, unless the demands put upon students change, there will be no change in the prioritization of sleep in the grand academic scheme of things. I know for a fact that I will not be sleeping much in the next two weeks. In fact, I have slept very little in the last two weeks. In a way, it just seems normal to me, after four years here.
Name: Greta Tessman
Username: gtessman@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-05-01 18:40:42
Message Id: 2022
Comments:
Honestly, at Bryn Mawr it's all about time management. I've never been willing to compromise my health or performance by not sleeping. It's almost "cool" here to brag about how little sleep you got last night in order to do work, but according to Dr. Pein, you're only hurting yourself. Although I certainly don't sleep as much here as I did in high school or during the summer, I rarely get more less than 7 hours of sleep--and yes, ladies, I have just as much work/extra cirriculars/social activities as you do. I know my limit on sleep and I try not to push that limit. Time management will allow you to spend more time in bed and probably perform at a higher level.
Name: Sarah G. Kim
Username: sgkim@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep deprivation
Date: 2002-05-02 00:20:46
Message Id: 2027
Comments:
I feel like this came too late in the semester, after I had abused my body plenty for the year (heck, all four years). I knew that not getting enough sleep affected you, but some of the symptoms were things I didn't really associate with it. I've noticed some other things of my own, for example when I dont sleep, I get achy joints and bumpy skin. Im sure that it's hard for most of us here at BMC to sleep, and get everything done that we need to get done. The most striking thing the speaker said was when she defined sleep deprivation as 'not sleeping to get more done'.
Name: Jennings
Username: amayne@brynmawr.edu
Subject:
Date: 2002-05-02 17:13:41
Message Id: 2032
Comments:
Sleep deprivation is a fact of life for a college student and basically anyone with a job, a life, kids or unless you are retired, I think you are sleep deprived. I think that we all live with the fact that starbucks coffee has a lot of caffine and we need it to survive. I also think we function fine that way. If the college was so worried about us being sleep deprived maybe they shouldn't assign six hours of homework a night for each class. Maybe we should have so many extra requirements in addition to our academics? But until I retire I am pretty sure I will be sleep deprived.
Name: Michelle
Username: mrusinek@brynmawr.edu
Subject: sleep
Date: 2002-05-02 22:54:14
Message Id: 2034
Comments:
After four years of putting schoolwork ahead of sleep during high school, I find that I can no longer pull all-nighters. My body refuses. At BMC I instead fell into the habit of waking up 3 or 4 hours early to do homework. I felt even worse after this than I used to staying up all night. I try to budget my time effectively now so that I can get a full night's sleep and have time for other things.
Name: Alice Goff
Username: agoff@brynmawr.ed
Subject: Motivation
Date: 2002-05-03 10:14:40
Message Id: 2040
Comments:
Sleep deprivation has become a way of life at Bryn Mawr. Whenever we are on vacation, the first thing I appreciate is how rested I feel. I also feel much more motivated to get things accomplished. If I could translate this feeling of motivation to when I'm actually in school, I would be set to go. I think having a requisite amount of sleep is definitely crucial to achieving this, and many of my goals and a student.
Name: Mariah Schumacher
Username: mschumac@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-05-03 11:25:45
Message Id: 2043
Comments:
I often do not get enough sleep at Bryn Mawr and frequently choose to get more work done and sleep less. I am pretty sure that I am less functional when I don't get enought sleep. I think slower and make more mistakes. After listening to the sleep deprivation lecture, I have made an effort to get more regular frequent sleep. My efforts haven't been successful recently because of the demands of finals period. In medical school I plan to develope a regular sleep schedule and to stick to it.
Name: Nitya Thomas
Username: nthomas@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Sleep
Date: 2002-05-03 14:23:03
Message Id: 2048
Comments:
Here at Bryn Mawr, I find that the first thing that students give up on in order to find time to study and get work done is sleep. I have found that this is more often couter-productive than useful, as when you are sleep-deprived you tend not to get much done anyway. Your performance is definitely much lower when you are sleep-deprived, as we saw in the last lecture.
Name: Jennifer
Username: jprince@bnyrm
Subject:
Date: 2002-05-03 14:39:37
Message Id: 2051
Comments:
Sleep Deprivation is talked about too much on this campus. I think each student
needs to decided for themselves wther they need to stop and go to bed. The people
who keep going have deeper problemes. The ones who make a point to tell everyone
in the trico about their work load and over-flowing back pack ar absolutely
annoying!
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