<p>Not me, but I’m probably one of the weird exceptions. Despite pulling a heavy academic load, working part-time, and participating in ECs…I actually had MORE free time to sleep, hang with friends, or relax in undergrad than I did in high school. That combined with the fact I had no problems getting by on less than 5 hours of sleep on average and had pop-punk music on my walkman to further energize me in the mornings meant I was usually reasonably rested in the mornings. </p>
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<p>They sounded like an aunt who despite having attended a topflight college in the ROC(Taiwan) and got a Masters in the US, felt her weekend dinner socials should take priority over everything else…including her kids’ graduate studies. When I declined joining her because I took my undergrad seriously, she felt I was “taking college too seriously”. </p>
<p>Considering her kids ended up getting booted from grad programs because those dinner parties took too much time away from their studies…seems like I made the right decision. </p>
<p>It’s also a reason why I am aghast when my Prof/TA friends recount how some undergrads and their families seem to prioritize family vacations/parties during the school year over class attendance/exams/papers/projects. </p>
<p>IMO, if such family stuff is so important, the student would be much better off arranging a gap year/leave of absence for the duration of those family events or even reconsidering college until they are ready to give it a higher prioritization.</p>
<p>Don’t underestimate the negative effect of close-quarters group living on the ability to get decent rest. 7 hours in bed does not translate to 7 hours of sleep if people are always coming in and out, or there is constant noise in the hall or the common room. I’m not advocating that colleges do this, but probably the only way to ensure rest in a group living situation is to have barracks-type rules (i.e. lights out, curfew), and in the absence of such expectations, college students just aren’t going to get that much rest. It’s a temporary life phase.</p>
<p>I remember being tired in college and that was many years ago. I loved being able to take naps. Where have those days gone? I always have needed a lot of sleep and rarely get what I think I need. I exist on 7 or usually less hours of sleep a night. As a “grown-up” it is hard to sleep in, even on weekends. I have a spouse who needs very little sleep so as a result I am often falling asleep in front of the tv at night. He seems to be one of those who feels if he goes to sleep he will miss something, he is an over-achiever. I feel exhausted every day and I hate feeling like this. Even on those rare occasions I get at least 8 hours of sleep I still feel tired because I think I haven’t caught up from all the previous sleep deprivation.</p>
<p>One of my kid’s schools had a saying to the extent of “Work, friends, sleep - choose two.” College is so much about learning time management skills, and obviously even many of us boomers still haven’t found that elusive balance many years later. It’s not hard for me to believe that college students get insufficient sleep because my own kids, who had been reliably healthy at home, all struggled with nuisance viruses at school. I’ve always suspected that a lack of sleep played a significant part.</p>
<p>People need different amounts of sleep. I am not in college any more, but even when I get 8 hours a night, I feel… well… TIRED. I have to sleep in late on weekends and catch up, or I will get more and more tired.</p>
<p>Did he/she attend one of the NYC Specialized High Schools by any chance? :)</p>
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<p>Agreed. I had one younger friend who needed a MINIMUM of 9.5 hours of sleep as a 19 year old college freshman. </p>
<p>Not only did that mean he had to turn in unusually early, it caused other college classmates to sometimes tease him as a “baby” to such an extent I had to step in to yell at them to stop acting like babies themselves in their teasing and to cut it out.</p>
<p>Cobrat, that’s going to be my daughter. She needs an incredible amount of sleep to not feel exhausted. To the point where it affects her schoolwork, because she is too tired to do homework after 9 pm. Most of her friends seem to do fine on 7-8 hours a night, but she needs at least 9 hours and 10 would probably be better.</p>
<p>Yeeeeees! We are worn out all the time. Example!
I’m a Senior Music Education major. I wake up at 7am and drive an hour to go to physical therapy three days a week. From there I get drive-thru and drive back to campus for a 1 o’clock followed by a 2 o’clock followed by a 3-6 dinner at 7 then Fraternity Executive committee meetings 9-~11 THEN I start home work and practice on the 1 Trumpet 2 Piano 3 whatever methods class instrument I have. My Tuesday Thursdays are up at 9 for a 9:30 (Thursdays SGA/Greek counsel meetings at 11 means no lunch minor snacks are provided) class immediately after at 12 followed by a 1:30 which leads into a 3-5 followed by lessons that leave me with a 30 minute time slot for dinner before Martial arts 6:30-8:15 leading into a Fraternity meeting at 9-~11 and again, THEN I do homework.<br>
IT’S ROUGH.</p>
<p>Have to agree, with everybody! It’s stress. It’s mental exhaustion. It’s plain old tired. Honestly, if the kids would take care of plain old tired, the others might well resolve themselves.</p>
<p>My D thinks she gets enough sleep. She doesn’t. Bedtime is 11 or 12, which may actually be a bit early for a college student, and then she’s got 7:30 classes. Yeah, that math is pretty straightforward. Going to bed earlier isn’t an option for all the reasons listed in earlier posts. And as one of those students with long labs in the afternoon and athletic practice early evenings, naps are hard to squeeze in. </p>
<p>So, yes. OP, your children may easily be that tired.</p>
<p>I agree that its stress and change of schedule. D alway seems to be on the run to class, a meeting, to work on a project, events or to the Library. </p>
<p>I think her study time is more then what she did in high school and just getting in the swing of a new schedule.</p>
<p>I think mental exhuastion can translate to physical exhaustion very easily…</p>
<p>College kids are often still teens and teens need more sleep than anyone outside of newborns. They are also the least likely to get the sleep they need. They are physically wired at night and then they have to get up early. Instead of getting 10 hour blocks of sleep they do 5 hours at night, an hour nap after chem, 15 minutes during history and talk about how they’ve been sleeping all day lol.</p>
<p>Stress does it too. When you are feeling overwhelmed emotionally, your body shuts itself down.</p>
<p>I get about nine hours each night. I’m tired, but I’d be tired if I got ten hours…twelve hours…five hours…Tired simply doesn’t mean what it does.</p>
This thread is 3 1/2?years old. You brought this up to brag about how little sleep you got? Nothing to be proud of there. Unless you were forced to work three jobs to prevent your family from starving, or had a serious sleep problem, that’s just plain dumb to get that little sleep.
Yes! The newbie poster is coming onto CC to pick a fight! It seems as if he doesn’t read the scientific research on sleep. It also reminded me a bit of a certain poster years ago who bragged about his alcohol overconsumption with tragic consequences.
