The All State

Media Credit: Marsel Gray Sophomore Delaron Banks catches forty winks on one of the couches in the Sundquist Science Building. [Click to enlarge]

Everyone's seen them. They're everywhere: the library, the University Center, Harned Hall, virtually any dark and quiet place.

They can be identified by their slumped shoulders and their oddly twisted necks. Oftentimes, their faces are contorted with horrific expressions, which draw both stares and smirks from those who pass by.

They are students, more specifically, sleep deprived students. While the recommended amount of sleep for people in their early 20s is nine to 10 hours, many college students are lucky to pull in seven.

In the collegiate world, sleep often takes second place to studying, social activities and even TV. Many people are proud of the fact that they can "pull an all-nighter." It seems as though nearly all college students at some time or another will have to pass on sleeping to finish a project or study for a test. The question is if it's really worth to skip on sleep?

According to Bradley Mossbarger, a psychology professor at Austin Peay State University, it does more harm than good. "Studies have shown that getting sleep before a test increases a person's performance," Mossbarger said. "When you don't get enough sleep, your body doesn't function as well. You might have memory lapses, and find it hard to concentrate. Things might not come as quickly to mind."

Seth Williams, a senior in communications at APSU, can relate to that. "I stayed up from 10 a.m. one Sunday to write a paper, and didn't go to bed until 5 p.m. the next day," Williams said. "The rest of my week was shot, I couldn't focus, and I felt like I had the flu. It affected my other classes also."

"Studying all night doesn't really solidify the information," Mossbarger said. "A lack of sleep tends to wash out any material you've put in." The best thing to do, according to him, is to study in short concentrated amounts and get a full nights rest before a test. "You'll feel better the next day and will have better memory function, too," he said.

Continued...

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