I am addicted to insomnia. I'm not talking about the cookie place but rather the sleep disorder. I am addicted to the idea of insomnia because believe me I do not have it. I am simply a college who's sleeping schedule as been ruined by late night studying.
Pulling all-nighters have become a part of my daily life. Even now, while on break from school, I cannot sleep. It's currently 3:50 am in the morning. I have no reason to be up. I am exhausted and I want to sleep but because my body is so used to being up all night; I can't seem to put myself to bed.
My condition is nowhere even close to those who suffer from insomnia. But yet I have self-diagnosed myself with insomnia. I believe though if my problem persists like the way it is - it will develop into actual insomnia. Unfortunately, this is an issue happening on college campuses across the nation.
The standard of education is constantly being raised and while that is great - the kids are the ones who end up suffering. Nowadays, this artificial insomnia starts in high school and for a few, even in middle school. Students are expected to handle all their class work, extracurriculars, a social life, and for many, a part/full-time job. All this leaves very little time to actually sleep. Sleeping hours have been demolished to less than five hours a night.
Keep in mind that the average amount of sleep needed to function properly is somewhere around seven and a half hours. But across the country, college students are receiving way less than 5, sometimes not even sleeping at all. As I said before, pulling all-nighters is so common that if you aren't pulling them, you start to question your success rate.
Another thing that increases the rate of insomnia is stress. Stress is a big factor because when someone is stressed they tend to be up all night thinking about their issues. College creates so much stress. The stress of passing or failing. The stress of not being able to find the proper research. The stress of time running out. The stress of meeting expectations.
So in the end, my addicted to artificial insomnia will work itself into something far worst due to the fact that my body has molded itself in order to fit the college life. I keep telling myself that all the sleepless nights will be worth it. This is what it takes to get my degree doing something I actually love. This is the pain I must withstand in order to get where I want in life.
When this problem is brought up, a lot will say time management is key. Time management only works when you have time and unless you have not been paying attention - college students don't have much time. When quitting work is not an option and clubs are needed to boost your resume, how does one go about creating more time?
