Spring semester is in full swing. College students far and wide have settled into their weekly routine, daily routine, hourly routine. They know when to rise and when to set time for homework, throwing in social activities with friends and making sure to keep work hours to make money.
But, there is a travesty sweeping the nation--a horrible, terrible epidemic that is affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every day.
College students don't know how to take a nap.
It seems highly improbable, based on the stereotypes of college kids that suggest that they are lazy, good-for-nothing slackers who can't seem to dedicate themselves to anything but their cell phones and gossip. Why wouldn't they be able to figure out how to take a simple nap? But, alas, this shocking statement is indeed true, for many college kids are anything but lazy. In fact, I might be bold enough to argue that college kids have never been stretched so thin between their university duties and outside activities.
They must work to sustain themselves and put away enough money to pay tuition, book fees, and other such costs. They must keep grades up to remain in college, many in order to keep scholarship. They must find any spare second they can to call home and speak to parents who miss the sound of their child's voice.
So, to combat all this craziness, I propose we teach our students not to relentlessly cram information into their heads for hours on ends, not to neglect their emotional well-being to work extra hours to make cash. I propose we teach them an even more valuable skill--the skill of relaxation through napping.
The steps are rather simple, I do believe, and I think you will come to agree that this could be the end of this era of sleeplessness, from Seattle to New York City.
1. Realize when you are tired. If you keep trying to push past the point of exhaustion, your body will not respond positively. Crankiness may occur, on the less severe side, but much more extreme symptoms such as dizziness and headaches could begin. To properly take a nap--or get decent sleep in general--you must acknowledge you are tired.
2. Willingly stop what you are doing, knowing that your physical and emotional well-being mean much more than any letter grade. This step is harder than the first because many people know that they are tired, but refuse to do anything about it. Until they stop pushing and pushing and pushing, a nap cannot happen.
3. Don't look at phones or computers during the nap. It could be easy to let yourself fall asleep to the gentle scroll of an Insta page, but it is distracting and not beneficial to constantly be waking to answer a text or Snapchat.
4. Be willing to take several naps a day. (I suppose a preface to this would be to say that you should first try to get more sleep per night as to not be so tired, but I know how hard that can be for college kids.) If you have a spare half hour and you know you could benefit from a quick power nap, take it. If you have several chunks of time during your day, take several naps. I'm not suggesting you sleep all day whenever you're not out and about, but I am saying that if you need a pick me up several times per day don't run to coffee--run to your bed.
I am no sleep expert, but the American Psychological Association has tons of information on the importance of good sleeping habits.
Let's stop being so stressed. Let's get back to enjoying life because our bodies are healthy. Let's all go take a nap.
