Sleep-Starved Zombies

Feeling kind of worn out lately?  Wishing you could find some time to catch some shut-eye?

If so, I'm not surprised. Ever since classes started in January, you've probably been pedaling nonstop, logging in long days and shortchanging yourself in the sleep department.

Now it's March--the first day of spring!--and you're dragging.

No mystery why you're bushed. At 18 or 19 (or even twenty-something), who doesn't feel invincible, convinced you can do everything--work tons of hours, stay out late, fill up your plate with classes, keep that band/ball team/business going, or do whatever--without ever giving your body a break?  No time or need for sleep and rest, despite what all of those old folks (parents, professors, etc.) are constantly urging.

But even people brimming with energy and youth can wind up in a bad spot if they burn the candle at both ends.  Increased risks of colds, viruses, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure--all are byproducts of being exhausted all of the time. Studies documenting the tired state of college students (the most sleep-starved group in America, some believe) also link a lack of sufficient sleep to anxiety, impulsiveness, diminished concentration, memory and learning problems, impaired thinking, and--you guessed it--lousy grades.

Worst of all, students who are sleep deprived often don't even realize that nodding off in the middle of the afternoon isn't the norm.  They're so used to being exhausted that they can't imagine anything different.

This isn't a way to go to college, much less live your life.

To be sure, no one's asking you to quit your job, dump your friends, give up all of your outside interests, or turn your life upside down just to add a few more hours of zzz's to your weekly routine. Life is to be lived, after all, not slept away.

But if you're walking around yawning all of the time, if you're struggling to stay awake in your classes, if the face in the mirror each morning resembles a sleep-starved zombie (you know the look), time to pay attention.

Adding even a little more sleep to your life can make all of the difference.  And since there are no classes at NCC this week, now's as good a time as any to get reacquainted with your pillow.