When is the last time you had a full night’s sleep?
For most, it was the day before the semester started. The college grind makes it next to impossible to get a full eight hours.
The cycle of class, work and minimal sleep has made us revert to a state of infancy, where every waking moment we are not gorging ourselves on Taco Bell, we are praying for the sweet relief of our beds.
I managed to get eight hours last night, which is amazing in its own right, but I still woke up this morning feeling like I was at death’s door. Due to the high levels of stress and work that we all have to deal with each day, it is perfectly acceptable to take the rare day off for a nap and recharge those run-down batteries.
Now, do not mistake me. Hard drinking on a school night is not a valid excuse, and I am in no way suggesting you skip every day of your spring semester and begin regular class attendance only after Mardi Gras break.
Seriously, don’t do that.
But it is OK to nap every now and then, when you know there is nothing of vital importance going on — like right after midterms.
Sorry science and engineering majors but, this probably excludes you.
There are huge benefits to napping other than the satisfaction of sliding under the covers and kicking out a foot for that perfect air circulation.
According to a NASA study, a 40-minute nap can increase alertness by 100 percent, performance by 34 percent, and a 20-minute nap is more effective than 200 mg of caffeine. Eat your heart out, 5-Hour Energy.
In addition, a short cat nap can improve your learning capability, memory, creativity and heighten your senses.
You heard me right; napping basically makes you a 100 percent more awesome person. So to the music majors out there, put down the bong and crash for a few hours instead; you’ll end up saving a ton of money.
Now, let’s be clear, one nap size does not fit all. A quick 10-minute nap can be a saving grace if you need to get work done but notice your performance slipping. Do not expect this to keep you up all night, though. For that, you need the full REM cycle from a 90 minute nap.
Last week, a fellow columnist espoused the importance of our education and how fortunate we are that we live in a country that affords us the ability to better ourselves.
And she’s right – even more so considering a good portion of us are here on someone else’s dime, be that the taxpayers of Louisiana’s or our parents’. However, it is perfectly reasonable to take time off for ourselves to recover if it boosts our overall performance as students.
Surely a student with improved retention and performance on tests is a more sound investment than a zombified one with perfect class attendance.
This applies equally to professors. Please, by all means, feel free to cancel class and catch some Z’s instead. We’ll both be rested up and ready to tear into our work next time.
Just don’t make it a habit. That can lead you to a situation where you have to plead with your professors for a passing grade, and no self-respecting Tiger should ever have to grovel for anything.
Ryan McGehee is a 20 year-old political science, history, and international studies major from Zachary.