Editor’s note: This column contain mentions of suicide and self-harm.

Many SU students have the bad habit of prioritizing balancing social life, rigorous courses, different eating habits and living on their own over getting an adequate amount of sleep. Students fall into unhealthy sleep patterns, assuming they will catch up on sleep — which rarely ever happens, and doesn’t help the nights where they don’t get enough sleep.

For freshmen in particular, being away from home for the first time and having a newfound sense of freedom can lead to discarding the more rigid schedule they had at home. Furthermore, first-year students spend a lot of their time adjusting to the unfamiliar social scene by creating and strengthening their social networks through joining a plethora of clubs and organizations and hanging out with friends and floormates.

With most students in class during the day, it’s usually most convenient to spend time with friends at night. Whether it’s doing homework together, listening to music, ordering food or just talking, many students have a hard time separating until late hours of the night. 

Jood Al Saleh, a freshman at SU, said that she is sleep deprived. When she gets back to her dorm at night, she hangs out with her friends because that’s one of the only times she gets to see them. She is also an architecture major, so her classes require that she spends a lot of time working in Slocum Hall. 

“The Slocum studio has become my new bedroom,” she said. 

Although the lack of sleep may seem inconsequential to many students, it can directly impact their ability to succeed academically. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota found students who get more sleep typically have higher GPAs than students who slept less.

Additionally, every time students receive a less than adequate amount of sleep, the risk of experiencing mental health symptoms increases on average by more than 20%, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This includes an “increased risk of 21% for depressed mood, 24% for hopelessness, 24% for anger, 25% for anxiety, 25% for desire to self-harm, 28% for functional problems, and 28% for suicide ideation.”

Living in a college setting allows SU students to be constantly surrounded by friends, which creates opportunities for students to socialize whenever they have the time, oftentime taking precedence over getting an adequate amount of sleep. However, students must act as a support network for friends — instead of convincing friends to hang out, they should be convincing friends to go to sleep. It is challenging to create healthy habits with these college freedoms, however, students must support each other in making smart choices for their own health.

Students should focus on creating healthy sleep habits by understanding and accepting that sleep may interfere with their other commitments. Finding the right balance is challenging and different for everyone, but it is essential for students’ well-being. 

Though socializing may give students a much-needed break from the everyday rigors of college life, hanging with friends and therefore losing sleep is not worth the possible negative consequences. SU students must make some sacrifice — whether from their social life, extracurriculars or classes — to prioritize sleep.

Jean Aiello is a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at jdaiello@syr.edu.

Published on October 12, 2021 at 10:32 pm