Underestimating the power of sleep is foolish

Photo by Tyler Meuter

A new batch of freshmen have been installed at Tech, and they bring with them a host of vestigial attitudes. Perhaps the most liable to damage new students is the idea that sleep is an enemy.

In my time at Tech up to this point, I have learned a number of things, some of which have been useless. The knowledge that sleep is one of the greatest and most fun activities possible has not been useless by any means. Not only will sleeping a reasonable amount unquestionably and definitely help you succeed to a greater degree on exams; it ensures that you will not feel as terrible as is possible the next day.

Some freshmen might have the perception that Tech is all about pulling the maximum amount of all-nighters. Other might assume that, since they have now entered college, the appropriate thing to do is stay up late partying and acting raucous in general. These would both be horrendously incorrect assumptions. Sadly, a prosperous life at Tech is achieved by living far less exciting lifestyles than the aforementioned.

But while sleep is not necessarily the most exciting thing to do, talk about, or daydream about, it is one of the most worthy things to prioritize. I slept for eleven hours straight one day this past week, and even though I was sick with an unforgiving head cold, I awoke feeling fantastic.

Moments of respite at Tech begin becoming few and far between once one reaches the later years of his or her time at Tech. And it is for this reason that I cannot help myself but remind upperclassmen that they have not defeated their need for sleep by slogging through a few years at Tech. With harder classes comes a need for increased trepidation when deciding to forgo opportunities to sleep. I have heard often my upperclassmen friends almost brag about the fact that they won’t be able to sleep on a certain night because classwork absolutely and utterly “necessitates” it.

Luckily, I learned very quickly after arriving at Tech that sleep is very much key to well-being. It is my sincere wish that everyone would come to a realization of this fact of life, but I do understand that sometimes, an all-nighter will seem to be the only way to complete a bothersome assignment.

And that is ok. There is nothing particularly and necessarily awful about an all-nighter once in a while. But when one continuously carries on that way, and makes it an integral part of his or her daily routine and lifestyle, there will invariably be a result of long-lasting problems, and they will be much more serious than any that one might contract from not fully finishing a homework assignment because it was time to sleep.

If you choose to ignore this advice, that is your prerogative. But I must inform you, the reader of this article, that these lessons will eventually be taught to you, whether the origin is this newspaper or not.

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