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STUDENTS
LOCAL
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Condom Knowledge
Saving the world one condom at a time
Contributor to The Shorthorn
OK kids, let’s talk about sleep, baby. Not exactly a catchy
tune, but it’s important. When we sleep, we clear and process
our thoughts from the day, regenerate cells and build our immune systems.
It always amazes me how people wear their lack of sleep like a badge
of honor.
“Yeah, and I’ve only slept four hours in the last 72.”
Good for you. Plan on getting sick soon, and no, you can’t borrow
my car.
RECOMMENDED SLEEP
People’s individual needs for sleep will vary. The amount needed
will also change throughout your lifetime. Young adults ideally need
8 to 9.5 hours a night. I hate to break it to you, but if you’re
under 25, you are still growing and developing physically and mentally.
The most common consequence of inadequate sleep is problems with memory
and concentration — two important areas for students.
We sleep in 90-minute cycles. If you want to take a nap — power,
disco, or other — make sure it’s less than 20 or a full
90 minutes. If it’s in between, you will wake up with that groggy,
tongue-stuck-to-the-roof-of-the-mouth kind of feeling.
REST TIPS
• Try to go to bed and get up at about the same time every day.
If you want to sleep late on the weekends, still get up, but just take
a nap later in the day.
• Use your bed for sleep. Don’t study, watch TV or instant
message on your laptop in bed. Make your body equate the bed with sleep.
Yes, the Condom Guy knows some of you have sex in bed, and that’s
fine. And on that note, we release hormones after sex. Males get sleepy,
females do not. I’m sure this comes as no great shock to those
of you engaging in carnal acts.
• Make sure the light and temperature of your bedroom are conducive
to sleep.
• Develop a relaxing wind-down period before bed. Don’t
watch TV, play on the Internet or do anything that will over-stimulate
you mentally or physically. Try to keep the routine the same, and your
body will prepare for sleep.
• Don’t lie awake in bed for hours. If you do not fall asleep
in a reasonable period of time, get up, take a hot shower, read, meditate
or whatever calms, relaxes and prepares you for sleep.
NOTICE CHANGES
Remember any change in sleep, like needing a lot more, insomnia or the
inability to sleep through the night, may all be signs of physical and/or
mental issues. Consult your health care provider if you start to notice
these changes. Sleep changes like these can be warning signs of depression.
Thursday is National Depression Screening Day, and free screening is
available through counseling services and the mental health office in
the Health Center.
There is also a major problem in our country due to our lack of respect
for sleep. It is called drowsy driving, but I’ll save that for
another column.
Sleep — It does a body a good and, as always, knowledge is power.
Wow, two trite sayings for the price of one. Better sleep on it.
— Greg Bateson’s column publishes on the Scene page
every Tuesday
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Greg Bateson |
