Sleep deprived
Blake Knoblock
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Opinion
A sleep disorder, by definition, is an irregularity in sleeping habits. That said, one could maintain that almost every college student's roller coaster sleep cycle can be classified as a sleep disorder.
But while most do not suffer from a clinical "sleep disorder," some students at Hillsdale College feel they are potentially dangerous.
"I was sick all the time," junior Michael Naatjes said. "Even if I got 12 hours of sleep, I would wake up and still be tired."
Naatjes was diagnosed with an idiopathic sleep disorder, meaning the medley of tests he took proved nothing.
"Before college, I never really had a concrete sleep cycle, and it didn't help that when I came here, I went ape s-," he said. "I would get at most four hours of sleep at night, and then if I could, naps in the day."
This behavior created an avalanche of sleep desire, overwhelming him and turning him into a shell of the person he used to be.
"My grades went down, and I would sleep all the time," Naatjes said. "I was socially inept."
Naatjes admitted it didn't help that for the first three months of the school year that he slept on a friend's floor.
Senior Julia Hofman had a similar story.
"Back home, I live on a mountain," Hofman said. "You can't hear your neighbors unless they run into your yard and yell at you, so you can imagine what is was like when I lived in the freshman dorms."
Hofman said she began to sleep less and less, some nights not even sleeping at all.
"I can't go to bed before 2 a.m.," Hofman said, "I am a night owl. I work best after 10 [p.m.]."
Hofman explained that friends would ask her when she did homework, and even when she showered.
Her frank explanation: "When you were sleeping."
Later in her freshman year, she began to pass out. Her body had experienced years of minimal sleep, but the extreme lack was too much.
Her adrenal glands stressed to a point where the only thing her body could do was shut down. Her body need to rejuvenate, and a forced shut down was its last resort.
"That was a wake up call," she said.
She began to take sleeping pills for respite, and although she no longer does, she was glad for them because they reset her sleep cycle.
A black belt, Hofman regularly practices Tae Kwon Do, which helps her become both mentally and physically ready for sleep.
When asked how many hours she needs to function, she asked, "Need or want?"
She admits that she still can, and occasionally will, go a night without sleeping.
Naatjes also has seen improvements. Although he wasn't ever actually diagnosed with a specific disorder, he still recognized the need for change.
"I get up at seven every morning," Naatjes said. "I am regimenting my life, even if I get four hours of sleep, I still plow through the day and feel better because of it."
But while most do not suffer from a clinical "sleep disorder," some students at Hillsdale College feel they are potentially dangerous.
"I was sick all the time," junior Michael Naatjes said. "Even if I got 12 hours of sleep, I would wake up and still be tired."
Naatjes was diagnosed with an idiopathic sleep disorder, meaning the medley of tests he took proved nothing.
"Before college, I never really had a concrete sleep cycle, and it didn't help that when I came here, I went ape s-," he said. "I would get at most four hours of sleep at night, and then if I could, naps in the day."
This behavior created an avalanche of sleep desire, overwhelming him and turning him into a shell of the person he used to be.
"My grades went down, and I would sleep all the time," Naatjes said. "I was socially inept."
Naatjes admitted it didn't help that for the first three months of the school year that he slept on a friend's floor.
Senior Julia Hofman had a similar story.
"Back home, I live on a mountain," Hofman said. "You can't hear your neighbors unless they run into your yard and yell at you, so you can imagine what is was like when I lived in the freshman dorms."
Hofman said she began to sleep less and less, some nights not even sleeping at all.
"I can't go to bed before 2 a.m.," Hofman said, "I am a night owl. I work best after 10 [p.m.]."
Hofman explained that friends would ask her when she did homework, and even when she showered.
Her frank explanation: "When you were sleeping."
Later in her freshman year, she began to pass out. Her body had experienced years of minimal sleep, but the extreme lack was too much.
Her adrenal glands stressed to a point where the only thing her body could do was shut down. Her body need to rejuvenate, and a forced shut down was its last resort.
"That was a wake up call," she said.
She began to take sleeping pills for respite, and although she no longer does, she was glad for them because they reset her sleep cycle.
A black belt, Hofman regularly practices Tae Kwon Do, which helps her become both mentally and physically ready for sleep.
When asked how many hours she needs to function, she asked, "Need or want?"
She admits that she still can, and occasionally will, go a night without sleeping.
Naatjes also has seen improvements. Although he wasn't ever actually diagnosed with a specific disorder, he still recognized the need for change.
"I get up at seven every morning," Naatjes said. "I am regimenting my life, even if I get four hours of sleep, I still plow through the day and feel better because of it."
Be the first to comment on this story