Tonight’s Table Talk about sleep was both a pleasant opportunity to commiserate and a startling reminder about the necessity of sleep in our lives. Sleep is one of the most common topics of conversation among college students and one of the most coveted resources in our frantic lives. Everyone at the talk agreed that sleep was something we did not get enough of, sometimes without even realizing it. We have become so accustomed to viewing 7 hours of sleep as the norm that some people were surprised to learn that college students and adolescents should be getting 9.25 hours of sleep a night. That is a stark contrast to many people I know, and even some people at the table talk, who only average around 4-6 hours a night. What shocked me most was one of the facts mentioned in one of the articles we had to read beforehand that claimed drunk driving and drowsy driving were equally dangerous.

It was also gratifying, if unfortunate, that other people shared the feeling that sleep is often a commodity that must be weighed against our other responsibilities. Many people at the talk echoed the idea that going to sleep to early induced guilt with the knowledge that they could be getting ahead with their work. Sometimes it seems as though, in order to sleep a healthy amount, some other facet of our lives must be sacrificed. However, we also shared strategies for sleeping earlier and more effectively, and we agreed that, with proper time management, it is still possible to get a sufficient amount of sleep.