Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
Geekosystem: If you’re thinking about pushing everything until the last minute and then pulling an all-nighter to cram for that midterm and eating chocolate covered espresso beans all day to stay awake for the test (don’t question my delicious methods), you might want to come up with an alternate plan that doesn’t cause brain damage.
9 comments:
Joseph Essig
said...
Well, this is kind of a scary article to read as a college student. It is valuable information, however, because not only does studying for a test by cramming all night before doesn't allow for much information retention, it can also be permanently damaging to your attention span and focus. This is great to know, as it inspires me to study more ahead of time out of self-preservation, which would have me better prepared for the classes, AND I could hold onto all my studying for a life time and not just have it go out my ears the day after the test.
I definitely see where this applies in our lives. Contrary to the article though, I don't see it as a very big surprise that this is what happens after a night without sleep. Just based on the body's response to an all nighter (drowsiness, lost reaction time, etc.) it's obvious that the body is not very happy as a result of a night without sleep.
This article does not surprise me at all, and I don't know why it should surprise anyone else, either. Sleeping is a natural human function. We need it. End of story. In college, especially at CMU, there is a culture that sleep is for the weak. CMU students pride themselves in the fact that they never sleep, and view those who do sleep as weak. I have always thought this philosophy is completely backwards and wrong, and this article proves it. It is not something to be proud of when you have to stay up all night to get a project done. Have I done it once or twice? Yes. But that doesn't mean that I do everything in my power to make sure I get sleep every night. For some people, their bodies react fine to no sleep in the short term. However, not sleeping is bad for you in the long term and, thus, sleeping should be a priority for everyone, whether you are a college student or not. The only people who have an excuse not to sleep are parents with infants (sorry, parents.)
I am a very big fan of not pulling all nighters. I do not believe that it is ever necessary for one to stay up all night. It definitely shows in many ways. What worries me about people who pull all nighters is that they are screwing with their sense of time. This will play a major role once they are out in the working weird with less of a structured schedule than at school.
I try very hard to not have to pull all nighters and it is a lot of work to keep up with. As college students we have incredibly busy schedules and it leaves us staying up late to get our work done. This is definitely motivation to stay on top of our work too. Your body needs sleep to function properly and when it doe not get the sleep it needs you are hurting yourself.
I'm not surprised by this article at all. I've never pulled an all nighter and I don't plan on it any time soon. I'm one of those people that needs a full 8 hours of sleep in order to function the next day. There are plenty of people who get little to no sleep on regular basis and even though they say they are fine and don't need more sleep, it's obvious from their behavior that they really do need those hours. I agree with Jess that there seems to be a belief at CMU that sleep is for the weak which is ridiculous. Why pride yourself on how much you damage your brain? While it's true that homework needs to get done, it shouldn't be at the expense of your health.
Like everyone else, this article doesn't surprise me either. It is definitely possible, at least for me, to stay up all night to finish a project but impossible for me to make it through the rest of the day alert and aware of what is going on. All nighters are awful in keeping yourself awake for that long and also for being able to function properly the next day. The most ideal situation is definitely 8 or more hours of sleep. How often that is easy to accomplish in college life is another feat.
Well this would explain why I feel dumber after the past several months.. Jokes aside, I totally buy into this. Operating well on low amounts of sleep is frustrating and generally impossible for me. I hate staying up late for that reason, and this article seems to give me more of a reason to insist on getting my night's rest. That being said, I've definitely had my fair share of late nights this year. Each time I have to stay up, I always kick myself about it the next day. Here's to hoping for less all-nighters in the future!
I think its been obvious that a lack of sleep can damage your brain. As I sit here writing this comment I'm lacking sleep and I'm having a difficult time staying away. I have a slight headache and my breathing has become heavier. It wouldn't be a surpriser to me that a lack of sleep would cause brain damage. The article however lacks details on how much sleep deprivation is needed in order to get brain damage. I wonder if age also plays a factor in how much it damages us. Children can probably get less sleep than most adults, and as we get older we need more sleep.
9 comments:
Well, this is kind of a scary article to read as a college student. It is valuable information, however, because not only does studying for a test by cramming all night before doesn't allow for much information retention, it can also be permanently damaging to your attention span and focus. This is great to know, as it inspires me to study more ahead of time out of self-preservation, which would have me better prepared for the classes, AND I could hold onto all my studying for a life time and not just have it go out my ears the day after the test.
I definitely see where this applies in our lives. Contrary to the article though, I don't see it as a very big surprise that this is what happens after a night without sleep. Just based on the body's response to an all nighter (drowsiness, lost reaction time, etc.) it's obvious that the body is not very happy as a result of a night without sleep.
This article does not surprise me at all, and I don't know why it should surprise anyone else, either. Sleeping is a natural human function. We need it. End of story. In college, especially at CMU, there is a culture that sleep is for the weak. CMU students pride themselves in the fact that they never sleep, and view those who do sleep as weak. I have always thought this philosophy is completely backwards and wrong, and this article proves it. It is not something to be proud of when you have to stay up all night to get a project done. Have I done it once or twice? Yes. But that doesn't mean that I do everything in my power to make sure I get sleep every night. For some people, their bodies react fine to no sleep in the short term. However, not sleeping is bad for you in the long term and, thus, sleeping should be a priority for everyone, whether you are a college student or not. The only people who have an excuse not to sleep are parents with infants (sorry, parents.)
I am a very big fan of not pulling all nighters. I do not believe that it is ever necessary for one to stay up all night. It definitely shows in many ways. What worries me about people who pull all nighters is that they are screwing with their sense of time. This will play a major role once they are out in the working weird with less of a structured schedule than at school.
I try very hard to not have to pull all nighters and it is a lot of work to keep up with. As college students we have incredibly busy schedules and it leaves us staying up late to get our work done. This is definitely motivation to stay on top of our work too. Your body needs sleep to function properly and when it doe not get the sleep it needs you are hurting yourself.
I'm not surprised by this article at all. I've never pulled an all nighter and I don't plan on it any time soon. I'm one of those people that needs a full 8 hours of sleep in order to function the next day. There are plenty of people who get little to no sleep on regular basis and even though they say they are fine and don't need more sleep, it's obvious from their behavior that they really do need those hours. I agree with Jess that there seems to be a belief at CMU that sleep is for the weak which is ridiculous. Why pride yourself on how much you damage your brain? While it's true that homework needs to get done, it shouldn't be at the expense of your health.
Like everyone else, this article doesn't surprise me either. It is definitely possible, at least for me, to stay up all night to finish a project but impossible for me to make it through the rest of the day alert and aware of what is going on. All nighters are awful in keeping yourself awake for that long and also for being able to function properly the next day. The most ideal situation is definitely 8 or more hours of sleep. How often that is easy to accomplish in college life is another feat.
Well this would explain why I feel dumber after the past several months.. Jokes aside, I totally buy into this. Operating well on low amounts of sleep is frustrating and generally impossible for me. I hate staying up late for that reason, and this article seems to give me more of a reason to insist on getting my night's rest. That being said, I've definitely had my fair share of late nights this year. Each time I have to stay up, I always kick myself about it the next day. Here's to hoping for less all-nighters in the future!
I think its been obvious that a lack of sleep can damage your brain. As I sit here writing this comment I'm lacking sleep and I'm having a difficult time staying away. I have a slight headache and my breathing has become heavier. It wouldn't be a surpriser to me that a lack of sleep would cause brain damage. The article however lacks details on how much sleep deprivation is needed in order to get brain damage. I wonder if age also plays a factor in how much it damages us. Children can probably get less sleep than most adults, and as we get older we need more sleep.
Post a Comment