It’s approximately 7:40 a.m. on Friday when the fun begins. Your alarm shrieks, rudely making its way to your ear drums and stealing you away from your sleep. You incoherently fish around your desk, praying that you find the snooze button that will bring the piercing noise to an end.
Twenty-five minutes later you barge into class late, out of breath, resembling someone who was just kicked out of a homeless shelter. Isn’t it great to have an 8 a.m. class?
A recent study shows that early morning classes are not good for students’ health. According to University of Minnesota researcher Kyla Wahlstrom, eliminating classes that begin before 9 a.m. has resulted in improved attendance and enrollment rates, less students sleeping in class and less student-reported depression.
Who would have guessed that allowing students to sleep later would have made them happier?
“It is true that some students are less able to learn and participate in 8 a.m. classes, but it depends on how late the students are going to bed,” said Orin Grossman, Fairfield academic vice president.
Amanda Ammirato ’07 said she goes to sleep around 12:30 a.m.
“My grades were not as good in classes that began at 8 a.m.,” she said.
For Ammirato, as well as other college students, going to bed at unreasonable hours is not uncommon. New research, however, claims that the unusual sleeping patterns of students may be rooted to biology rather than irresponsibility.
A North Jersey Media Group article said new studies on teenage sleep patterns show that teenagers undergo biological changes that make their natural sleep cycle begin later at night and extend later in the morning.
This is why parents work to get their little ones to be but have to work harder to get there big ones out of it.
David Gudelunas, assistant professor of communication, said he does not agree with the results of the study and thinks that performance in early classes depends on the student.
“It’s very dependent on the individual student,” he said. “There are a host of variables that factor into class performance including being rested, being prepared and when a student last got nutrients.”
“Some students love early classes and dread evening classes, and vice versa,” Gudelunas said.
Although students would rather catch up on sleep and not have to worry about functioning in class before 9 a.m., students will face the reality of waking up early after their college years. According to one Fairfield professor, students will be waking up early if they intend to keep a real job
“In the real world most people are expected to be in the office by 8 or 8:30. If you can’t do it senior year, what makes you think you can do it the following year? If you don’t show up, you don’t have a job,” said Gudelunas.
Grossman said he does not forsee early classes being abolished any time soon.
“Eight a.m. classes will not be elimated. We don’t have enough classrooms as it is, and we need the various time codes to get in all of our classes,” he said.
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