To Sleep Or To Party? The College Conundrum

There are three goals that every college student-athlete strives to achieve: good grades, a successful sporting career, and a social life. Many coming-of-age movies, like the infamous Animal House and more recent Neighbors, depict crazy parties and drunk teenagers as the college norm. Yet where does sleep fit into this mix?

For many of my friends, their most full nights of sleep follow a night of partying. "When I stay in, I end up hanging around and talking until 4 a.m.," Hadley, 19, says. "But when I go out, things generally cool down after 1 a.m., so I get back [to my room] so early and just go to bed." For Hadley, who plans on studying Economics, a normal night's sleep involves going to bed around 1 or 2 a.m. Going out does not push back her bedtime. In fact, it makes it consistent: "[Partying] doesn't make [my bedtime] any later, but staying in does. I think, 'Oh, on weekdays I stay up until 1 or 2 a.m., so on weekends, since I don't have class, I can stay up even later.'"

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