Hello nice to meet you, we are the millennials and we don’t sleep. How could we when there is so much to be done?
Us Bucknellians, in particular, do it all. We strive for a 4.0 GPA, Greek affiliation, daily gym attendance, the editor and chief position of any and all publications, and an abundant social life. And our efforts are often met; but at what cost?
The library, where we often spend more time then our dorm, houses our ambitious, coffee driven, student body. We furiously type papers, memorize chem equations and complain, “we just don’t have enough time.” We take 20-minute naps to make up for our lack of sleep then head back to Bertrand to begin the pattern again. Hard work is good. Hard work is what got us here. But what are we working towards?
According to a survey conducted by The American Psychological Association and Harris Interactive, millennials are more stressed than any other living generation. Reports of depression and anxiety in our generation far surpass those of Gen Xers, Baby Boomers and The Matures. Perhaps our endless hours in the East Reading Room are doing more harm than good. While our papers may be edited to perfection, our minds are begging us to take five.
When we do want a break, bring on the Svedka. Rather than curling up and getting a good night sleep, a party is usually our form of decompressing. Sometimes a night bouncing from frat to frat can be a great escape from our daily pressures. Partying is an obvious, even essential, element of many students’ college experience. But sometimes, when we most need a break, we push our limits in order to make it to this week’s Super Saturday or a Wednesday night out, dancing with friends on elevated surfaces.
Netflix doesn’t count as a mental break any more than a game of beer pong. Sure, you may not wake up the next morning with a pounding headache or a trip to the bathroom floor. But neuroscientists suspect that prolonged technological use over-stimulates the nervous system and increases production of cortisol, the “stress-hormone.” So as you click “next episode” more times than you’d like to admit, keep in mind that just because your body is finally at rest, doesn’t mean that your brain is.
At the University of California, San Francisco, scientists found that when rats experience something new, their brains show new activity patterns. But they are only able to process this activity once they break from their sources of stimulation. Humans are not radically different. Like the rats, our generation’s perpetual stimulation gives us minimal opportunities to process our experiences. As we jump from activity to activity, we deprive ourselves of much a much-needed processing period.
None of this is to suggest that you should stop working hard, partying hard, or binge watching Orange Is The New Black. But in the midst of constant stimulation, hit pause every now and then. Idleness is not an indulgence, it an indispensible asset to our health.
Sources:
- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/millennials-are-the-most-stressed-generation-survey-finds/
- http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/29/technology-computers-health-stress-forbes-woman-well-being-screen-time.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0