At Vanderbilt, we work hard and play hard. Nowhere in that statement, nor in the life of the average Vandy girl, is sleep included. If we’re not in class or studying, we’re hanging with friends, going out, hitting the gym, attending meetings, or wasting time browsing Pinterest. Plus, we have to wake up a little earlier and go to bed a little later than Vandy guys for the sake of our beauty routines. Oh the hard knock lives we lead.
What we are failing to realize is that missing out on sleep might actually be killing our concentration in class or causing us to gain weight. And while there’s nothing wrong with wearing navy or black in the winter, it’s far from fashionable to have your undereye circles match the color of your favorite coat.
So I write to you today in defense of sleep, the one missing piece of our complex Vandy girl puzzle. I urge you to bear with me as I explain the merits of this supposed “bane of one’s existence,” for y’all’s sake.
As children and teenagers, we were told by our parents to get at least eight hours of sleep a night. And while many of us slept far less than that in middle/high school, staying up until 2AM IM-ing our crushes (hey, we all did it) and waking up at 7 to get ready for another day of school, we had plenty of time to catch up on sleep during the weekends or in the afternoons.
But as college students, we aren’t afforded that luxury. We stay up late doing God know’s what, wake up early for class, run around doing far too much once classes are over, and repeat the cycle. We’re busy and we can’t change that. While we do get to sleep in sometimes on the weekends, there’s always a brunch date or an AM workout session we have to rush off to. So basically, sleep doesn’t happen for us.
However, I urge you today to make sleep happen. Many of y’all are probably worried to death about Spring Break/Spring Formal bikini season, and it’s quickly approaching. But sleeping, instead of squeezing in a late-night trip to the gym, might be your best bet. Studies have shown that people who sleep at least eight hours a night are able to maintain a healthy weight much easier than those who don’t. This is for several reasons, one being that the later you stay up, the more time you have to eat. And I can bet that when you’re up at 1AM studying, you probably won’t be craving a healthy serving of berries. Also, it’s been proven that a certain hormone triggering hunger becomes more active when you sleep less, meaning that you’ll feel a lot hungrier after pulling an all-nighter, even if you ate normally the day (and night) before.
Plus, you can save quite a bit of money on concealer if you don’t need to cover up the bags under your eyes. Your face literally transforms when you get enough sleep- you’ll look refreshed, healthy, and energetic. And who doesn’t want that?
I know it’s not realistic to get eight hours every night, but try to make it a goal for at least two out of five weekdays. I guarantee, you’ll feel so much better if you sleep just a little longer. Your body/face/life will thank you.