Between classes, homework, extracurricular activities, and doing the many other tasks that keep college students busy on a daily basis, one thing is clear: 藏精阁 students need their rest.
The , a campuswide program that provides education and opportunities for personal health, sponsored a series of events last week to teach students about the importance of sleep and how to get the most out of it.
At the Hall of Presidents on Monday night, Charlotte Johnson, vice president and dean of the college, read Goodnight Moon to a group of pajama-clad students gathered around her feet.
But it was not just the bedtime stories read by Johnson and other administrators that drew the 250 students to the sleep exposition.
Four different sound-specific sleep environments, three biofeedback stations, and a cappella performances by the Resolutions and the Dischords made the Come to Bed event an educational and relaxing experience for all.
鈥淣ational studies of college students as well as our own 藏精阁-specific studies have shown that students are under lots of stress 鈥 there are so many things that they need to do and that they want to do,鈥 explained Dr. Merrill Miller, student health services director and Wellness Initiative steering committee co-chair.
鈥淪leep often gets put on a pretty low rung on the ladder of things that they think are important. But if you鈥檙e not getting enough sleep, you鈥檙e not functioning as well as you should. We would like to make sure that they learn healthy habits for the rest of their lives.鈥
In addition to the Come to Bed event, students attended a lecture by Rodger Campbell and Frank Kitchen, who both have been involved with residential life on numerous college campuses.
Campbell and Kitchen鈥檚 鈥淛ust Five More Minutes鈥︹ talk at Olin Hall provided students with information about how important sleep is.
鈥淲e all went down to the stage area in Olin and we did the Electric Slide,鈥 said Jane Jones, member of the Wellness Initiative steering committee. 鈥淭he point being that even moderate exercise for about four and a half minutes about two hours before going to bed can often be enough to more easily fall asleep.鈥
Students also participated in a cot contest that took place the week before.
Wellness Initiative members placed a cot with different facts about sleep in locations across campus, asking students to take pictures of themselves on the portable beds.
The photographs were almost as priceless as the information itself.