Photo Courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro (fickr)
I was the king of all-nighters during my senior year of college. I refined the art of writing 12-page research papers from start to finish in less than 8 hours and scraping together at least an A-. The sacrifice was sleep. I stayed up all night, most of the next day, napped a little, and then crashed the following evening. I would maintain a constant flow of caffeine and techno music throughout the process to keep my energy and sanity just high enough to survive. I was a functioning zombie and I made it work quite well. However, this lifestyle came with a multitude of side effects: drowsiness, nausea, headaches, dizziness, irritability, outbursts of anger and/or tears, lack of empathy, weight gain, poor hygiene, high blood pressure, and crazy OCD. The only reason I managed to maintain living like this for such a long time was due to the fact that every other person around me was doing the exact same thing. It was sanity by consensus. As long as enough of us were doing it, we weren’t crazy.
Having been removed from college for almost three years now, I haven’t pulled a single all-nighter since. Last Wednesday night I stayed up until 3 am editing a wedding video for one of my friends and I only did that because I didn’t have to be at work until 11 am on Thursday. I guess I’m still amazed at the fact that I can’t live the same way I did during college. I want to go to the bars on the weekends, stay up until the sun rises, and live on the edge of sanity just for the hell of it. However, now that I’ve experienced a life with abundant amounts of sleep, it seems foolish to back track. I’ve watched documentaries on the power of sleep and the amazing health benefits you can reap with even just one extra hour. I’ve also read how driving with a significant lack of sleep is more dangerous than driving drunk. Weird.
In the last few years I have maintained a fairly regular sleep pattern and I average a reasonably healthy amount of sleep each night. What I find to be remarkable is the difference between my wife and I. Tessa is a first year teacher in a very challenging high-needs school, and she is exhausted every single day. She crashes in bed every night an hour or more before me and wakes up at the last minute an hour after I get up. She sleeps significantly more than me and yet she always wants more sleep. I sleep less, drink more coffee, and exercise more, but I definitely don’t sleep enough. The differences fascinate me, but the reality is the same for both of us. We need more sleep almost every day. I notice an enormous difference in my demeanor, energy level, productivity, and mood on the days I get the rest my body requires. Sleep in college was a luxury. Sleep in my life today is a necessity. I can’t life without it and I don’t want to.
Sleep truly is vital to my life and vital to accomplishing my ridiculous goals. In my head I want to be the kind of person who can go without sleep and get a lot done, but I know the consequences. I might be able to get a decent amount done in the short-term, but it has lasting long-term effects that ultimately diminish my ability to function. I don’t like the person I become without sleep. I lose the vibrance, the energy, and the life I want to live. I’m making sleep a higher priority than in the past and I’m expecting great results. As a part of this goal I will also be incorporating nap times and recess, just like in elementary school. Sweet!
Let me know about your experiences with sleep since you left school in the comments below. I’d love to hear about them!
Don’t forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,
Jeff Sanders
Follow @cluelessgrad
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