With a smile on her name tag and a certain bounce to her step, Tenal Alston is known as a “spiritual advisor” to some. To others, she is known as the location manager at the Perk who has been providing late-night mochas, lattes and other heavily caffeinated drinks to sleep-deprived students for the past three years.
“I try to keep students awake for as long as I can,” Alston said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Most nights she witnesses tired students cramming for classes well into the night. Every so often, she said, students who were at the Perk the night before have still not left when she returned in the morning.
However effective these late-night cramming sessions seem to be for earning better grades, students may be harming their health in the process. Experts warn that the heavily caffeinated, sleep-deprived college culture could be causing students more harm than good.
Experts say teenagers should get about nine hours of sleep each night as it both recharges the body and consolidates memories. Lacking the requisite hours of sleep each night, doctors say many students at Duke are falling victim to sleep deprivation.
Dr. Sherry Huang, a physician at the Duke Student Health Center, said she sees an average of four or five students per week complaining of sleep deprivation symptoms.
These symptoms include fatigue, lack of focus, decreased motivation and increased irritability, affecting all areas of life—including relationships and classwork. Sleep deprivation signs begin to show quickly after an individual does not get enough sleep.
Jim Clack, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said students that used to take his class would only receive on average five to six hours of sleep each night. “It doesn’t take long for someone to get sleep deprived,” he said.
And as finals arrive, students are admitting that their lack of sleep will become worse.
Sophomore Ripal Shah, who was studying organic chemistry at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Perk, admitted to being sleep deprived. Resting only four or five hours a night, she said she has trouble paying attention during class. Her main problem is not excess school work, but AOL Instant Messenger. “I usually spend four hours a night on Instant Messenger,” Shah said. “Last year during finals I deleted that program—I’ve never done better on tests in my life.”
Sophomore Stephanie Vance, also a late-night studier, said her habits were probably not healthy, but she tries to sleep later and get at least six hours of sleep each night.
Huang noted that lack of sleep could lead to more serious problems.
“The immune system doesn’t work as well when an individual is sleep deprived. We see a lot of colds and upper respiratory problems because of that,” she said. “When you are not sleeping, you are putting a lot of stress on your body.”
Clack warned students against the late-night cramming and all-nighters, saying these are actually inefficient ways to study.
“Every piece of evidence we have is that on the learning curve, there’s a point after around two hours and 45 minutes that you are losing knowledge rather than gaining it,” he said. “You are much better off going to bed instead of trying to study.”
Clack also advised that students who have trouble falling asleep get up and do something boring. “Avoid doing anything that rouses your brain,” he said. “But read your dullest textbook.”
He added that arguments and spicy foods before bedtime prolong the time it takes to fall asleep. Clack also suggested turning the clock away as it takes pressure off falling asleep quickly.
Sleep typically cycles through 90-minute intervals, of which 25 percent is rapid eye movement sleep. This is the period when a majority of the intense dreams occur and where experts believe memories are consolidated. During non-REM sleep, the body temperature and breathing rate slows and the body recharges itself.
Huang suggested that students refrain from napping during the day. “If you are napping, you aren’t going to feel as tired at night,” she said. “When you get into a cycle of interrupted sleep, you get into a bad cycle.”
But if the late-night cramming is necessary, Alston recommends the mocha latte or, her specialty, the Red Eye—a mix of Red Bull and espresso shots.
“When it comes to caffeine, I’m the person you can come to,” she said. “Coffee is our specialty.”
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