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• During finals week, sleep is at the bottom of students’ priorities

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(Catherine Lamy, Buzz illustrator)

Her eyes roll back as her upper body collapses over the desk. She has already dozed off at least twice but this time with a noticeable thud. The professor shoots her a sharp stare as she takes another gulp of her steaming Starbucks — her only defense against her nightlong battle with insomnia. This scenario is one that many UIUC students know all too well.

According to the 2002 National Sleep Foundation poll, 58 percent of adults in the U.S. experience symptoms of insomnia. The National Sleep Foundation Web site also stated that stress causes insomnia by making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep and by affecting the quality of your sleep.

Constant disruptions in sleep can add up quickly and affect a person mentally, physically and emotionally, especially the approximately two-thirds of college students who report occasional sleep disturbances, as reported by the McKinley Health Center Web Site.

With the stress of finals approaching, all-nighters and sleep disturbances increase as insomnia wages war against students. As someone who gets only six hours of sleep per night, Ramakrishna Nalluri, a freshman in MCB, understands the lack of sleep brought on by hectic nights.

“Right before finals, people become so stressed out, and no one ever sleeps,” he said. “People are always worrying about grades and trying to cram.”

Stress management educator Jennifer Carson is accustomed to helping sleepy students deal with stress, especially around finals time. During one-on-one consultations at McKinley Health Center, she pinpoints the causes for students’ stress through teaching communication and time management skills as well as helping students address sleep issues.

“One of the ways we do this is by having students keep a sleep diary,” she said.

After a week of logging, Carson reviews the journal with the student to identify the practices that contribute to poor sleep hygiene.

Sleep hygiene refers to daily activities that promote normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness, Carson said. Bad habits such as talking on the phone, eating a heavy meal before bed and excessive worrying all contribute to irregular sleep cycles.

Too much stimulation before bed, whether it is mental stimulation or media, causes the brain to become excited and prevents people from sleeping.

Another part of becoming a better sleeper and a better stress manager is by learning time management skills. Because students do not budget time effectively, sleep often becomes a last priority.

“When students are under more stress, it is easy to push personal needs to the wayside like eating right and getting enough physical activity, but students forget that sleep is just as important,” Carson said.

By not making sleep a main concern, students are also putting themselves at a health risk.

According to the National Sleep Foundation Web site, “there is strong evidence that sufficient shortening or disturbance of the sleep process compromises mood, performance and alertness and can result in injury.”

Not only does Carson teach students how to prevent these health problems during her appointments but she also helps McKinley Health Center create programs, workshops, educational materials and services to help students reduce and manage their stress better.

The Relaxation Room at the Oasis is just one of the ways students learn to deal with stress. Located on the lower level of the Illini Union, the Relaxation Room offers 20-minute sessions of audio-video guided imagery to teach them progressive muscle relaxation.

Practicing relaxation techniques and learning about stress management skills will help students eliminate these problems and maintain normal stress levels, Carson said.

Other services at the Oasis include BodyWork Associates Massage Therapy, the Health Resource Center, the SportWell Center and the Multipurpose Room. The University Counseling Center is available to students who want to develop coping skills in order to address emotional, interpersonal and academic concerns.

The McKinley Health Center also offers a variety of resources, from online and print materials to interactive programs, to teach students these practices too.

Carson emphasized that stress management is a very individualized practice. Different methods work for different people, and it is the individual’s responsibility to find out what tactics work, she said.

“Managing your stress better can’t be a quick fix. It needs to be something that you’re committed to changing and wanting to work on,” Carson said.

To avoid developing serious health issues, Carson advises that students take advantage of the resources offered on campus now in order to change bad habits and get better sleep.

“Change is never easy,” she said. “But the more consistent you are in making those changes, the greater the benefits will be.”