College Kids Struggle To Stay Alert

How much sympathy do you have for sleepy college kids? It seems to be common knowledge that college students are not known for getting much sleep-for a variety of reasons.

From studying too much to partying too much, a lot of college students report being too tired to function.  NBC News reports that some professors tell of seeing student flunk out of school because they couldn't wake up for their 8 A.M. classes.

The student/sleep connection have been studied extensively. In making a case for naps, one study asked a group of volunteers to memorize a list of words. Then, half the group took a ten-minute nap while the other half stayed awake. The group that napped improved memory by 11 percent.

Other studies suggest the problem is with biology because around the onset of puberty sleep is delayed with teens start going to bed between midnight and 2 A.M. That makes 8 am classes a barrier and has raised the issue of  universities rethinking schedules and start times.  (NBC)