Adults should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night. And experts warn that chronic sleep deprivation can have a massive impact on your mental and physical health. Yet according to Harvard, more than half of college students are getting less than the bare minimum of shut-eye. Some are studying, some are working, and others are using the night hours to party.
For one student, it was none of the above. Instead, their noisy roommates were to blame. The sleep-deprived woman shared how she has to stick to a consistent bedtime because of her insomnia. But living in a college dorm made it near impossible. The woman’s roommates refused to shut up during shut-eye time. Eventually, the student decided to turn the tables and give them a taste of their own medicine in a sleepless but satisfying act of malicious compliance. We reached out to seasoned California-based psychologist Juli Fraga for her advice on how to handle a situation like this.
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Following a strict sleep routine helps this student, but her noisy roommates couldn’t care less
“The situation could have been handled in a better way”: an expert weighs in
Dr. Juli Fraga is a psychologist with close to twenty years experience. During her career, she’s worked closely with students at both the University Of California Berkeley, as well as the University of California San Francisco. We reached out to Fraga for her take on the matter. She told us she believes the situation could have been handled differently.
“The person is clearly upset and ‘acting’ on their emotions by playing loud music, talking on the phone, etc. It seems like actions born of spite,” said Fraga. “A better solution is to talk about how you’re feeling. If the person with insomnia needs extra support, perhaps they can get a doctor’s note stating when they need to sleep and asking the roommates to be quiet during those times.”
Fraga adds that students living together should discuss these things as early as possible. “Have a conversation from the get-go, and set boundaries that work for each person. Express your concerns kindly and come to an agreement that works for both of you,” advised the expert.
In addition to talking to your roommates, Fraga suggests students who suffer from sleepless nights seek professional help. “Insomnia can have many causes, sometimes it’s stress or anxiety, in which case it can be helpful to talk with a therapist or doctor,” she said.
Fraga told We that some people underestimate the importance of sleep. “It helps us stay emotionally regulated and weather stress. It helps our immune system,” said the psychologist. “College students face enormous stress and it’s easy to pull all-nighters or let sleep go by the wayside, but well-being is better when we prioritize our sleep.”
Sleep deprivation can have serious repercussions
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) reports that around a third of adults have brief bouts of insomnia, while 15%-20% have short-term insomnia that lasts less than 3 months. For 10% of the population, it’s so bad that they struggle to sleep at least 3 times per week for at least 3 months, and are classified as having a chronic insomnia disorder.
The Academy adds that loss of productivity due to chronic insomnia costs the U.S. economy $63 billion annually. And the Centers For Disease Control has warned that sleep deprivation can have the same effect as being intoxicated. The AASM reports that driving while drowsy causes an average of 328,000 motor vehicle accidents every year, in America alone.
Apart from the obvious feelings of fatigue, not getting enough sleep can lead to irritability and a short temper; mood changes; trouble coping with stress; difficulty focusing, concentrating, and remembering things (crucially important for students); and what’s known as brain fog. “College students who prioritize sleep are likely to see an improvement in their academic performance,” notes Harvard Summer School.
Harvard’s Dr. Edward Pace-Schott is a sleep expert and says sleep plays an important part in helping us absorb information and remember things. “In any sort of experimental setting, study results show better performance if you learn material and then sleep on it, instead of remaining awake,” said Pace-Schott. “So there’s lots and lots of evidence now indicating that sleep promotes memory strengthening and memory consolidation.”
Anxiety, stress, depression, genetics, a change in environment, caffeine, and even age can all contribute to insomnia. But a 2019 survey found that television is a primary culprit of sleep loss. 88% of people polled said they lost sleep “to watch multiple episodes of a TV or streaming series,” while 72% percent of adults ages 18 to 34 prioritized playing video games over sleeping.
Experts say having a sleep routine is key to getting a good night’s rest. Pace-Schott suggests limiting caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, avoiding electronic screens within an hour of going to sleep, engaging in daily exercise, but avoiding intense exercise within two hours of bedtime, and being consistent about what time you wake up and go to sleep.
But sometimes, as in the case of the student, it’s beyond your control. “College students living in dorms or other communal settings may find their sleep disturbed by circumstances beyond their control: a poor-quality mattress, inability to control the temperature of your bedroom, or noisy roommates, for example,” said Pace-Schott.
“I’m not a terribly nice person”: the student gave some more details in an update
“Always follow the rules”: the student stood firm when some netizens questioned her actions
Some found the act of “malicious compliance with a dash of petty revenge” quite satisfying
“Noise doesn’t get taken seriously enough”: netizens shared their own similar stories
