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Post by healthy11 on Jun 12, 2008 19:52:58 GMT -5
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/09/health/webmd/main4167170.shtmlThis Texas study of more than 800 college undergrads showed those who were "Morning People" had GPA's near the tops of their classes, a full point above the 2.5 averages of their "night owl" counterparts. My son has always gone to bed late, even as a toddler. (Unfortunately, this gives me yet one more reason to worry as he heads off to college.....) They aren't sure if gradually changing a student's bedtime, to go to sleep and wake earlier, would help improve a "night owl's" grades...
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Post by lillian12 on Jun 12, 2008 20:29:30 GMT -5
When I was an undergrad, I had one requirement when choosing which class to take--which history 101 to take, which English 101 to take, etc. The requirement was that the class could not be taught before noon. I often worked at night or stayed up all night doing homework, trying to catch up on work that I was behind on because I was working full time and going to school full time. It wasn't unusual for me to be reading texts or writing papers at two in the morning. Of course, there were many days when I was still reading and writing when the sun was rising. Honestly, I was most productive late at night and in the wee hours of the morning. I graduated magna cum laude, with the highest GPA of anyone in either of my fields of study.
When I began teaching, I was terrified of oversleeping and not being there when my students arrived. I had to train myself to go to bed at a "normal" time and awaken at a "normal" time because ten years in the restaurant business had destroyed my ability to sleep on a normal schedule. The first school I worked for let me have first period as my planning period, just in case I overslept and to help me adjust to a new, "normal" schedule (I told them this was a fear of mine during the job interview, when they asked what my greatest concern was with becoming a teacher). It took a couple years for me to completely adjust to being a day person, not a night person. As soon as the school year was over, I went back to my old ways, staying up all night and sleeping until eleven or twelve, so when the school year would begin, I would have to readjust.
Today, I wake up at six without an alarm clock. I used to have to set three, just in case. I've actually learned to enjoy the mornings. BUT, when I recently was in Paris, the city was wide awake, swarming with people, cafes filled to capacity at two o'clock in the morning, and I sat on the patio of the hotel at two in the morning, listening to the sounds of the city, thinking, ahhhhhhhhhh. For me, that's relaxing!
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Post by lillian12 on Jun 12, 2008 20:47:27 GMT -5
Also, please note this quote from the article:
"And, if you go to bed early, you'll be less tempted to go out drinking 'or engage in other activities that can have negative influences on academic performance,' he says."
Duh! It seems to me what was missing from the survery is the question, "What do you do when you stay up all night?" If the student answered, "Party," then, yes, I would say that might cause a lower GPA. If the student said, "Study," then I doubt it would.
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Post by cobyseven on Jun 13, 2008 5:22:44 GMT -5
I am also one of those who slept late as an adolescent/early adult and now cannot make it past 6:00 am......even if I've been up until 3:00 am!
This study is so contradictory to those I've read about the sleep requirements of teens/young adults.
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Post by healthy11 on Jun 13, 2008 8:15:05 GMT -5
I'm sure there are a lot of things that impact a student's performance, and there's no doubt that "what" a person is doing when they're up late is a key question that the study apparently didn't ask...in my son's case, it's still cause for concern, because I doubt he'll be studying
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Post by lillian12 on Jun 13, 2008 8:54:55 GMT -5
LOL, Healthy! My son, too!
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Post by birchgirl on Jun 13, 2008 14:26:05 GMT -5
I am a person who hates morning. I did ok in college but definitely not as well as I could. I wonder if there is a link between procrastination and being a late night person, because that is my big fault. I did some partying in college, but not much. Mostly just huge amounts of time wasting.
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Post by ilovemyboys on Jun 13, 2008 14:37:33 GMT -5
I'm a morning person who didn't do that great in college (B- average). I just didn't like to study - that did it for me!
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