Wofford Wellness Center and Spartanburg Sleep Center promote good sleep habits in Wofford students
Good sleep tends to be something college students don’t prioritize. Ranking far below academics and social life, many Terriers get far less sleep than what is recommended to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Luckily, the Wellness Center knows that Wofford students aren’t of the same descent as Edward Cullen—we can’t go forever without sleep, still expecting to be happy and healthy—so they partnered with the Spartanburg Sleep Center to put on an event for students that was focused on everything sleep.
This event, Sleep Tight Terriers, was held on Thursday, September 27, and was a part of the Wellness Center’s “Thrive Series.” This series was created to help normalize common things college students struggle with, such as time management and sleep schedules. Sleep Tight Terriers was the first event within the series for the 2018-19 school year and was offered to provide students with facts and statistics on good and bad sleeping habits, sleep-related misconceptions and advice on how to become an overall better sleeper.
Present at the event was Clinical Manager of Regional Sleep Services offered through Spartanburg Regional Medical Center,Shari Angel Newman. “We spend one third of our lives sleeping, and it is how well we sleep that dictates how well that other two thirds of our lives go… Adults are estimated to need an average of seven hours and eighteen minutes of sleep each night,” Newman said. According to these estimates, if we live to be ninety years old, we spend thirty of those years sleeping.
The Spartanburg Regional Medical Center is part of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, which includes sleep research facilities in other acute care hospitals such as Pelham Medical Center and Union Medical Center, Spartanburg Hospital for Restorative Care and Ellen Sagar Nursing Center. Sleep Services through the SRMC has been providing sleep testing and care since 1985, which makes them one of the oldest sleep diagnostic centers in the Southeast.
“We are more at risk on the highway to be hit by a sleepy driver than a drunk driver,” Newman continued. As drowsy driving contributes to more than 150,000 accidents in our country each year, engineers are working to create a test for chronic sleepiness on drivers that will work in a way similar to that of a drunk driving test. When asked if she thought driving while sleepy will become illegal, Newman responded, “Oh, of course. There have been many instances in which semi-truck drivers have been driving for 30+ straight hours, fall asleep at the wheel and end up killing one or multiple people, sometimes including themselves. Sleepy drivers are very dangerous.”
Next, she discussed napping and how naps actually do more harm than good. “Our bodies need sleep for restoration and naps don’t allow us to go through the multiple sleep stages thoroughly enough to get that proper restoration,” Newman said. “Sleeping two hours here and two hours there really just isn’t good, and an hour-long nap can be more disruptive than a twenty-minute-long nap.” Napping often occurs due to lack of sleep at night, and lack of sleep at night tends to happen due to naps—so how do we fix this cycle?
There are many ways to help ensure a better sleeping pattern, but one Newman specifically focused on was eating a nice, light snack at bedtime. “Nothing heavy, but something like cheese or turkey right at bedtime can help you get a good night’s sleep and maintain that sleep,” said Newman. Spartanburg Sleep Services suggests other ways to maintain healthy sleep schedules: getting up at the same time every day, adding exercise to your day, insulating your room against sound and light, keeping your room temperature moderate and avoiding excessive liquids or caffeinated beverages in the evening.
Overall, all humans must have four basics to live: food, water, air and sleep. That is, good sleep is as important as the air we breathe and the food we eat. And as Shari Newman said, “If you’re gonna do your best, you gotta get your rest!”
