The path to better sleep

by Patricia Dworzak

Daily Lobo

Sixty-three percent of American adults do not get the recommended seven to nine hours of daily sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Kaela Kelly, a UNM student, said she got about two hours of sleep Wednesday night. Her biggest problem is getting ready for finals and managing her time, she said.

She said the Sleep Better Day was useful to students, because a lot of people don't know how valuable sleep is.

"Sleep is something everyone at UNM can benefit from," said Nicole McCarty, coordinator of the Better Sleep Day event at the Cactus Garden by Zimmerman on Thursday. "We all need to learn better tips to get better quality of sleep," she said.

Students taking a health education and prevention class manned booths in pajamas and gave away pillows and alarm clocks to students who participated in activities.

McCarty said college students mainly do not get enough sleep because of drinking, staying up late, caffeine consumption and taking naps during the day.

That's right - naps during the day decrease the quality of nighttime sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

McCarty said the leading reason a student does not get enough sleep is alcohol consumption. It can lead to disrupted sleep because a person needs to urinate frequently through the night.

According to the foundation, people who get less than seven to nine hours of sleep a night are 73 percent more likely to be obese.

One tip the sleep foundation offers for better sleep is using the bedroom for only sleep and sex. It suggests taking work material, computers and TVs out of the bedroom.

Also, regular exercise and avoiding nicotine, alcohol and caffeine will help a person get better sleep, according to the foundation.

McCarty said the goal of the event was to increase awareness of factors that affect quality of sleep.

"I found this event very useful," student Chris Torres said. "I won a mug and learned that sleep is important to the fundamental actions of everyday life."