Say goodnight to a ‘nap map’

Image by: Kia Kortelainen

Forty winks won’t make up for a good night’s sleep. 

Students napping in odd places is a common sight on most campuses this time of year. It’s a habit born of necessity, not convenience. 

In recognizing that students are the most sleep-deprived demographic, many universities are mapping out the best places on campus to take a nap. 

These aptly-named “nap maps” mark locations with the most couches, or deserted areas where students can grab a quick catnap.

While some students just have a really hard time organizing their time, it’s almost impossible for anyone to maintain a healthy sleep schedule when your assignments start piling up. 

Within an environment that values productivity over well-being, our well-being is quickly losing ground. 

Self-care is rarely a top priority of university students because they’re graded on their work, not their health.  

It’s easy to take your level of exhaustion as the measure of whether you are doing a good job or not, but it isn’t healthy. 

Sleeping well is just as important as eating well or exercising. A nap might alleviate a short-term problem, but sporadic napping doesn’t solve long-term sleep deprivation, and its effects on students’ mental and physical fatigue. 

Our piles of schoolwork might not be something that students’ can change, but what we can do is sort out our priorities. 

There’s actually a really perfect place to take a nap. It’s better than any couch, probably deserted, and you don’t need a map to find it — your bed. 

— Journal Editorial Board

Tags

Mental health, nap map, Sleep, Student life

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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