Photo by Cole Breiland

Students take part in sleep tunnel experiment to gauge their quality of sleep

Amy Szybalski

News Writer

This past Wednesday in the Agora, the Student Health and Counselling Centre put on a sleep tunnel experiment. The experiment was implemented to help students assess their sleep habits, and to determine solutions to help improve their sleep patterns.

36 students and staff members made their way through the sleep tunnel. In addition, approximately 15 stopped to visit the table, taking either a pamphlet or speaking to one of the nurses available.

Students who went through the tunnel were asked ten questions ranging from, “Do you require an alarm clock in the morning?” to “Do you use stimulants after six o’clock in the evening?”

The experiment revealed that not maintaining the same bedtime and wakeup time from weekdays to weekends is detrimental. Also, the use of stimulants after six pm, and trying harder to sleep when having difficulty falling asleep, are the biggest challenges facing LU staff and students.

“Students tend to have very varied schedules and a lot good sleep habits are very difficult for a student lifestyle,” commented Rhonda Gauthier, Senior registered nurse here at LU. “You need your sleep time to process all the information that you’re getting at school all day.”

Gauthier has a fountain of advice for students, especially around exam time: “Staying up all night to study is really not advisable nor is it beneficial, you’re going to retain less than if you had said, ‘look its midnight I’m going to bed.’”

In regard to the use of stimulants, Rhonda pointed out, “even if you think you’re a person that can drink coffee late at night, you may think that you’re getting effective sleep but your not getting into those deeper sleep levels that allow you to process.”

All people who went through the sleep tunnel learned something about their own sleep habits, and gained some valuable tips to improve their rest.