Why Do We Brag About Our Lack of Sleep?

Hello everyone!

The other day my AP Euro teacher made a comment along the lines of, “You guys are always bragging about how little sleep you got and how many hours you spent studying for Euro. It’s a very odd competition, stop doing that!” This got me thinking: why do students constantly bring up the amount of time they spent working instead of sleeping? I know this is a very common thing, so I wanted to address why we do it and why it’s a problem.

Wanting validation – If you stay up all night and come to school exhausted, you’re going to want some recognition for it. You might think others will respect you more, or they’ll think to themselves, “Wow, what a committed student.”
Believing the more time spent working, the more successful you will be – Some people equate the time they put into something to how well they will do with it. Time is definitely an important factor, but only if it’s productive; just because you spent a certain amount of hours on something doesn’t mean they were hours well spent. Especially if you’re forgoing sleep to keep working, the quality of your efforts may decrease.
Competition aspect – School can be super competitive these days with college admissions and such (another topic I’ve written about a lot!). You may feel that it’s necessary to pull all-nighters studying in order to get the best grades in the hardest classes and feel like you’re doing more work than others. This is a dangerous game, but it may make people feel like they’re one-upping everyone else in the moment.
Peer pressure – It might just seem like the thing to do. Everyone is staying up late and studying, so you want to contribute to the conversation. Because obviously the person who gets the least sleep is the coolest, right?
The prevalence of workaholicism – I feel like there’s this stigma against letting yourself relax if you want to be successful. People feel like they have to be doing something all the time, and it’s almost like you’re considered lazy if you’re not. Yes, you’ll have to put some hard work in to be successful; however, you don’t have to stress yourself out all the time. It’s dangerous to keep perpetuating this idealized image of never-ending work.

Remember, sleep is important!!! I know it’s a lame thing to say/remind you guys of, but I feel like I should nonetheless. Stopping work for the night and going to bed early when you’re tired is nothing to be ashamed of; it’s probably a better choice for your mental and physical health. I’ve written a lot about productivity lately, and I promise different content is coming soon- that being said, have a wonderful and productive day.

-Brooke