Health Enhancement will collect data this spring on the sleep habits of NIU students who live in the residence halls.

The study will be conducted with students living in two towers of the residence halls.

Due to the effectiveness of the study, the specific towers will not be mentioned publicly until the pilot is over, said Steve Lux, a health educator for Health Enhancement.

The pilot will start the middle of this month and run to the middle of April. One residence hall will get the intervention and another hall will be assessed with a pre- and post-test, he said.

“The reason we’re doing this is that consistently, both here at NIU as well as nationally, sleep issues as a group consistently show up in the top three health-related impediments to academic success,” Lux said.

“We feel it’s because of that, it’s important for us to make some attempts to see if there’s anything we can do that would help people improve their sleep habits.”

Survey questions will ask about students’ sleep habits, such as how much sleep they usually get, how long it takes them to fall asleep, if they toss and turn much, what environmental factors affect their sleep and more, he said.

Shadae Cherry, a freshman nursing major and Grant Hall resident, said the main factor that prevents her from falling asleep is an uncomfortable bed.

“It probably takes me about 30 to 45 minutes to go to sleep [in the residence halls],” Cherry said. “If I’m really tired, I can go right to sleep. At home, I could fall asleep in the matter of minutes with the TV on.”

James Blanch, a junior industrial electrical technology major and Grant resident, said he does not have any problem falling asleep.

Blanch said he usually gets about six hours of sleep per night and feels he does not need a full eight hours to feel well-rested.

“Although people say the normal hours of sleep you need is eight, there’s really a range [depending on the person],” Lux said.

Though the average person usually gets about six to nine hours of sleep, the immune system of someone who continuously deprives his or herself of sleep may be negatively affected.

“The body uses the time when we’re sleeping to repair and recharge some of the body processes,” Lux said.

“[This includes] muscles that have been overworked, replacement of deteriorating cells and the brain’s ability to organize and store memories more effectively and information for better recall.”

For more information, call Health Enhancement at 815-753-9755, or go to www.health.niu.edu.

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