Dear Gracelyn
The girls on my hall have been keeping me up all night. At first, I had a lot of fun spending time with other females 24/7, but now I am just getting exhausted! They stay up all hours of the night and giggle and talk in their rooms. I am very sensitive to sound, so this makes it very difficult to sleep. Sometimes, they do things like play sports on the hall, cook popcorn in the middle of the night (which sets off the fire alarm), and watch the loudest movies in the lobbies. What should I do?
-Exhausted
Dear Exhausted,
Dorm life is fun and I’m so sorry that you aren’t enjoying it. In fact, I’m not even sure why you are complaining. All of the things that the girls on your hall are doing sound like things all college students should be doing!
Staying up all night is not a curse; it is a privilege. You should be thanking the girls on your hall for keeping you up all night because the less sleep you get, the younger you feel. This is why very few adults are even able to stay up past 11 p.m. It’s scientifically proven that the less sleep you get, the fewer years you’ve lived. (Don’t ask me what my source is; just take my word for it.) Enjoy it while you can!
However, if sleep is really that important to you (ya old geezer), then I would suggest investing your money in a good pair of headphones to drown out surrounding sounds as you go to sleep. The sole purpose of headphones is not to play music for amusement, but to mask sound in the surrounding environment. Actually, the higher the volume of music or media you listen to, the better you will be able to sleep. Also, sleeping with headphones in is completely safe. In fact, if you are wearing headphones, you won’t even hear the fire alarm when the girls on your hall set it off and, therefore, you won’t have to get out of bed for an unnecessary drill!
It is not fair to the girls on your hall for you to insist that they change their lifestyles to better work around yours. After all, you are probably one of the only girls on campus with this unique complaint. Because you are in the minority, don’t even bother going to your RA with this issue! In fact, she may even be one of the girls keeping you up at night because she knows the value of late nights and how they positively impact a college student’s life.
If you follow my advice, you should be getting better sleep (but only when really necessary) in no time!
-Gracelyn
Struggling to find the perfect microwave-safe double-chocolate brownie recipe? Can’t keep up with Aaron Crabtree’s ever-changing hairstyle? Roommate sings too loudly in the shower? Gracelyn has all the answers to your most pressing life questions. Ask them at [email protected]
