Play and Sleep: Are they mutually exclusive in college? page

[Timothy Mastny]

Hi, I recently sent in the question to Mark, but would love to hear from other people. I'm about to move away to college and from what I understand, games of Ultimate, touch football, and other forms of play happen almost exclusively after 10pm. Many intramural practices are even scheduled 10pm-12am.

This would make it hard for me to get in proper sleep. Do you think play is more important than sleep? Any advice on other ways to play?

[primalrob]

i think sleep is more important...particularly if you are lifting heavy things on occasion.

however, i don't necessarily think that sleep needs to come all in one chunk or even at certain times. i used to black out my windows and nap whenever i could during college. of course, i was an insomniac and only slept a couple times per week...which i recommend avoiding.

there's also nothing saying that you have to engage in those activities for play, or wait around for games arranged by other people. grab a frisbee and head outside...people will come flocking. or arrange your own games.

[Mike Gager]

definitely sleep if you are trying to lose weight. if you are already in good shape and just want to play to stay that way then its probably a toss up

[Griffin]

I think sleep is more important but if you're living primally, one night a week shouldn't have a negative impact on you. Remember the 80/20 rule.

[Grumpycakes]

What are college children doing until 10 pm these days? Surely not studying.

[Conner P.]

It's college. All your plans will go out the window when you get there. Life tends to get in the way of plans, but especially so during college. My buddy has a poster that says "nobody ever wishes they slept more during college". Get as much as you can, but not at major detriment to your social life.

Tip from someone who just finished up his first year at college: avoid early classes until you are sure you can get up! I had an 8:50am five days a week my first semester. I figured no problem since HS always started at 8:00am and I lived 20 minutes away. Started off okay, but I ended up missing about 1/3 of that class. Start with later classes your first semester and if they arent a problem, try earlier classes your second semester.

[GrassyLampshade]

I'm currently in college, and people are outside playing ALL AFTERNOON. The large grass lawns on my campus aren't well-lit, so there aren't any good ways to play Ultimate at night (unless you have a light-up frisbee!). I wouldn't worry about it too much. Wander your campus on a warm, sunny day, and I guarantee you'll find plenty of games to join in on.

[spakesneaker]

It's college. All your plans will go out the window when you get there. Life tends to get in the way of plans, but especially so during college. My buddy has a poster that says "nobody ever wishes they slept more during college". Get as much as you can, but not at major detriment to your social life.

Tip from someone who just finished up his first year at college: avoid early classes until you are sure you can get up! I had an 8:50am five days a week my first semester. I figured no problem since HS always started at 8:00am and I lived 20 minutes away. Started off okay, but I ended up missing about 1/3 of that class. Start with later classes your first semester and if they arent a problem, try earlier classes your second semester.

Heh. +1

And yeah, most games that have to be played outside are played in the afternoon/during daylight hours. Things like basketball might be inside later at night, but you can probably also start your own club sport and set the timings yourself.

[tim_1522]

It seems to me from my recollection that College is the ultimate example of "Life is fractal..." that Mark likes to talk about.

Run with it. Yeah, you might technically do some "physical" damage of getting a little less sleep than is optimal, but if you throw yourself into the college experience (being mindful of PB law #9) then you will be so much better off from a "whole person" standpoint.

[sjmc]

In the winter when it's freezing/snowing my ultimate team does have practices that go til midnight, since we have to compete for gym time w/ every other sport. I did find it pretty hard- I'm no night owl, and some nights I'd find myself staying up even later just so I could eat something. Anything scheduled (like a club sport) will usually be in the evening, since people are busy and have class at different times.

BUT if you're just looking to play for play, there will be groups outside to play with (barring awful weather).