Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Opinions

Never let it be said that I am a morning person. In my book, such a statement is regarded as slanderous.

It isn't as though I have anything against "the morning" per se. After all, I understand the necessity of it as it leads to hours later in the day. I'm fairly certain it would be impossible to progress to 11 a.m. without the four or fives hours that precede it.

However, I just can't stand getting up early. I will if I have to, as I often do. And it's to my understanding that most jobs worth having post-graduation will require me to do such.

But I simply am and always have been a night owl.

It may have something to do with the serenity and calmness that accompanies 4 a.m. Maybe I enjoy the nighttime because it allows me to do virtually whatever I like without the tedious hassle of others coming around.

More realistically, though, it probably has something to do with my insomnia.

I simply do not possess the ability to fall asleep before the wee hours of the morning. I've tried everything.

I've tried watching infomercials (30 minutes of a "Body by Jake" program explaining to me why I must own an exercise device that looks like 17 bungee chords attached to my door), which would knock most people out like a toddler hit with a dart full of elephant tranquilizer.

I often attempt to read myself into an unconscious state.

In my opinion, any and all writings by Ernest Hemmingway should replace Ritalin and Adderal as a medication for Attention Deficit Disorder, because if anything can lull me into a drooling pile of mush, it's Hemmingway.

Though, when I attempt to read something that actually interests me while lying in bed, I usually end up just reading the whole thing.

The point is far too many college students live the type of life as I. We, being young and thinking ourselves invincible, burn the candle at both ends. Either we toil late into the night, working on homework that must be done or we go out, partying and drinking until dawn.

College life isn't easy. If it were, many more people would graduate Magna Cum Laud. College is a time to have fun, live life to the fullest and experience new things.

However, regardless of how we spend the late hours of the night, we often lose sight of the most important aspect of life: Taking care of our bodies.

Sure, at the age of 18, sleeping two or three hours a night can be easily dealt with.

But as the years move forward, it gets harder and harder to perform the next day under such strain and it becomes more and more important that we perform the best we can.

And of course, it is great to get out and blow off steam occasionally and all-nighters are sometimes a necessary evil.

Recently though, I've begun to realize more how important it is to get those extra few hours of sleep.

So, close the book, you can finish reading in the morning and decline that last beer, there will be more to drink later.

You may be an adult, but everybody has a bedtime.

David Thill is a senior journalism major and can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com.

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