Asides having to face “sapa” as a student, the thought of 7:30/8am classes is nothing short of a nightmare. 75% of students majorly have unproductive days due to rising at such an early time. As with many aspect of human biology, there is no one-size- fit approach to sleep.
Many biologists from various research propose 7-9 hours of healthy sleep for young adults. “A minimum of seven hours of sleep is a step in the right direction to improve your health” a doctor claims.
For most students in Nigeria who have to take classes till 6pm and others even spending the night in school for academic reasons, 8am class is the last straw for them. This is due to the fact that they don’t have enough sleep and this, in return reduces academic performance.
Research from Cleveland Clinic shows that lack of sleep sparks lack of awareness, excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired memory which in return, lowers academic reason. This is especially rampant in tertiary institutions, where the night owl outnumbers the early birds.
Looking at students who close late from school and gets home, refreshes himself, cooks dinner, read and still has to prepare for an 8am class the next day, how do you expect the students to gain anything from such early classes? How come it is not torturous for lecturers?
How disappointing and irritating that lecturers tag students unavailable for such classes as “lazy.” They have forgotten that health is wealth. Oh what use is a certificate to a student whose health is dwindling? So sad that when lecturers are down they take a break to treat themselves but students have to keep going regardless of their health.
The funniest part of this is these time setters were once upon a time students, who complained about such evil being done to them. Indeed there is nothing new under the sun.
With these I ask, are students really unreasonable for complaining about early classes?
Odekunle, peace oluwafeyikemi,
Department of English, Lagos state university
