So, I’m typing this entry while techno that leaves something to be desired is being blasted by my next door neighbor. When I’m in my room I tend to feel as if my life has a constant crappy bass-line. Now I had a conversation with a friend about the rules and regulations involving blasting music. On weekdays we agreed on 11. What if one has class at 8 in the morning? 11 is definitely the appropriate time. Weekends, 2 am. Why I’m not quite sure, I guess it just seems appropriate. Sleep at 2, wake at 10, that’s a good 8 hours that still allows one to have productive weekend days.
But unfortunately, (there’s always a but) these rules are often broken. It is something we all have to deal with at least once in our college careers. In fact, sleeping in general at college is more difficult than one would think. Firstly, when one has roommates one must deal with late-night AIM chats accompanied by creepy little giggles. One must deal with typing noises, with phone conversations and with the infamous desk lamp. They need to read. You need to sleep. They need light, you hate the light at that specific point in time.
Q: What do you do in this situation?
A: You put on the handy eye mask you saw in Bed, Bath and Beyond and just had to buy!
This is me my freshman year with an eye mask courtesy of Delta airlines. Eye masks are offered to you more often that you’d think… don’t ever pass one up again. It is indispensable when it comes to sleeping at college in my book.
To deal with the creepy giggles, the incessant typing, terrifying techno and the drunk dudes yelling next door you need at least one of these three things:
1. a fan
A fan is priceless. I can sleep without the placid whirring but I’d rather not. Climb into bed, turn on the fan and you’ve got a white noise machine that also cools the room down. In the winter I just point it at the wall. I’m unsure if that does anything but it’s better than having it blow directly at you causing you to don a sweat suit before bed. A fan is good for subtle sounds such as late night typing, the shower being used at 4 am or Batesies yelling/singing as they pass by your open window. However, one must use with caution because it’s dry in the winter and if the fan is directed at your face you will wake up wishing you had never been born because your tonsils feel like they’ve been freeze-dried.
2. earplugs (preferably the wax kind)
Earplugs have the ability to block out the sound of yelling in the hallway right outside your door. They are extremely effective if your dorm/house is hosting a party. However, earplugs do not erase the sound of thumping bass lines. They also tend to fall out in the middle of the night and stick to your body in weird places. For the ever persistent and ever tricky bass beats you must resort to…
3. a music playing device (Ipod, CD player, whatever you’ve got that can plug into headphones)
This is the ultimate sleep aid as it can block out any sound at all. You might be blasting out your eardrums with Sigur Ros but at least you’re not vibrating to Better, Faster, Stronger.
I’m a fan and earplug girl myself.
shhhh,
Steph
