Analyzing Sleeping Patterns Between Western majors and Architect majors

Student Generated Lab
Analyzing Sleeping Patterns Between Architecture Students and Western Majors

Abstract:
Our goal is to recognize the differences between Western majors and Architecture
majors pertaining to their sleeping habits. We are relating the amount of sleep to the
different levels of stress. Our hypothesis is that Western first year majors sleep more often
and for longer periods of time thus making them more relaxed. We believe that
Architecture first year majors experience high stress levels due to time consuming
activities and obligations. This results in less sleep.

Introduction:
The main purpose of our student generated lab is to relate stress to sleeping habits
within the Western Campus. Differences have been observed between Western majors
and Architecture majors. In many discussions, it has been stated that Architecture
students seem to be more high strung than Western majors. This is possibly due to the
lack of sleep Architecture students receive. Western majors have been found to nap more
frequently and also approach deadlines, tests, or homework assignments with a relaxed
attitude. Architecture students find themselves enduring long hours into the
night at studio or cramming in last minute readings from their readers and getting into bed
at unreasonable hours. From this lack of sleep, we would like to prove that it causes
Architecture students to feel pressured with the current work load. We will then relate the
lack of sleep to tension felt from Western classes and Studio work.
We decided to research this topic for various reasons. The most prevalent reason
is the comments made by other students on the Western Campus. It has been discussed
among Architecture students that Western majors seem to have more free time and spend
most of it taking ìpower naps.î
In order to create unbiased results, we created a survey to find out formally if our
hypothesis was indeed correct. The questions asked concern sleep amounts, work
load, and other factors that would influence stress levels and sleeping habits. Along with
these questions we will ask about the study habits of the randomly selected first years. We
address the conditions of academic drive, involvement, outside demands, diet, gender, and
personal ranking of stress levels.
We plan to achieve a better understanding of the relation to sleep and stress. We
will analyze the collected data and organize it to find if Western majors are relaxed due to
the amount of sleep they receive. By the same token, we can show that Architecture
students are more stressed with work load and lack of sleep. If our results prove that our
hypothesis is correct, it would be helpful in creating a happy medium in regards to both
majors and their course loads.
This topic is intriguing to all of the Western Campus because it includes the entire
community. It is also frequently discussed in general conversation. The results could be
beneficial in helping to understand the differences of the two majors. Which in turn could
later be used in lowering some class requirements to a moderate standard.

Relevance:
Our research can be applied to a larger question relating how humans respond to
lack of sleep. In Lydia Dottoís book Losing Sleep, it has been shown that ì. . .most cases
(those who get less sleep) are caused primarily by stress or depressionî (91). Having
stress in oneís life can and will affect the amounts of sleep received. Students that we are
going to be testing will show us if the statements we made are true. We will find if
Western majors do in fact receive more sleep and have less stress in their daily lives than
Architect majors.
ìCollege students, who are less time bound by regular schedules, show extensive
nappingî (Webb 95). We are going to compare nap schedules to course loads. We would
like to find out the amount of time in a day is spent napping compared to the class
schedule. This will prove to us that Architects have a demanding schedule that does not
allow for periodical naps.
We plan to use other studies to help us relate sleeping patterns and stress level
among college students. It was found that ìsleep disruption and sleep deficits appear to
raise the cost of maintaining predeficit levels of performanceî (132). We will use these
studies to help us better understand how sleep deficiency relates itself to stress levels. By
studying college students and their sleep patterns ì. . .we can show that the response to
lack of sleep are increased physiological stress-related responsesî (132).
With the information found other ideas of later research can be formed. It can be
useful in understanding all of the affects of sleep or lack thereof and relating it not only to
stress levels but other factors as well. The results may influence how humans relate to
each other and to daily demands.

Materials:
Original Survey
Follow-up Survey
Microsoft Word and Works
30 - 1st year Architect major students
30 - 1st year Western major students
Statview

Methods:
To initiate this experiment, our group began by brainstorming ideas that would
affect or better help us understand the sleeping habits of 1st year Western major and
Architect major students. The topics we believed would help us understand and
explain sleeping habits were: general level of stress one feels, the amount of sleep one gets
each day, study habits, involvement in extracurricular activities, class rank/high school
grade point average (GPA), gender, roommate issues, and finally eating habits/nutritional
intake. By asking these such inquiries we fully assessed the difference in sleeping habits of
the Architect students versus the Western students.
To conduct this experiment we first generated a questionnaire/survey that
asked (in detail) about the subjects we listed above. The survey pertained to
only a single day, thus all the questions were in response to one particular day, instead
of in general. The survey was passed out to 30 Architect major students and 30
Western major students, to give us a total of 60 students surveyed. The survey was
passed out at 2 different times in the semester to the same people. We determined the
date for the surveys to be passed out in relation to the 1st year Western students general
schedule and syllabus. The first survey related to a day in which there was no major
school assignment for at least two days. This included major studio assignments or long
term Western projects. Member(s) of our group retrieved the survey and then we began
computing data. Since we knew the name of everyone who answered the survey and since
oneís GPA will not change within the semester, we only needed to collect such data as
gender, and class rank/GPA once. The rest of the data was collected every time and
sorted, first by major, then by category. After collecting both surveys and compiling the
data, our group then cross-referenced the information. By comparing the data we
determined the general similarities and differences in the sleeping habits of 1st year
Architect major and Western major students.
To further help us determine the difference in sleeping patterns between Architect
and Western major students we conducted a class exercise. Our Natural Systems
class received the same survey that was given out in the first part of this lab.
Twenty-two questionnaires were filled out by the students of Chris Myersí 12PM seminar
class. Afterwards, all the surveys were completed and handed into either Brooke, Anne,
Leslie, or Brian. The next event was a class discussion that we implemented. Brooke and
Leslie mediated the discussion, while Brian and Anne recorded the comments said in class.
Some of the questions that were asked are:
1.) In general, what is your own personal generalizations about the sleeping patterns of
Architecture and Western major students?
2.) Describe your personal sleeping habits, and how they affect you?
3.) Do you think that the questions asked in the survey were fair/relevant?
4.) Relate any of the generalizations in class to your own personal experiences, whether it
is concerning your major, place of sleep, roommate, etc.
We also read passages read from the books used for our research. This showed
our class the views other scientists and professors have concerning our topic.
The results from the class were organized in a similar fashion to that of the first part of
this lab. Some quotes that we found interesting or relevant to support our conclusion
were also used.
A chart with all the data for the original survey and the one-time survey were
complied into different charts and sub-charts. The charts were organized by major. Each
chart contains all the information that was requested on the survey. With these charts we
were able to accurately determine the generalities of sleeping differences between 1st year
Architect major and Western major students.

Results:
By surveying the data we took, we found that Western students have some extra
time to take a nap. In a study devised to monitor the effects of a nap during the afternoon,
it was proved that a 20 minute nap at noon had positive effects on awareness in an average
day (Hayashi 173-175). A twenty minute nap is just the perfect amount of time to
rejuvenate oneís body and regain energy for the last part of their day.
We also found a similar study to our own that found stress relating to loss of sleep.
Poor sleep quality, as measured by the PSQI, was significantly correlated with increased
physical health complaints and with increased feelings of tension, depression, anger,
fatigue, and confusion. This study proved that lack of sleep elevated tension levels
(Pilcher 583-596).
In our own survey we found that the Architects do sleep less and in result are more
stressed. We compiled all the data from the first survey and chose only the extremely
relevant questions to analyze and compare with the second set of data. The second
shortened survey was passed out during the week prior to final exams. This was also
tallied and we then chose only three questions to analyze and compare to the first survey.
The questions summarized from the first survey explained many variables that
could change our hypothesis. First, we will explain the data we found useful but not
relevant in proving our point. Overall, all western students rated everything on a 1-5 scale
with low numbers. Architect majors held majority with these questions concerning stress
levels, stress affecting sleep and eating habits by answering with rankings of 4-5.
Another fact we found was that despite the amount of studio and western work,
Architects had the most involvement with extracurricular activities. Twenty students are
involved with Varsity or Intramural sports which are time consuming activities. This
proves that Architects also use their free time doing other things rather than napping.
Some areas where both Architects and Western students were in agreement were
in the areas concerning sleep times and actions during sleep. It was found that Saturday
nights are the best nights to receive the most sleep. On an average night, it generally takes
both majors 10 minutes to fall asleep once going to bed. The same results were
unanimous throughout the first years in the amount of time it takes one to fall back asleep
if they are woken in the middle of the night. Both majors also agree that they generally
feel better than average when they wake up in the morning.
Eating habits are also quite similar with the two majors. The majority said that
they eat at least two balanced meals in one day. They also ranked their food choices to be
a ì3î on a 1-5 scale, five being the best. Students on Western have similar sleep styles and
eating habits. This however does not fully prove our point. The rest of the survey
explores more in depth answers where Architects are found to receive less sleep, and have
more stress. It is also more relevant in the second survey that will be later described and
analyzed.

Analysis:
The results of the questions we asked on the survey can be used to support our
hypothesis. The hypothesis we were trying to prove was that Architects do more work,
are more stressed, and therefore get less sleep than western majors. For each question we
asked, we recorded in Statview the number of each major who responded in a certain way.
Then we determined the p-value of our results to see whether they were random, or had
some factors influencing them.
The first question the group decided to analyze was the number of hours spent per
day on homework. The choices given on the survey were: one hour or less, two hours,
three-four hours, and more than four hours. More architecture majors picked three-four
hours and more than four hours when compared to the western majors. When the p-value
was calculated, it was indeed less than 5%, indicating that the results are not due to
chance. This supports the part of our hypothesis which states that architects spend more
time doing work.
Next we asked students how much stress their homework causes them. They were
to rank them with a number from one to five, one being the least, and five the most.
Again, the p-value was less than 5%, proving that the results were not random. There
were more architecture students reporting the highest level, and no western majors chose
this option. This questionís results supported our assumption that more homework would
cause more stress for architecture majors.
When we got to the most important question in proving our hypothesis, we were
excited to find a 2% p-value. We asked each major how much sleep they got per night,
and the architecture studentsí answers were on the lower end of the scale. This third and
most significant finding supports our hypothesis in which the architecture student, with
more work, and therefore more stress, gets less sleep.
Another question that supports our hypothesis is the extent that stress affected the
studentsí sleep. Again, the students ranked stressí affect from one to five, one being the
least. The architecture students sleep was affected by stress more than the western
majors. This was proven by the 3% p-value that Statview calculated
When asked which roommate stays up longer, architecture students answered that
they stay up longer. However, the p-value here was more than 5%. This does not disturb
our hypothesis, because some architecture majors have roommates that are also
architecture, and some have two or no roommates.
Some questions asked on the survey did not show significant findings, however
they werenít the questions that were crucial in proving our hypothesis. No significant
differences in the amount of naps taken per day exist between the two majors. The
p-value for the amount of time it takes each major to fall asleep is also over 5%.
After the first survey, we wanted to see if our results would be consistent if we did
another survey. When asked the question about time spent on homework the second time,
the p-value decreased to 4%. This further proves that architects spend more time working
on homework. However, the p-value for stress from homework increased on the second
survey. This is not necessarily a bad result, though, since twenty-two of the twenty-six
architecture majors ranked their homework stress a four or a five. The third question
from the second survey asked how much stress affected sleep. This finding was
statistically in favor of our hypothesis, with a p-value of 4.5%.
We took one of our questions from the first survey and compared it to the results
from the second survey. When comparing the amount of homework done by the two
majors, our hypothesis is further proved with the comparison. The probability that our
results are due to chance is 0.3%. This is extremely low, and therefore supports our
hypothesis that architects do more homework. When the other two questions on the
second survey are compared with the first, similar results are obtained. For the amount of
stress from homework, the p-value was 0.2%. When the extent to which stress affected
sleep of each major from each survey was compared, the p-value was also below 5% at
3%. All of these numbers are favorable to our hypothesis.
Sources of Error:
Throughout of experiment we encountered some problems. While some seemed
to be problematic they actually turned out to help prove our hypothesis. Others
helped us learn how would have been a better way to have approached the
experiment and what turned out to be beneficial and what was unnecessary.
We originally passed out the same number of surveys to both Western and
Architecture/Interior Design majors, several in class and 30 extra to each
group, only to find that many Western students either did not do the survey or
didnít give it back to us. Although there were a few ARC/ID students who also
did not turn in their surveys there was a significantly less number. This helps
to show that while classes pressure Architecture and Interior Design students
they still make the effort to get everything done and turned in. Once again it
was shown that these students tend to put more importance into getting
everything done and are more uptight about demands.
The second set of surveys that we passed out had significantly less feedback.
This could have been from the growing stress that everyone is experiencing due
to the upcoming finals and big projects. It made it so that our data on the
last set was less convincing. With the decrease in responses we had to expect
that if more had responded the results would still have been similar to what we
had.
Another problem that we encountered was that many Architect majors also have
Architects for their roommates. This is because over orientation many decided
to room with someone they met rather than going potluck. For some reason
Western students did not have the same approach as only one of the Western
students surveyed had a Western student as their roommate. This affected the
question pertaining to who stays up later you or your roommate. Eleven ARC/ID
students said that their roommate was the one that was up later but over half of
them had an Architect or Interior Design major for their roommate.
As we started to interpret the data we found that several questions didnít add
anything to our hypothesis. These questions were not put into data tables and
were not asked again on the second survey. Some of them include those asking
about high school GPA, gender, code name, and the degree of healthy eating each
student has. Some questions were interesting only in seeing how different
students answered them but they did not add to what we were trying to prove or
help us better understand what affects the amount of sleep one gets and the
quality of the sleep.
Overall the experiment was very successful as our hypothesis was proven. Not
only did we prove that ARC/ID students work longer, sleep less, and are more
stressed but we also learned what kind of questions are relevant and how to ask
them.

Conclusions:
The goal of our student generated lab was to collect data that would support our
hypothesis which stated that we believed first year Western major students slept more
often and for longer periods of time. In turn, this made them more relaxed compared to
first year Architecture/Interior Design majors. Our hypothesis was generally supported by
student responses in Chris Myersí 12 PM seminar class. When we asked the class what
major they felt worked harder, Western or ARC/ID majors, the class unanimously
responded ARC/ID students. In particular, Mike Forrester said, ìI particularly think that
Architects do more work.î
After passing out the survey and tabulating the data, several conclusions were
made. First, the data showed that first year ARC/ID students spent more hours a day
working on homework than Western majors. In addition to the extra work load, ARC/ID
students seemed to endure over Western majors, it also proved that they had a higher level
of stress associated with the work load. The results of this previously discussed data
proved that there is a higher stress level throughout the Architect majors over the Western
students. It also showed that ARC/ID students sleep less than Western majors.
Our group then concluded that there is a direct relation between the amount of
homework and stress first year ARC/ID have and the amount of sleep they get. Our data
proved that our hypothesis was correct and that first year ARC/ID majors do receive more
homework, have higher levels of stress and get less sleep over first year Western majors.
Overall, the results showed that even though ARC/ID students have higher levels
of stress, more homework and less amounts of sleep, Western majors also have high
amounts of homework and stress. Perhaps the results of this lab will help Western
teachers layout future course plans and syllabuses. Possibly the work load would be
lessened so both the Architect and Western students could deal with school in a
productive, yet less stressful way.

Works Cited:
Dotto, Lydia. Losing Sleep. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1990.
Forrester, Mike. Interview. Oxford. November 9, 1999.
Hayashi, Mitsuo, et al. ìThe Effects of a 20 Minute Nap at Noon on Sleepiness,
Performance, and EEG Quality.î Journal of Psychophysiology 32.2 (1999):
173-180.
Pilcher, June A., et al. ëSleep Quality Versus Sleep Quantity: Relationships Between Sleep
and Measurements of Health, Well-being, and Sleepiness in College Students.î
Journal of Psychosomatic Research 42.6 (1997): 583-596.
Webb, Wilse B., ed. Biological Rhythms, Sleep and Performance. Chinchester: John Wiley
and Sons, 1982.

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