Sleeping Patterns Between ARchitect Majors and Western Majors

Student Generated Labs
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 habit. 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 laid back. We believe that
Architecture first year majors experience high stress levels due to time consuming
activities and obligations which in turn means 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. Whereas Architecture students find themselves enduring long hours into the
night at studio, or cramming in last minute readings in 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 then would like to
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 to be asked concern sleep amounts, work
load, and other factors that would influence stress levels and sleeping habits. Along with
these questions we would also like to know some 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. This
will be done by analyzing the collected data and organizing it to find if Western majors are
more laid back due to the amount of sleep they receive. By the same token, we can show
that Architecture students are more high strung 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 on 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 ëcostí 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, we can show that the response to lack
of sleep are ìincreased 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:
Survey
Microsoft Word and Works
20 - 1st year Architect major students
20 - 1st year Western major students

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 area of topics we believe will help us understand and
explain sleeping habits are: 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 will fully assess the difference in sleeping habits
of the Architect students vs. the Western students.
To conduct this experiment we will first generate a questionnaire / survey that will
ask (in some detail) about the subjects we listed above. The survey will also pertain to
only a single day, thus all the questions will be in response to one particular day, in stead
of in general. The survey will be passed out to 30 Architect major students and 30
Western major students, to give us a total of 40 students surveyed. The survey will be
passed out at 3 different times in the semester to the same people. The date on which the
survey will be passed out will be determined by the 1st year Western studentís general
schedule and syllabus; meaning that the survey will not be passed out one day before any
test or major due date. The survey will relate to a day in which there is no major school
assignment for at least two days. The level of importance for a school assignment will be
determined by our group at a point in time prior to passing out the first survey. The date
in which the survey applies to will be listed on the top of the page. The questionnaire
will also ask that the author write down their name. Member(s) of our group will retrieve
the survey and then we will begin computing data. Since we will know the name of
everyone who is answering the survey and since oneís GPA will not change with in the
semester we will only need to collect such data as gender, and class rank/GPA once. The
rest of the data will collected every time and will be sorted, first by date, then by major,
then by category. After collecting all three surveys and compiling the data, our group will
then cross-reference the information. By comparing the data we will determine 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 will be conducting a class exercise. Our Natural Systems
class will receive the same survey that will be given out in the first part of this lab.
Twenty-two questionnaires will be filled out by the students of Myerís 12pm seminar
class. After all the surveys have been completed and handed into either Brooke, Anne,
Leslie, or Brian, a brief paragraph explaining our point of this lab will be handed
out. Then a class discussion will be implemented. Brooke and Leslie will be mediating
the discussion, while Brian and Anne will be recording the comments said in class. Some
of the possible questions that will be 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.
The results from the class will be organized in a similar fashion to that of the first part of
this lab. Some quotes that we find interesting or relevant to support our conclusion will
be used.
A chart with all the data for the original survey and the one-time survey will be
complied into different charts and sub-charts. The charts will be organized by date, and
major. Each chart will contain all the information that was requested on the survey. With
these charts we will then be able to accurately determine the generalities of sleeping
differences between 1st year Architect major and Western major students.

Results:
This section, will be later filled with more concrete results from our surveys. For
now we can predict the outcome of our survey. From the questions we ask we will prove
that Architecture students get less sleep than Western majors and in turn are more stressed
out.
By surveying the amount of naps students take, we should find 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 ìa 20 minute nap at noon had partial positive
effects on the maintenance of the daytime arousal level.î 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.
ìPoor 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.î This study proved that lack of sleep elevated tension levels. We
hope to be this successful in our study of the Western Campus.
Our research conclusions cannot be concrete to this date. When we do accomplish
this, our results will be more in depth to portray our experiment.

Works Cited:
Dotto, Lydia. Losing Sleep. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1990.
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. ìSleep 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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