Maybe. Unfortunately, the only studies I am aware of were done on teenagers in their regular social environment. I wonder what would happen if you took them out of the environment and removed all time-dependent distractions (school, tv programming, internet forums and chatrooms, etc) for an extended period of time, to differentiate biological programming from social programming. </p>
<p>I used to work 10pm-6am night shifts in the summers in high school. It was tough for about a week, and then I got used to a different sleep cycle. That makes me skeptical of sleep studies that do not account for the social environment reinforcing certain sleep patterns.</p>
<p>As you can tell from this thread, everyone differs. I had 8 AM MWF’s both semesters my freshman year. It was tough getting out of bed in the morning for sure, but it was just something that I had to do. First semester it enabled me to be done with class at 10 on Fridays (and on MW not have class again until 2:30), and spring semester it was to take the only statistics class with a native English-speaking teacher. It is what it is. 8 AM is a little early for me unless the class is mandatory/I have no option, but it sounds like it might work for you.</p>
<p>BTW, hope you get a good U101 teacher. Most sections are automatic A’s, but there are some that can be really tough for no apparent reason.</p>
<p>I lived off-campus (about a half a mile) and had a 7:30 class. Good god, good god. It was Chem I too…not my favorite subject in the world. I went every day (excepting 3 days - those ones before tests anyhow), but it was a struggle due to transportation (it was really cold on my scooter!) I’d say. The most difficult part of waking up early is the fact that you’re doing it on your own. You’ve never experienced this before because your mum always woke you up, or you had a schedule to follow as set out by your parents (unbeknownst to you most likely). Living away from home is an experience you can’t predict your response; you can only attempt to compensate once you are away from home. Thus, the ultimate answer to your own situation is:
Do what you want, but be prepared to compensate for any shortcomings you may have.</p>
<p>I have to respectfully disagree. I have scheduled multiple classes at 8:30 AM, and will be doing so next semester as well. I have never missed a class and will have no problem with getting up early. If you have the right motivation and no one in the dorm is partying at 5AM, then it’s no problem.</p>
<p>Also, I did use the time I had in the afternoon to study.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it’s impossible to wake up when you wouldn’t normally; my mom has worked the nightshift for almost 20 years; people can get used to anything.</p>
<p>During the school year I go to bed around 10 and wake up around 6. But during the summer, when I don’t have anywhere to go and I can sleep when I’m tires and wake up without an alarm, I go to bed around 3 and wake up around 11. I get the same amount of sleep, just at different times, but I don;t feel as tired when I wake up during the summer.</p>
But you don’t set an alarm - that makes a huge difference! Sleep research claims that if you wake up in the wrong part of the sleep cycle, you’ll feel tired no matter how much sleep you got. 15 minutes more or less make a world of difference in that regard and your alarm is bound to go off at the wrong time.</p>
<p>Personally, when I have no time-dependent obligations, I “naturally” follow a 25-hour day and go to bed 1 hour later each day. That might be 10pm or 3am or noon. When you stay up till 3 in the summer, I would be curious if 3 is a natural time for you to go to bed or if you ever think, “Gosh, it’s getting late, I should head to bed soon.” (Do you keep track of the time at night, or do you happen to always head to bed at 3 even when you didn’t look at a clock all night? Are you aiming to get up in time for lunch? Do you close the shades before you go to bed? If so, I would be hesitant to say that you are biologically programmed to sleep till noon, since you are tricking your brain into thinking that it’s still dark or dawn when it’s really the middle of the day.)</p>
<p>I am willing to believe that most people respond to daylight cues, but I have yet to come across a research study that systematically eliminates social conditioning as a variable to pin down the ‘perfect’ sleep times.</p>
<p>All of my classes start at 7:30 am from Monday to Saturday. XD</p>
<p>I used to wake up at 4 am in the morning for high school and i think I’ve gotten used to it. And its during the mornings when i find myself listening more in class than i do in the afternoons.</p>
<p>As other posters have said, if you are using the “I went to class an hour earlier in high school, so 8 AM should be easy” line of reasoning, then I would urge you to at least wait until second semester before signing up for an early (anything before 10 AM) class. I personally started classes at 7:20 every morning in high school, and yet 9 AM class was a killer for me. </p>
<p>If you decide that you can handle either going to be around 11 or midnight and miss out on 2-3 hours of hanging with friends, or simply getting 4 hours of sleep a night, then more power to you. Take those 8 AMs. But wait a semester before passing judgement.</p>
<p>High school for me started at 7:10AM EVERY DAY. I had to wake up at 6:30AM at the latest in order to make it to school on time. Nevertheless, it sucked hardcore. If you get the rhythm down and wake up on time with a good schedule, then 8 AM classes shouldn’t be too bad, but if you are the type of person who goes to bed past midnight, then it’s definitely not a good idea. I’ve slept through my alarm plenty of times and nearly missed an exam because of it, so it’s not worth it to me. Fortunately all my classes in college start at 10 or noon.</p>
<p>Well I am a morning person and thought it would be no big deal to take it. Being stubborn I had an 8 am class twice a week freshmen year and I could barely function. Although I never missed the class, I was miserable. You kinda have to get to school and see. That’s the only way you will truly understand… On another note, because of my transfer I had last pick in classes and am now stuck with another one this semester. -_-</p>
<p>I have 8AM classes Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
Plus, I usually sleep past midnight … Not good, not good and this summer I’ve slept past my alarm clock so many times. In HS I functioned on less than 5 hours of sleep almost all the time. The good thing is is that I have two other roommates who can wake me up if I can’t since we all have 8AM classes And then another good thing about having classes early is that you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want, or at least I tell myself all the advantages to make it even … I can’t share from experience though since I haven’t officially entered college yet so we’ll see <em>fingers crossed!</em></p>
<p>I’ve taken 8 or 9 AM classes in college since my first semester because I commuted and got a ride from my mom before she went to work. Then, last semester, I took an 8 hour 8 AM class on Saturday and had to get up at 6 most days because of the weather. Getting up early wasn’t so much of a problem and I realized that it was the length of the class the made the difference. That 8 hour class/lab was terrible. Seriously. Torture.</p>
<p>The line of reasoning that since you were able to get up at 6/7/8 in high school, it should be easy to do it in college is one that I had and I was right. It wasn’t hard, but I’m a morning person. I’m typically pretty chipper in the mornings unless I’m hungry or didn’t get to sleep until late the night before. Getting up at 7 for an 8 AM class bothers me less now than it did in high school. Between school on the weekdays and Saturday/Sunday morning cartoons (back when they were good), I was almost always up pretty early. I’d be ****ed if I missed Yu-Gi-Oh or the Power Rangers. </p>
<p>MWF this upcoming semester, I have an 8 AM class (Chemistry) from 8-8:50 and then a break until 10 and that same 10 AM class (Calculus) is my earliest one TTh and is another 50 minutes. I’ve realized that this works perfectly for me because I don’t mind getting up early and the classes are shorter so I’m much more likely to pay attention because of the fast paced nature. Plus, with the two labs that I’m taking, I want to be done with all of my lectures, have a free chunk of time, and then the scheduled labs on Monday for bio and Friday for chem. It just depends on the person. I’d shoot myself if I didn’t get out of class until 6 or 7 PM regularly. </p>
<p>This semester, I just need to stay on top of things and manage my time well enough so that I can get a good amount of sleep those days.</p>
<p>in high school I had 8am classes so I thought I’d be fine in college. wrong.
but I think if you have 8am classes everyday you’ll be used to waking up at the same time so it won’t be so bad. still though, i’d take 9am over 8am anyday</p>
<p>Does anyone have any theories as to why it’s harder to wake up early in college? Is it because you are (likely) waking up at different times every day? Is it because you stay up later? Is it because you have more activities/obligations than you did in high school? Is it because you know you don’t have to go to that 8 A.M. lecture?</p>
<p>I think we need to get to the bottom of this (sorry if this was answered previously; I haven’t read the entire thread.)</p>
<p>And in college you live with people who stay up late, too. At home, there probably wasn’t much to do at 11 but sleep but in college there is always someone to hang out with at that time. </p>
<p>And going to an 8 am is sooo hard in the winter when you know that you’re going to have to walk back in the snow in an hour or so. That’s barely time to warm up.</p>
And then another good thing about having classes early is that you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want, or at least I tell myself all the advantages to make it even … I can’t share from experience though since I haven’t officially entered college yet so we’ll see <em>fingers crossed!</em></p>
(sorry if this was answered previously; I haven’t read the entire thread.)</p>