The lights are off, the covers are warm and wrapped tightly around the sleeping college student, and the sun is shining brightly through the windows. It’s not bedtime – just nap time.

Where napping seemed to be an evil presence in students’ lives when they were two or three, napping is now a sacred time that many college students cherish and look forward to each day.

In an informal poll of Ashland University students, it was discovered that most students nap about twice a week.

When asked why students nap, most said it was because they are up late doing work.

These same students said schoolwork is the reason they sometimes can’t nap.

With their busy schedules, students have to constantly catch up on homework late into the night, after which point the students go to bed late and are exhausted the next day, trying to find time to “catch up” on this sleep they are missing out on.

Sometimes, even the things students do to take a break from homework have to wait until late, ruining a student’s sleep schedule.

Some lucky students, though, are able to nap every day. Andrew Iden, a senior Actuarial Science major, gets to nap once or twice daily, depending on the day.

“I nap to be more productive,” Iden said. “I love to sleep. When I am tired I have no motivation.”

While Iden naps so he can be rested and ready to work, he also said he thinks other students don’t nap because they think the opposite about napping.

“They think they are not being productive by napping,” Iden said.

Kirsten Logan, a sophomore early childhood education major, says that she has always had a habit of avoiding napping, mainly because she learned from experience that they do not help her.

“They usually give me headaches and make me feel more tired than I was before taking a nap,” Logan said.

Even with this negative in mind, Logan still said that if she had more time, she probably would nap more.

Logan said she knows one of the benefits of napping would be getting extra sleep if there was a lack of focus, but she feels that not napping is what is right for her.

For Iden, the benefits of napping are far greater than just being able to focus. Iden said the main benefit of napping is, “a happier life in general, I guess.”

The simple idea that napping could improve someone’s outlook on college, and even life, is a concept that students like Logan may disagree with, but most college students seem to attempt at least once a semester.

Whether it actually makes for a happier life or not, does not seem to be the main concern.

The main concern, when it comes to napping, seems to be whether or not this nap will make up for the five hour sleep deficit the student has been racking up this week.