The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 15, 1986, Page Page 5, Image 5
Wednesday, January 15, 1986 Daily Nebraskan Page 5 Adjustment difficult for rural students By Jen Deselms Staff Reporter Students from small rural high schools have to make a big adjustment when they enter college, said a UNL official. Vernon Williams, director of UNL "Ninety-nine percent of the time I need it, especially for the classes I don't like," she said. Roberta Miller, a freshman from Cozad, said she was afraid her classes would be hard and she would have problems meeting people. But her classes haven't been hard and working at the Cather-Pound-Neihardt Snack Counseling Center, said the adaptation to new social and living arrangements Bar helps her meet people can be a great growth experience. Dori Heil, a freshman from Madrid, Neb., said she didn't like college at first. "I missed all my classes one day because I couldn't find them," she said. Heil said she was startled to find out that all of Madrid could fit in a UNL lecture hall. Heil said she expected the classes to be extremely hard, but she hasn't studied as much as she thought she would. Meeting people has been easy, she said, but she misses her best friend from home. When Heil is sick, she said, she misses her mother. Heil said it's hard to make herself get up in the morning because no one forces her. Sometimes it's hard to fit work. studying and other activities into her schedule. When that happens, Miller said, usually her homework doesn't get done. Chris Pippert, a freshman from Au burn, said he thought UNL would be impersonal. But he said meeting people is easy for him as a fraternity member. He said he didn't think he would have met many people if he had been living in a residence hall. Williams said the new experiences cause stress that the student does not always recognize. He said that several years ago a former UNL faculty member, Gene Harding, conducted a study and found that college freshmen are not only the most stressed students but also the most stressed group of people. Hours 24 Hours of sleep (per day) 1 I 40 12 20 Age (years) 70 Kurt EberhardtDaily Nebraskan Is d lea to AS Sleep aids study, teacher says Screening makes people uninsurable, unemployable By Jonathan Taylor Senior Reporter GOODMAN from Page 4 not say is that the test may be a back door screen for homosexuals and drug users, both groups at high risk for AIDS and both banned from military service. But they also want to protect the armed forces from medical costs. A main motive for screening out those who have been exposed to AIDS may be money, and that is a concern that car ries over into civilian life. The Center for Disease Control now estimates that it has cost, so far, about $147,000 to care for each of the first 10,000 AIDS patients. AIDS is a break-the-bank disease. No employer, public or private, and no medical insurer would welcome such a victim on its lists. Cancer patients have enough trouble finding jobs and health insur ers. The victims of AIDS are shunned. What is different about this test is that it doesn't measure past or present disease; it lays odds for the future, odds that are still in flux. The test shows only whether someone has been ex posed to the virus. It doesn't say whether he or she will get the disease. Even if one out of five who have the antibodies is a future victim, do we want to screen the other four out of work, or out of health insurance? This concern is not just limited to AIDS. We can already make modest predictions on the basis of family med ical histories and we're increasingly able to test for genetic diseases like Huntington's disease. What if we can test for Alzheimer's disease or liver cancer? People who carry such risks might also become unemployable, uninsurable. Carol Levine, who spends much of her time thinking about medical ethics at the Hastings Institute, says: "The insurers would like to test you for everything. I can imagine a lot of sce narios as we gain a greater ability to predict genetic susceptibility to workplace hazards, there will be incredible pres sure to remove the person at risk instead of reducing the hazard." She asks the additional question: "Who is going to bear the cost of their not being employable?" The public will pay support, just as the public health system takes on the burden when peo- Sleep can be one of a student's most valuable study aids, according to a UNL psychology professor. Although sleep helps people stay pie cannot get private health insurance healthy and alert, said Dan Leger, and become paupers through illness, assistant psychology professor, college Some states, notably California and students typically get the least sleep of Wisconsin, have passed laws that ban most age groups. Leger estimated that to sleep." Leger said sleeping does more than recharge the body. The two major kinds of sleep, Slow Wave sleep and Rapid Eye Movement sleep, fulfill different and important functions, he said. Both take place every time a person sleeps, routinely get only six hours of sleep might want to try eight hours for awhile and compare how they feel. Leger said it is easy for students to make what little sleep they get count. Controlling the sleeping environment is one simple way, he said. Convincing regardless of the amount of time spent neighbors to be quiet and roommates the use of testing as a barrier to employment or health insurance. But a huge employer, the military, is setting a precedent that will be noted by anx ious employers and health insurers. If the military can do it, so can the factory. In the end, the mass-screening pro gram may become a public-health danger in itself. It turns our attention from finding a medical answer to find- students get only an average of six hours of sleep a night compared to the normal eight hours 20-year-olds should get. there. Slow Wave sleep, which refers to the brain wave activity that occurs, is not as deep as REM sleep. Leger said a widely held theory is that Slow Wave type of sleep fulfills a restorative function and rejuvenates the body. to leave lights off also helps. Another effective method is to con sistently go to sleep at a particular time. If people have a sleep pattern, Leger said, they can train their body to prepare for sleep and to wake at a designated time. The natural alarm Although people require less sleep Physical activity during the day pro- clock that wakes people up just before as they get older, Leger said, a 21-year- motes Slow Wave sleep. old student getting only six hours of REM sleep is associated with dream- sleep is like an 8-year-old getting eight ing. Leger said REM sleep is thought to hours of sleep when he should be getting about 12 hours. There are many obvious sociological ing a social solution. It feeds the illu- elements that affect students' sleep, sion that we can segregate all the peo ple who have been exposed to the virus. But it is not just 13 seaman who have been exposed. There are an estimated two million such people. Until we find a cure, a medical cure, they and their problems will touch us every day. 1986, The Boston Globe News- Leger said. The most common cause of poor sleep is stress associated with college, he said. But stress is not the only factor. Students' living environ ments, especially if they live in a residence hall, affect sleep. Also, de mands on students' time, whether it's studying or partying, determine how paper CompanyWashington Post Wri- much time is devoted to sleep, Leger ters Group said. Goodman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning For many students, Leger said, "it's columnist for the Boston Globe. more enjoyable to party than to just go consolidate and organize people's thoughts into their permanent memory. Therefore, the amount of thinking dur ing the day affects a person's REM sleep. Although Slow Wave sleep leaves a person feeling more rested the next morning, Leger said, the body needs both types of sleep to function properly. Studies show that when the body is deprived of REM sleep people become irritable and their body will fight to regain some of the lost REM sleep. Students can tell if they lack sleep, Leger said, if they don't feel alert by mid-afternoon. He said students who the alarm goes off works if a person consistently gets ready for bed at the same time as well, he said. Forming a relaxing routine before bedtime can help people fall asleep faster, Leger said. People should pre cede bedtime'with 30 minutes to an hour of relaxing non-thinking activity, such as watching TV or listen ing to soothing music. "Not thinking too much before bed time helps facilitate quick onset of sleep," Leger said. Leger also suggested relaxation training techniques that help people wind down from the day's events. More information is available at the UNL counseling or the University Health Center, he said. CARE. February 28, 19S is the Deadline! All applications for the Student Health and Accident Insurance must be received by February 28, 1986. Brochures and information are available at: UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER or call 472-7437 Chock thoso points: o Am I still eligible for coverage under my parent's plan? A. Is there an age limit? Most policies limit the age for dependent coverage to age 23. B. Are you thinking of marriage? Most policies exclude a dependent after he becomes married Have I declared financial independence from my parents by receiving financial aid, and no longer eligible as a dependent under their plan? o Would a medical emergency deplete funds set aside for my education?