Sleeping in the Shoes of Harvard Students

With the demanding academic and extracurricular schedules of many Crimson undergraduates, one might wonder: how much sleep do Harvard students actually get? To answer this question, we asked twenty students across Harvard’s campus to keep a sleep journal for a school week smack dab in the middle of two major midterm seasons and compiled their responses below. From an “ROTC Student Athlete” who wakes up before sunrise to a “Chill Student” who falls asleep as the sun rises, how do our nights compare—and what does that say about life at Harvard across different class years, majors, and extracurricular participation? 

Day 1, Monday-Tuesday:

Monday was a restless night for most of our sleep journalists. Our anonymous “Chill Student” started his sleep at 4 a.m. after chugging an energy drink in Lamont and popping melatonin to force a crash. The next morning, he admitted to feeling “tired” after only five hours of sleep.

The night wasn’t much longer for the “Crypto Queen.” After going to bed at 11 p.m., she woke up at 4 a.m. Her reason? “Euro jetlag from crypto side event.” 

Clocking the lowest sleep of the night was the “ROTC Student Athlete.” They stated they had a p-setdue in the morning, so they stayed up until 12:45 a.m., only to wake up for ROTC a few hours later at 4:45 a.m. The athlete described that they “woke up scared,” and “so fucking tired.” Despite clocking a solid four-hour night, they were able to squeeze a post-ROTC 9:40-10 a.m. nap. 

Others had more structured sleep schedules. Our “Track Student Athlete” clocked in seven hours after finishing their homework. Meanwhile, our “Social Sophomore” watched the World Series go into 18 innings before calling it a night around 12:45 a.m. “We hit the sheets at inning eleven,” they wrote. The next day, they rolled into a language oral exam around 8 a.m., still thinking about the game.

Day 2, Tuesday-Wednesday:

After Tuesday morning, some of our journalists seemed to have forgotten to update their journals. Despite this, many remained dedicated writers. “Pickle God,” for instance, shared: “Went to sleep at midnight, woke up at 8:30 a.m.” They must be a person of few words, but we’re glad they got their optimal eight hours of sleep.

The “Business King” didn’t have much to share, stating: “Went to be at 4 a.m., work up at 8 a.m., and had a one-hour nap during the day.” We might have to get some spell check on that journal, but in the interest of quality reporting, we must share it as written. 

Our “ROTC Student Athlete” managed to beat their four-hour slumber on Monday night with three hours and 45 minutes of sleep on Tuesday. But caffeine pouches came to their rescue. They shared, “Had two caffeine pouches during lab, it helped the sleepiness.” 

Once again, the “Social Sophomore” had a busy night before bed. They shared, “Had dinner with a few adults and had two glasses of wine…Played pool until 11 p.m., and sat and chatted with my friends until 12 a.m. Played two games of Clash Royale before sleeping at around 12:30 a.m.” He had a solid night of sleep before waking up at 9 a.m. for class. 

On the other hand, the “Studious Freshman” found herself “locked-in” in Cabot until 3 a.m. Though her entry doesn’t sound very “locked” or “studious,” with her stating, “I had to lock in at Cabot, then I watched a movie and scrolled on my phone for around an hour and a half.” Luckily, she managed to get six hours of rest, waking up at 9 a.m. 

Finally, our “Artsy Student” wrote in their journal: “Tuesday, I was up late in the lab printing and editing for photography class. I got around seven hours of sleep and did not feel super well-rested in the morning, so I drank a Redbull to get me through the day.”

Day 3, Wednesday-Thursday:

By day three, our pool of reporters had noticeably shrunk to around nine students. Maybe some forgot to write, or maybe the mid-week fatigue got in the way, but regardless, the few who remained captured the slow creep of the week’s exhaustion settling in.

The “ROTC Student Athlete” posted a record five hours on this night. Despite getting a stunning night of sleep, they still reported they “felt kind of groggy at practice today.”

The “Social Sophomore” shared that “It was a late night. I had something I needed to memorize for a long time, so I went to sleep at like 1 a.m.” They also reported that the next day was rough because “Couldn’t play Clash [Royale] in the morning, so my equilibrium was off the whole day.” 

The “Crypto Queen” took a break from their finances to do a “p-set :(” for class. That was the only description, but on the bright side, they got a full night of rest, sleeping from midnight to 8 a.m. 

Day 4, Thursday-Friday:

By the end of the week, our pool of reporters had dwindled to only five individuals. With the weekend on the horizon, most seemed ready to drop the homework, forget the alarms, and finally relax with friends.

Our “Party Animal” went to bed at 1:30 a.m. because they “had a friend sleep over,” which they noted was “bad for [their] quality of sleep.” A good night of company seemed to win over the need for rest.

The “Artsy Student” explained, “Thursday night I saw some friends, so I stayed up pretty late. I was able to sleep in on Friday morning, though, because I didn’t have class until late in the day. I had a coffee to get me through class.” A long night and a Red Bull had turned into a long morning and a coffee, which feels like progress.

Day 5, Friday-Saturday:

By Friday night, only three students were still keeping a journal. And all three seemed ready for the weekend.

The “ROTC Student Athlete” stayed up until 1:30 a.m. watching a movie and hanging out with friends. They were soon up again at 8:10 a.m. for a passport appointment, then crashed for an hour nap after practice.

The “ROTC Warrior” went to a party and didn’t get to bed until 2:30 a.m., finally catching up on sleep with a later wake-up at 10:30 a.m. They rated their sleep accordingly: “Restfulness: 7/10.”

Our “Studious Freshman” wrote simply that they went to bed around 3 a.m.—no notes, simply another late night.

That just about sums up our school week of journal entries. Regardless of whether the journals reveal more about how students manage their time or how little sleep they can run on, they gave us a glimpse of how different Harvard nights really are. From the “Social Sophomore” staying up with friends to the “Crypto Queen” recovering from their financial events, everyone seems to find their own balance between rest and everything else demanding their time. This willingness to sacrifice sleep to complete other tasks is a unifying factor among many students. From p-sets to side projects to social plans, most students choose to sacrifice sleep and hope to make up for it later. The question that lingers is: why are people so willing to sacrifice their rest? It is a pattern that feels both exhausting and far too common among these students. You can tell a lot about a person from how they sleep, and maybe even more from their ability (or lack thereof) to journal it. 

Kalvin Frank ’28 (kfrank@college.harvard.edu) is glad no one asked him to report his lack of sleep schedule.Sonia Singh ’29 (soniasingh@college.harvard.edu) is hoping to get a full night of rest tonight.