Sleep is an entrepreneur’s best friend and worst enemy. If you get enough of it, you’ll be an innovation machine that couldn’t be stopped by the worst of mental blocks. However, if you’re sleep deprived, you’ll end up as a mindless zombie making more mistakes than a penguin at a tap dancing contest. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is a staple of entrepreneurship, in spite of the mountain of research that says burning the midnight oil is bad for productivity.
Entrepreneurs are not the only group of people that don’t get enough sleep though. College students are infamously sleep deprived due to their hectic class schedule, their active social lives, and their excessive smartphone use. And thanks to one study, we now know exactly which majors are getting the best sleep, and which ones are getting the worst.
The study, which was conducted by The Tab and surveyed 1,200 college students, founded that Animal Science majors are getting the least amount of sleep, averaging only 4.9 hours a night. Foreign Language majors come in second at an even 5 hours a night, with Advertising majors rounding out the top three with 5.1 hours per nights. And, just like with entrepreneurs, college students suffer greatly from this level of sleep deprivation.
“That’s when you start to see small decrements in performance,” said Dr Michael Breus, a sleep specialist in Los Angeles to The Tab. “Your reading comprehension will start to slow down and your ability to remember facts. You may even see grade point differences between early morning classes and late afternoon classes.”
If you’re interested in learning more about which college majors are causing the most sleep deprivation, take a look at the ten worst majors below and check out the full study here for the entire list of 60 college majors!