The university has future plans to offer bigger beds to on campus residents.
A few universities, such as American University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, have opted to provide students with full size mattresses in answer to complaints lodged by tired and sore students.
AU upgraded 115 upperclassmen from twin size to full size mattresses this year in the hopes of competing with off-campus housing. With cycles of large incoming freshman classes, particularly this year, coupled with on-campus housing guaranteed only to freshman, this is a not an important issue for Virginia Tech
"Some students will want to move off-campus after their freshman years, some want to stay with us the whole time they are here," said Kenneth Belcher, the associate director for Occupancy Management Housing and Dining Services. "For us [upgrading the mattress size], is less about competing with off campus and more about giving what the students are asking for."
Only 57 percent of students living on campus are freshman, and the remaining 43 percent are returning and graduate students. However, a number of students choose to move off campus during some part of their stay at Tech. Fred Culpepper, the manager of Mattress King, located in Christiansburg, says he has a lot of students moving off campus for the first time coming into the store and purchasing a mattress.
"Most students go for the full-sized bed because it gives them the extra room they need," Culpepper said. "Some of them even get queen size."
A fitted and comfortable bed is essential to receiving a full night's rest. The average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep nightly in order to fully function the next morning. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation is common among college students and can seriously affect productivity and performance.
"We found in our research that students are sleeping on questionable quality beds," said Bert Jacobson, head of the School of Educational Studies at Oklahoma State University and 2007 better sleep spokesperson for the Better Sleep Council. "Sleep is important to everyone, and research has shown without enough sleep, the effects can parallel how you act under the influence of alcohol."
Most Tech dorm rooms have extra long twin-sized mattress, which are 80 x 36 inches, with the exception of Cochrane Hall, which holds a number of beds that are 84 x 36, and Donaldson Brown Graduate Student Life Residence Hall, which retained a number of full size mattresses from its history as a hotel.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American is one inch taller and 25 pounds heavier than they were 40 years ago.
Many feel this should be taken into account and that full size mattresses, which provide 20 extra inches of width, should be offered.
Space limitations become an issue when considering increasing the mattress size. West Ambler-Johnston, which is the largest residence hall, housing 882 beds, has an average room size of 12x14 feet, leaving little room for extra mattress space. Many students even choose to loft their beds to provide more room inside their dorms.
"Sometimes they want to build different loft configurations," Belcher said. "Typically we won't allow it because of fire codes. Often we make mattress exceptions for medical reasons, but any kind of exception made always takes in account the other person in the room because space is a premium."
Dorm beds are often much more than just beds, and many would welcome the extra space. Dorm beds often assume other identities such as study space, couch, guest room and even recreational space.
"Loft-diving should be considered a sport," said Heather Claggett, sophomore communication major, and former resident of West AJ. "Basically, you are in a squatting position at the foot of one bed and you push off the mattress, jumping to the other bed — avoiding hitting the ceiling — and flying yourself out like superman, attempting to land as softly and gracefully as possible on the opposite loft. My bed was my home; I studied in my bed, I read in my bed, I watched TV in my bed."
While Belcher hints that while full-size mattresses may be seen in some of the new dorms in construction, most on-campus residents will be sleeping on twin-sized mattresses.
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