By Laura Austin
As students hurry to their first classes of the day, some might be early enough to see custodians putting vacuums away and cleaning the last smudges off glass doors.
These student custodians are finishing a custodial shift that starts around 4 a.m. and ends at 7:30 or 8 a.m., depending on the building.
Matthew Carlin, 22, a freshman from Yerington, Nevada, who has not declared a major, works from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. in the Wilkinson Center.
He said working early in the morning has worked well with his schedule because most day jobs run from eight a.m. to noon, or from one p.m. to five p.m.
'Every time I''ve worked out schedules, my classes have gone past noon,' he said. 'They''ve been right around, before and after noon, so trying to find a job with hours that work is really hard.'
Carlin said he would not have been able to work early mornings had his supervisors not been flexible.
When Carlin had late-night practices the week before he performed in a play, he was given the week off from work.
Nancy Compton, 23, a senior from Morton, Washington, majoring in pre-clinical laboratory science, works from 4 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. in the Harris Fine Arts Center. She started work this summer.
Compton said it was difficult for her to adjust to a new schedule.
'It''s hard because during the school year, before I worked, I would got to bed like at midnight or one, so I still don''t get tired until then,' she said.
For the summer, Compton is not taking classes and is able to nap, but in the fall when she has a morning class, it will be harder, she said.
'I''ll have to try to go to bed earlier,' Compton said.
Steven Heiner, a professor at BYU with a doctorate in health science, said difficulties sleeping earlier are to be expected.
'You certainly sleep better if you have a routine,' he said.
Heiner said once students have gone to bed earlier for a while, they will get into a new routine and sleep more efficiently.
Heiner said it is better for students who work early to go to bed early, instead of taking naps later in the day.
'That''s not the best way,' he said. 'If you start taking too many naps, then you don''t sleep that night.'
Heiner said naps should be 50 minutes at the most, when possible.