While most dancers from the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon could not wait to unplug their alarm clocks and slip between the sheets, Tommy Otterbine further delayed his shut-eye as he dined with his family, hours after Thon ended.

"I was dozing off during dinner," he said. "It was a blur."

Otterbine (junior-microbiology) was one of some 700 dancers who spent yesterday bandaging blisters and stealing naps after an exhausting 48 hours of standing on their feet.

"I set my alarm for 7:45 -- when I usually wake," Otterbine said of yesterday morning. "It must have went off, but I don't remember shutting it off."

Otterbine said he attended two of his three morning classes, including a once weekly lab period.

"I was a little tired but I stayed awake," he said, adding that the other prolonged effects from the weekend were hoarse voice and a sore knee.

University Health Services Marketing Manager Ellen Nagy said the most common effect extending past the 48-hour mark is sleep deprivation.

"Their whole system can get disrupted," Nagy said. "Certainly get back into a normal sleeping rhythm and eating pattern -- the sooner the better."

She added that medical figures dispute which method is healthier after a period of restlessness -- one extended sleep phase or an immediate return to former patterns.

Penn State Emergency Medical Services manager Dave Jones said nausea, vomiting and dizziness were the most common illnesses at Thon.

He added that he would request to meet with Thon overalls about the unusually large number of committee members and spectators that required medical attention.

Although she said she is unsure as to why, Nagy said pink eye was present throughout the weekend among many committee members.

As a possible side effect of Thon-induced exhaustion and illness, many professors said classroom attendance declines slightly in the days after Thon weekend.

"Maybe a little -- but not dramatically," nutrition instructor Rose Martin said. "Maybe 20 percent don't come regularly, and about 25 percent today [did not attend]."

Marie Hardin, an assistant professor of journalism, said attempts were made to accommodate students involved in Thon.

"The assignment was available earlier and students were able to submit it earlier," Hardin said, adding that she would consider a future revisal to the syllabus in favor of a lighter workload in the days before and after Thon.

Despite an achy knee and lingering fatigue, Otterbine said he would undergo the 48 hours again, especially with the record-shattering Thon total of $4,214,748.18.

"I was so emotional, and I was hoping it was over last year's total," Otterbine said. "It was unbelievable -- I went crazy."