[adapted from my blog]
Hey guys! The new semester is in full swing, and I’m sure that sleep is already getting pushed to the back burner. Here are some ways you can get better sleep as a student (yes, it is possible).
🌸 Figure out whether you are a morning bird, a night owl, or somewhere in between -- and plan your schedule and sleep around it
As a night owl, I don’t get tired until around 11 pm -- but in high school, I had to wake up at 6 am. I started napping in the early afternoon for an hour or so to make up for sleep lost at night and felt worlds better. Now that I’m in college, I take later classes so that I’m more awake. Figure out how to schedule your sleep so that you get a solid 7-9 hours a day, whether all at once or in two sleep sessions.
🌸 Determine when your energy is highest and lowest, and try to build your schedule accordingly.
College Info Geek did a great article on how to track your energy levels throughout the day. For example, if you find your most productive time of day is in the morning, try to schedule your most difficult tasks or classes for then, and do your less intensive work later in the day.
🌸 Follow your body’s natural 90-minute cycle when planning sleep.
Apps like Sleep Cycle and sites like Sleepyti.me are great for planning when to wake up based on your body’s natural sleep cycle of 90 minutes. Take this into account when napping too -- a 30- or 90-minute nap will refresh you, whereas a 60-minute nap will leave you feeling groggy.
🌸 No phones in bed.
Having your phone in bed both weakens your neural connections between being in bed and sleeping, as well as strengthens the connections between being in bed and being awake. If you simply must be on your phone until you fall asleep, try extensions like f.lux for your computer or night shift on your iPhone to change your screen tint to orange, which is less effective at suppressing melatonin and therefore better for your brain to get ready for sleep.
🌸 Develop a night time routine.
Create a routine that relaxes your body and sends the message that it’s time to sleep. For example, take a warm shower, put lotion on, and read in bed before turning the lights out. Try to cut out electronics within an hour or two before bed as much as possible.
🌸 Cut out caffeine, alcohol, and sugar before bed.
All three can wreck your sleep cycles and make it harder for you to fall asleep or can alter your sleep patterns, making it harder for you to wake up. In fact, studies show that consuming caffeine even 6 hours before bedtime can decrease your total sleep time by about an hour -- so avoid that 3 pm latte and try decaf instead.
🌸 Go to bed and wake up at consistent times each day (even weekends).
Sleeping and waking at consistent times sets your body’s biological clock straight, and eventually allows you to wake up naturally in the morning around the time you set your alarm. If you want to get more sleep on a weekend, for example, go to bed earlier and wake up at the same time, this will be less detrimental to your sleep than sleeping in the next day.
I hope this post was helpful! Let me know if you guys have any requests for me to write about, or any feedback (: Don’t forget to check out my blog for the full-form, more descriptive article. Sleep well ✨
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