Sleep is important. I would go so far as to say it’s up there with getting to class on time and making sure you’ve had your coffee in the morning, but all too often it falls to the wayside. I have always been kind of a night owl, so keeping a consistent sleep schedule has never been my forte. I mean, all of the most interesting stuff happens after the sun goes down anyway, right? Paging Dave Attel. As the years roll by, it seems like I slip past the witching hour and into the deep night easier and easier no matter what I have on my schedule.
With that said (and my preference for the night time being the right time aside) getting a full night’s sleep has been my white whale for a while. I am not big on taking medication to sleep, so I try to wear myself out as much as I can throughout the day. With impending deadlines, exams and just general academic anxiety, it’s hard to just sit back and relax enough to get my full eight hours. I think it’s about time to kick up the sleep campaign, otherwise this quarter is going to steamroll right over me. I’ve been trying to read up on it a little bit, and here are some great (albeit sometimes obvious) tips to get a better night’s sleep:
Stick to a regular sleep schedule. I know, crazy right? The human body loves regularity, so the more consistent you are hitting the hay at a certain time, the better off you’ll be. Managing when you take naps is important so that schedule doesn’t slip, as hard as it is to fight them off from time to time. (Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep myself from falling into the rabbit hole of Wikipedia articles deep into the night…)
Keep your bedroom sleep-friendly. Turning off the TV, reserving your bed solely for sleeping, and keeping the room itself dark and cool all help to whisk you away like Little Nemo. I am notorious for wanting to fall asleep to a movie or TV show, so that one is always hard for me, but it has helped.
Stress management, exercise and a healthy diet all play a part as well. I’ve written about all three in some length before, so I’ll spare you the redundancy, but I know regular exercise gets me nice and worn out well before bedtime. When I’m at all three regularly, I feel much more refreshed the following day no matter how rigorous the routine.
Almost all sleep guides stress the importance of just relaxing and not worrying about getting to sleep. If you’re up all night obsessing over not conking out, it only makes it worse. I know I’m especially guilty of this on bad nights, but just clearing your head and getting comfortable does the trick most of the time.
So, with that said, I hope my problem is a rare one, but I’m sure many students go through the same thing. If you have any particularly effective methods of combating sleep depravation, leave a comment—it might be just what the doctor ordered for someone.
