College women need their sleep, but sometimes our busy schedules and all the stresses in our lives keep us from getting a good night sleep. While, we could try and turn to some Insomnia Cookies for our late night sweet cravings, it’s time to solve the problem at hand, and actually catch some zzz’s for a good night’s sleep.
1. Melatonin Supplements.
This is by far the easiest method for fighting insomnia. Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain. During the day the gland is turned off, but as soon as it gets dark enough (around 9 pm) the pineal starts producing melatonin. Artificial indoor lights can prohibit the release of melatonin, and studies show that electronic devices suppress melatonin by about 22%. The way to increase the natural production of melatonin in your body is by taking the supplement an hour or two before your normal time of sleep. This will help you feel less alert, and calm enough to sleep.
- My recommendation is the chewable peppermint flavored melatonin supplement from Trader Joes. They taste like candy!
2. Drink tea.
This is not only something you should do before bed, but also consider replacing your coffee drinking habit with tea. Tea has significantly less chemicals, and is obviously a more natural route for a caffeine source. While it contains less caffeine than coffee and may seem like a drastic change at first, you’ll be getting more antioxidants and ultimately see health benefits. Seeing as we are talking about sleep, if you drink tea instead of coffee during the day you will find it easier to get to sleep because you are getting smaller doses of caffeine. At night, there are uncaffeinated blends you can drink to relax you; they usually contain chamomile and valerian (a root) that promote sleep,
- My recommendation is Celestial Seasonings-Sleepy Time caffeine-free herbal tea (also comes in Sleepy Time Extra), which is sold at almost every grocery store.
3. Muscle Relaxation.
If you have ever taken a yoga class, then you will probably recognize this exercise. It’s a progressive relaxation of all the muscles in your body. Typically you start from your head and work your way down through the muscle groups of your body. You start by tensing your face; relax your eyebrows and forehead, then relax your jaw and cheeks. You will start to feel hyper aware and serene. Then systematically do the same thing for your shoulders and arms, then your hands, chest and abdomen (deep breath and then exhale), back (you’ll arch for this one), hips and butt, and lastly legs and feet. This technique is meant to physically relax you and take your mind off any nagging thoughts.
4. Read a book.
This may not help some people, but I always find that reading a book distracts me from my overthinking and helps to relax me. It’s better if you choose a nonfiction book that isn’t too complex or something easy such as The Hunger Games would work. This works especially well for people who don’t really like reading, you will be so bored, it will put you right to sleep.
5. Reserve the bed for sleep only.
A common problem for college students, especially ones that live in a dorm, is that they use their bed as a place to study/eat/hang out. Research suggests that when you work in bed it messes up your mental association, and makes it harder for you to view the bed as a place to sleep (I recommend reading this article on the subject). It also addresses that having your laptop/phone/tablet next to the bed reduces your ability to relax.
6. Journaling.
Part of the reason I struggle with insomnia is due to my persistent overthinking. I can’t get to bed when I’m worrying about all of my problems. That’s why I started journaling every time I couldn’t fall asleep. I would write about whatever was nagging me, sort of like having a conversation with myself on paper. Often times, by journaling, I am able to vent and that helps clear my mind. It’s also funny because when you put your problems down in physical form, they seem less significant and you may even find a solution.
7. Create the mood.
You have to create the right ambience for sleep. This can be accomplished by dimming the room two hours before bed to reduce the lights effect on your nervous system. Also, buy a set of comfy and silky sheets. There is seriously nothing better then falling into a comfy freshly made bed. Make sure your room is at a comfortable temperature. Personally, I can only sleep when it’s super cold in the room; I like being able to bundle up under multiple sheets. This is really difficult to accomplish in my dorm room because the heat is turned on. But as of right now, I have two fans facing my bed.
8. Try to have a bedtime, and wake time.
I know we aren’t 5-years-old anymore, but studies support that a specific sleep schedule is a good way to go. If you are constantly switching up your bed time, you’re keeping your body and metabolism in a constant state of jet lag. Your body needs to be able to register an internal clock in order to know when its tired. Having a start and end time on your day can also effect your weight gain. Cosmopolitan magazine wrote an interesting article based on research done with a freshman at Brown University. Basically, the article said, even if your eating relatively healthy in college, you can still gain that freshman 15 because of your random sleep patterns.