Hey everyone! My name is Hana and I am going to be the Health series writer for this semester!
For my first topic I wanted to talk to you guys about something that is really important to me and should be for you too: SLEEP! I don’t know about you, but sleep seems to be the only thing that I just can’t get enough of in college. I often find myself needing at least 2 if not 3 cups of coffee just to get through my day. Most of the time, I blame my lack of sleep on work but in reality, it’s the way I approach sleep that affects whether or not I get enough. So I did an experiment with sleep. It didn’t start out as such, but throughout my week, I started realizing what I was doing and wanted to share it with you.
The first day, I decided to see how I would function on little to no sleep. I only had one class the following day, and I knew that I wouldn’t have to speak much as it was a lecture class. Oh boy, did that day suck. Everything seemed to be slipping away from me. The conversations I was having with people didn’t make any sense and I had about 5 cups of coffee throughout my day. I ended up taking a nap that lasted 3 hours. I was extremely disoriented and found myself being really irritated (and irritating to others) the rest of the day. Throughout the week, I continued to increase the amount that I slept and by Friday, I had managed to shift my schedule so that I would go to bed between 9 and 11 and wake up feeling pretty good around 7:00-7:30.
So here are a couple of things that I learned that I think will be very helpful to you:
1. Have a bedtime!: I know we’re not ten years old anymore, but I found that setting myself a bedtime overnight made the next day so much easier to handle. By going to bed at a certain time, I would plan out a couple of things that I could do the next morning with my extra time such as go for a run, re-read a homework assignment to have it fresh in my mind, or even go for a nice long breakfast (which I really enjoy). For me, I felt like this was a first step in creating a better schedule for my day in general and helped organize my week.
2. If you need to take a nap, go right ahead!: Even if you are getting enough sleep, sometimes you need an extra hour or so to keep going. I have heard that a full REM cycle lasts about 90 minutes, so when I need a nap, I make that my goal nap amount. I’m the type of person (and this experiment confirmed it) that needs a LOT of sleep. So even though I took longer naps when I had less sleep, I still found myself taking shorter naps on the days that I got enough sleep, because I had the time and I knew I would feel better.
3. Sleep helps you function with other human beings!: The first two days were definitely tough, and I was really aware of the differences between my normal ability to function and my absolute lack of function in getting myself to socialize with others. Friends were asking me what had happened, assuming that my inability to form full sentences derived from a deep-rooted horrible place that they never wanted to experience (okay slight exaggeration, but you get my point). Yes, that is truly how bad I was. My teachers asked what was going on because I seemed like a completely different person. Even my schoolwork suffered slightly because I was unable to maintain focus, which brings me to my next point about why getting enough sleep is important.
4. SLEEP HELPS YOU WORK: I cannot tell you how difficult it was to get myself together when it came to work. I had papers due, readings to finish and group work to do. I didn’t fail any of this work, but there was a definite difference in how I approached it and how I felt about it. Sleep helps with memory, which is why teachers always suggest studying days and sometimes weeks before an exam, as a good nights sleep helps you retain more information. I’m not saying I do this all the time, but I am definitely working on changing my behavior when it comes to sleep and studying.
5. Sleep is a gift that you need to take advantage of: Sleep allows you to recharge. Even though I was crabbier during my lack-of-sleep days and post-naps, I still felt like I was able to stay up longer because I took the time to give myself rest. A lot of students that I’ve spoken to have said that instead of napping, they will often watch Netflix or read or do something else relaxing instead of napping, but you will never get the true effects that sleep provides. Just having your eyes open forces you to register everything that goes on around you. Take the time to close your eyes and fall into a real rest instead of doing an activity that you think is equivalent.
Overall, I fell in love with sleep again. Just last night, I passed out around 9 and woke up this morning around 7 because I felt the need to get up. The wonderful thing about your body and sleep is that if you get enough of it, your body will tell you. If you don’t have enough, it will be much harder to get up in the morning. Just remember, your sleep is important. It helps you be a better human, better student, better worker, and in general, a better you. I don’t suggest doing what I did, but definitely take the time to get to know what your body needs! See you guys next week!