I love sleeping. I’d say most people do too. Unfortunately, as college students, we don’t get nearly enough good quality sleep as we should. This detrimental to our overall health, mental acuity, and mood. Here’s a few hints and tips to finally start getting the best quality sleep even if you are a stressed college student with a snoring roommate and noisy hallmates.
1. Avoid caffeine at night, and limit it during the day.
Caffeine has a half-life of about 6 hours. This means that if you drink 200 mg of caffeine, you will still have 100 mg in your system, 6 hours later. Keep that in mind in terms of when you want to sleep. Too much caffeine in your system can limit your sleep quality so mind the time!
2. Create a sleep schedule, and stick to it.
Just do it. It’s worth it, and your body will tune into a more natural cycle, allowing for deeper and more restful sleep.
3. Don’t sleep in on weekends or days when you have late class; wake up close to the same time every day.
I am guilty of this. It’s easy to think that you’re doing yourself a favor by catching up on sleep on your down days, but it only makes you more tired in the end. Once again, make a schedule and stick to it!
4. Put away your homework at least 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime.
Your brain needs to start cooling down before sleeping. Give yourself some time to wind down before going to bed.
5. Power down
Turn off your TV, your computer, your phone – anything with a bright screen. I know that you want to send that one last text but the light will only trick your brain into thinking that it’s daytime and will disrupt your sleep, worsening its quality.
6. Exercise earlier in the day, never just before bed.
Exercising helps to burn off energy, but it also jumpstarts your brain making it difficult to sleep restfully. Try to refrain from intense physical activity within an hour or two before bed.
7. Sleep with earplugs or listen to soft music on headphones to drown out any noise of loud roommates or dorm mates.
I think it goes without saying that noise makes it difficult to sleep. I personally can’t stand earplugs, but I love falling asleep to some soft tunes.
8. Turn off the lights and sleep with a sleep mask.
Lights will disturb your sleep because your brain will process the light as daylight, worsening your sleep quality. Keep it dark in your room and wear a sleep mask to keep it even darker.
Hope these tips are useful. Goodnight and sleep tight!