This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.
Over the holidays I tend to gain the terrible habit of sleeping at 4 a.m. and waking up whenever I want. Unfortunately for me and many others, this proves to be detrimental when a new semester starts and early morning classes start to exist again. Here are some helpful tips to fix your sleeping schedule and start off the new year right (or at least, with some semblance of sanity).
Falling Asleep
Exercise – Sitting in class all day may be mentally exhausting and sleep-inducing, but at the end of the day your body will still be wide awake. It’s more difficult to fall asleep if your body isn’t actually tired, so get those muscles moving! Bonus: it’s another excuse to keep fit, if that was a New Year’s resolution of yours.
No caffeine – This is pretty self-explanatory. Caffeine helps keep you up and takes several hours to leave your system, so avoid having any coffee or other caffeinated beverages a few hours before bed. Stick to the decaffeinated versions if you want to drink something.
Avoid screens – Don’t go on your computer, watch TV, or look at your phone within 30 minutes before you go to bed. Those bright screens make it hard to fall asleep. Read a book or stare blankly at a wall instead (whatever floats your boat, okay?)
No naps – This is strictly for those who have trouble sleeping at night. Naps are actually beneficial, but if you find yourself spending nights wide-eyed and contemplating the meaning of life, try to exhaust yourself throughout the day and avoid napping. If you must nap, do it properly.
Waking Up
Move your alarm clock – Having your alarm clock right beside your bed only makes it easy to hit the snooze button. Over and over. Move your alarm clock to the other side of the room or another hard-to-reach place so that you have to get up in order to turn it off.
Obnoxious and loud alarms – Make sure your alarm is as obnoxious and loud as you can make it, so as to give you more motivation to get out of bed and turn it off. Whether it’s the world’s most annoying buzzer or your favorite rock song, make sure you use something that gets you moving!
Wash your face – Cleaning or just splashing your face with water immediately wakes you up and leaves you feeling refreshed.
Drink water – Being dehydrated makes you tired, and after not drinking liquids for several hours, your body needs some water.
If all else fails, here are the soothing, soothing sounds of Samuel L. Jackson. (Warning: There’s swearing.)
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