College students are among the most sleep deprived, unhealthy group of individuals in America right now. We wake up at odd hours to do homework or study, and we go to sleep at odd hours so you’re probably not aware of the lack of sleep you’re getting.Or maybe you are and you chose to ignore it, in which case don’t read this and just go take a nap because you definitely need it.
Situation: you’re studying for a big test right now and you’re basically falling asleep while you’re reading your flashcards. Here’s why you should probably take a nap:
1. You probably deserve it.
Odds are if you’re falling asleep outside of your normal cycle you’ve either a. been working really hard and have been compromising your health or b. been too stressed to get into a healthy cycle. You deserve to feel refreshed and healthy even if you feel like you have too much work to do.
2. It will help you feel more alert.
A well rested college student is a successful college student. If you’re feeling a little tired and you’ve been stuck on that one paragraph of the essay that’s due at midnight tonight, taking a nap will help you reboot your brain and hopefully will help you get past that road block that’s been bothering you.
3. It will refresh you.
Even just a 15 minute nap is going to make you feel 100 times better than being sleep deprived because your body will have had time to reboot all of its systems through your REM cycle and will help you feel more alert and more upbeat.
4. It’s healthy.
A solid amount of sleep is not only going to help you feel more alert but also feel better in general. There have been so many studies saying that a solid 8 hours is going to help you feel better in the long run.
5. You’re probably not absorbing all the information anyway.
If you’re sleep deprived, you’re probably just staring at those index cards at this point. If you’re not absorbing the information, what use is it to put yourself through the ringer and not get anything productive done?