I remember being in kindergarten and not understanding naps. What was the point? I could sleep that night. And then as I got older, who wanted to sleep at a reasonable hour? It was all about challenging your friends to see who could stay up the longest so you could have bragging rights the next day at the lunch table before you fell asleep on your lunch tray.
Now, sleep is my best friend.
Any chance I get to sleep, I seize. Sleep is precious. Sleep is beautiful. Sleep is more important than any silly desire to prove a point of how long you can stay up. In fact, sleep is just important period.
I haven’t had to deal with pulling any all nighters in college yet doing work, and I feel very sorry for any of you who have had to deal with that. If you can’t get the average 7-8 hours of sleep your body needs to function well, I suggest you start taking naps.
Myself? I take naps a lot. Not all the time, but on those days after my 8 a.m.’s when I just feel exhausted and am falling asleep at my desk trying to do work, I hoist myself into bed for a quick snooze. Afterward I feel great; a little drowsy at first, but once I get moving I feel so much more energized than before.
If you’re not getting the sleep you need at night, PLEASE, compensate by taking naps. You’re not doing yourself a favor by straining your body to its breaking point. Your body needs sleep, and I promise you will do much better on that fifteen page essay when you’re rested and of a sound mind rather than when you’re working on it after three days of staying up until four.
According to stason.org, if you sleep less than 6 hours or more than 9, you have an increased risk of developing diabetes. The Huffington Post even has an article with 11 benefits of sleeping, including: improved memory, healthy weight, lower stress, sharper attention, and improved grades.
Well, I think that’s something we all wouldn’t mind having!
So befriend your pillow and snuggle up, girls. Your body and your grades will thank you for that sleep you need.
Sweet dreams!
If you want to see Huffington Post’s entire list, click the link!