Edited by Carol Eugene Park
Sleep is a major factor in determining how the rest of your day may go. If you don’t have a good night’s sleep, you may feel tired throughout the rest of the day and not be as productive as you could have been. As you grow older, you need less and less sleep but the minimum amount of sleep you should have after 18 years old is 7-9 hours.In order to motivate yourself to get the sleep that you need, here are some of its benefits:
1) Productivity
If you are well rested, then you will be more productive in the entirety of the day. When you don’t get enough sleep, you may feel drowsy and depend on caffeine to wake yourself up; however, the caffeine rush will inevitably plateau and it will leave you feeling more tired.
2) Better Grades
If you feel you’ not getting enough sleep, your grades could be affected negatively. Coinciding with productivity, when you get enough sleep you will be able to work harder without feeling tired and improve your grades. As students, we tend to stay up late or pull an all-nighter trying to complete an assignment. Try to find a time to schedule a power nap before these long study sessions to be more attentive and focused while completing your work.
3) Social Life
If you are not getting enough sleep, then you may be less likely to socialize with others and make an effort to hang out. Lack of sleep can leave you feeling tired to the point where going out may not be something you are motivated to.
If you’re struggling to find the time to sleep or need something to help prevent distractions and allow you to get a better night’s sleep, you can try out some of these tips.
1. No distractions!
If you keep your phone near you, then you will be more tempted to use it at night. The light emitted from your phone will keep you awake and prevent you from naturally falling asleep. Rather than scrolling through your social media, try picking up a book and you will get tired faster and fall asleep without the bright light. Keep all electronics away from your bed: place them on a desk or somewhere you may have to get up in order to turn off your alarm. Not only will you get better sleep but you will less likely to press snooze on your alarm.
2) Drink something warm before going to bed.
Sometimes, a warm cup of tea or milk can help you to fall asleep. If you’re struggling with getting to sleep, drink a cup of your favourite tea before bed. Not only will it be nice to have a warm drink but you will get a better night’s sleep.
3) Set a time to head to bed!
If you have an iPhone, not only can you set an alarm but with the latest IOS update, you are able to set a bedtime. You can set a certain amount of hours and determine when you should go to bed in order to wake up on time. If you don’t have an iPhone, there are other apps that you can try, or simply decide what time you should go to bed every night in order to get the best quality of sleep.
Happy sleeping!