Collegiettes™, we are almost a month into the semester now and things getting a little hectic.
If you’re like me, you’ve got a busy schedule to hurry through every day. Class, trying to get a job, studying and attempting to have a social life are all having a battle royal for your attention. Winter break is just a faint memory!
With my mind being pulled in so many directions, it became clear that what I really missed was a good night’s rest. The problem was whenever I would try to sleep, I wouldn’t get much. I would toss and turn and watch the clock as hours ticked by and then maybe I got a few hours of sleep. I read up on ‘sleep hygiene’ at the USF Health Services office and learned three habits you can change to get better sleep.
#1 Caffeine
Coffee, soda, chocolate and tea all contain caffeine and shouldn’t be consumed for up to seven hours before sleeping. Coffee at five in the afternoon sounds awesome, but having that double-caramel mocha in the early evening is just asking to have an unwanted all-nighter.
#2 Excess Napping
Now hear me out, napping is very relaxing and sometimes after class that’s all we want to do. The problem is the time you spend napping is time you aren’t spending doing the things that might keep you up in the first place. To make things worse, napping after 3 p.m. can make falling asleep as late as 11 p.m. difficult. You may feel exhausted before you begin to feel refreshed from sleep but remember, once you have a consistent sleep pattern you’ll have all the energy you need.
#3 Eating Past 10 p.m.
It’s late and you’ve been studying most of the night. With a surge of pride, you close your books and call it a job well done. Suddenly, your stomach begins to growl and you look at the clock. You have just enough time to grab something to eat. Sadly, this is the path to being up all night tossing and turning or, depending on what it is you eat, nightmares. The body needs a constant temperature to maintain sleep which digestion makes difficult. If you’re starving, having a glass of warm milk or a small snack with lukewarm water will help fight hunger until breakfast.
Hopefully, you can change these three things to get all the rest you need, collegiettes™!
Photo Credits:
http://www.conceiveeasy.com/get-pregnant/caffeine-and-infertility
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/16/how-to-nap-at-work_n_1232352.html
