Very few students have graduated, and afterwards talked fondly about the amount of sleep they were able to get during their college experience.
With graduation just two months away, many seniors are tossing and turning at night, unable to get the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep their bodies need.
Our parents give us advice on this topic: don’t stay up late, don’t drink caffeine, eat healthy, lower your stress, but we have to stay up late to finish our work.
We’re addicted to coffee. Cafeteria food is anything but healthy and stress doesn’t even begin to describe our emotional state. Are there any easy fixes to getting a better night’s rest in the middle of our hectic schedules? Yes, and no.
Dorms are noisy, especially when you don’t live on the top floor. We’ve all had a snoring roommate, and we all know who’s out partying until 3 a.m. and slams their door when they return. Try sleeping with earplugs, they are cheap and easy to find.
If you don’t need to drown out the noise then try turning on relaxing music, not the television, or even better – learn to appreciate the sound of silence. Most cell phones are equipped with a feature that allows only the “important” people to contact us. Add Mom and Dad to this list and go to sleep!
Peace student, Asia Sanchez, says offering night owls a place to go on campus would help keep the residence halls quiet. “We need something like a student union or somewhere where students can go other than the dorms to have fun,” she said.
Get in the habit of a schedule. Easier said then done, right? Avoid naps, and if you simply must crawl back in bed, do it before mid-afternoon and don’t sleep for longer than half an hour, otherwise it may disrupt your sleep cycle and you’ll be regretting it later. Set an alarm for the evening; go to bed at the same time each night.
If you do have to stay up late working on a paper don’t do it in bed; your bed should be for rest and relaxation. As hard as it might be, don’t sleep in just because you have later classes on some days. Get up at the same time each day and stick to a routine. If you have extra time get some exercise in, it will help to energize you for the day and will help you sleep too.
Avoid pills at all costs. Don’t use them for staying awake or for going to sleep, no matter how “natural” they may be. Caffeine pills may seem great if you feel the need to study all night, but when you’re not alert for the test in the morning none of that studying is going to help. Even pills such as Valerian Root and Melatonin which help with relaxation and sleep can upset your stomach or give you headaches and we all know you don’t have time for that.
