If you have spent the school holidays staying up all night and sleeping during the day, you should make adjustments when you resume school. The school does not offer the luxury of sleeping the whole day since you will have several classes to attend, and you should be attentive. Having morning classes and errands to run in school requires being alert and fresh-minded.
Every night you do not get enough sleep, you accumulate your sleep debt which eventually will take a toll on you, and you start experiencing fatigue. Therefore, as much as we would like to burn the midnight oil, it may not be the best thing for our bodies daily. If you struggle to get enough sleep, here are some tips to help you gain better sleeping habits.
Create a Routine According to Your Natural Rhythm
Whether you are a night owl or a morning person, you should find a way to work with your preferred routine. You should acknowledge your body’s operation and build a schedule around it. If your school allows you to pick classes, you can avoid picking classes that fall at a time when your concentration is poor. For example, if you are a night owl, you can choose classes that do not fall in the morning and vice versa.
Create a Consistent Sleep Routine
Your body adapts to getting tired or active based on your routines. If you keep changing your schedule, it becomes harder for your body to adapt. Finding a consistent sleeping and waking-up time is essential, even when not attending school. Find a challenging yet realistic sleeping and waking-up time. Ensure you get at least eight hours of sleep to avoid burnout, which will affect your academic performance. With a routine, it will be much simpler to clock in the right amount of sleeping hours.
Relax Before Bed
It is best to calm your mind by avoiding screens or other activities requiring energy a few hours before bedtime. So don’t be on your devices checking out sites like essaywriter.org. Do something to relax your mind, like listening to music or meditating. Once your mind cools off, sleeping on time and getting uninterrupted sleep will be easier.
Additionally, avoid any noise or light in your room to create a calm and relaxing atmosphere. All these are part of sleep hygiene practices. Students often underestimate the power of good sleep, yet it is among the best ways to avoid anxieties and stay sane through wild school schedules.
Reduce Your Caffeine Intake
Caffeine may only keep you from breaking down between classes and attending to your social circles. However, sometimes it is the primary factor affecting the quality of your sleep. So you should monitor and regulate your caffeine intake. For example, you can avoid taking caffeine past 2 pm or towards your bedtime since it will automatically ruin your sleep schedule.
Avoid Long Naps
If you are trying to maintain a sleep routine, avoid taking long naps during the day since they will interfere with your sleep schedule. Naps help unwind after long classes or recover after strenuous activities like working out. They are useful, but keep them short.
Alternatively, find a better way to wind down instead of napping after class. Some of the best ways to unwind are taking a long stroll, exercising lightly, and catching up with friends. Keeping yourself active is an excellent way to wind down after class and avoid napping.
Reward Yourself When You Go to Bed on Time
You can create a reward system to motivate you to go to bed on time. Going to bed on time means getting enough sleep and waking up early and energetic. You can treat yourself to a meal or a drink you like if you go to bed in time for a whole week. With such motivation getting sleep on time, it will be much easier, and the result will beat sleep debt.
Final Take
Sleep and memory are the building blocks of academic excellence. We often pay less attention to the benefits of quality sleep. Most college students find it easy to live at night, from cramming the next day’s exam paper to going out. While the night owl life may work for you, paying off the accumulated sleep debt is challenging, often translating to burnout. You should avoid taking long naps and having an inconsistent sleeping pattern to get quality sleep.