Getting an adequate amount of sleep is very important to maintaining good mental health. Unfortunately, a lot of students at university have problems getting a good night’s sleep, whether that’s problems falling asleep or problems staying asleep. Some people are even diagnosed with different forms of insomnia, such as onset insomnia (trouble falling asleep) and maintenance insomnia (trouble staying asleep). I personally have dealt with maintenance insomnia since I was about 14 years old. So I decided to put together a list of ways to help improve your sleep, taken from both my personal experience and from WebMD:
- Have a routine before bed
- By creating a routine before bed, it’s sort of a way to mentally prepare yourself to go to sleep. If you always change into your pajamas, brush your teeth, then read a book before lying down to sleep, this will prep your mind and body to get ready to sleep.
2. Have a regular bedtime and wake-time
- Again this relates to consistency. If you always get into bed around 11 p.m. and always wake up at 7 a.m., your body will get used to sleeping on that regular 8 hour cycle. You’ll start naturally becoming sleep around 10:45 p.m. and might even start naturally waking up at 7 a.m.
3. Limit your time on your phone, computer, or anything with a blue light screen
- I know this is a tough one, since we always want to be on our phone and up to date on what’s going on online. But it’s been proven that your exposure to blue light (like the one emitted from our phones) decreases the amount of melatonin produced in our bodies. Melatonin is the chemical that helps us sleep, so if that production is decreased, it will be harder for us to fall asleep or to feel sleepy before bed. There are apps that decrease the amount of blue light emitted from your phone during certain times of the day (for example, 9:30 p.m. – 6
a.m.). But it’s still recommended to stay off your phone or other blue light emitting device at least an hour before going to sleep.
4. Lower your lights before bed
- Just like with the blue light exposure, being surrounded with bright lights before going to sleep isn’t good either. Try to turn off or dim your lights about 2 hours before bed. This will help begin the production of melatonin
5. Nap, but in moderation
- Naps are shown to help with a better night’s sleep. But it’s a little more specific than just falling asleep at any time for as long as you want. It’s best not to nap after around 4 p.m. and to nap either for 20 minutes (a power nap) or 90 minutes (a full nap). This is because our sleep cycles are an hour and a half long. If you only nap for 20 minutes, you avoid going into the deeper levels of sleep and will wake up without feeling groggy (TIP: drink two cups of coffee and then take a 20 minute nap; you’ll wake up feeling energized because the caffeine will have kicked in by the time you wake up). If you nap for 90 minutes, you go through the whole sleep cycle and wake up during REM sleep, the lightest stage of sleep, and again avoid feeling groggy.
6. Avoid looking at a clock as you’re trying to sleep
- Constantly seeing what time it is will cause your mind to race, thinking about how you’re still awake at a certain hour or how little sleep you’re getting. Turn your alarm clock away from you, put it in a drawer, or on the other side of the room to avoid the temptation of checking the time while you’re trying to sleep. (TIP: placing your alarm clock on the other side of the room can help with getting you out of bed in the morning, since you’ll have to actually get up to turn it off)
7. Reserve your bed for sleep (and sex) only
- If you do your homework in bed, and then try to go to sleep, chances are you’re not going to fall asleep easily. This is because you’ve
associated your bed as a workspace, somewhere for your mind to be active and thinking. By only getting into bed to sleep (or sleep with someone 😉 ), it associates the bed as a place to rest and relax, making it easier to fall and stay asleep. (TIP: it’s best if you have a designated workspace, then you’ll associate it as a place to think and work, making it easier to focus on your studying or work)
8. Avoid late night workouts
- I know that with a busy schedule of studying and working, it feels like the only time you can workout is at night after your classes are done. But doing vigorous exercise fills our body with adrenaline and energy. So if you do your workout right before bed, it won’t tire you out to sleep, it will just make you feel energized and awake. Try to finish any vigorous exercises about 4 hours before you plan to go to bed. (TIP: the best times to work out are right when you wake up in the morning or at about 5 p.m.)
9. Avoid drinking alcohol late at night
- While drinking alcohol might make you feel drowsy and tired (since it is a depressant drug), it’s actually been shown to negatively affect your quality of sleep. When you have alcohol in your system and you’re trying to sleep, it will cause you to wake up more often and prevent you from reaching the deeper levels of sleep you need to feel well rested. Even if you sleep for 10 hours, you’ll feel exhausted because your quality of sleep was disrupted.
10. Avoid caffeine later in the day
- Caffeine can have lasting effects in your body and prevent you from going to sleep or staying asleep. Try not to have caffeinated drinks, foods, or medications after about 3 o’clock.
11. Don’t have big, heavy dinner meals
- In Western culture, dinner is often the meal where you eat the most. But having a big, heavy meal in the evening can overload your digestive system and prevent a good night’s sleep. (TIP: in my experience, having a big meal in the morning and smaller meals throughout the day when I get hungry has been very effective for a better night’s sleep and an added bonus with the prevention of gaining weight)
12. Try to relax and free your mind before bed
- If you go to bed thinking of all you responsibilities and things going on in your life, it’ll be really difficult to relax and go to sleep. Try taking baths, reading books, listening to calm music, or lightly stretching before bed. I’ve found that reading and lightly stretching help me significantly with my quality of sleep, but you should try different things to find the best way to relax before bed. Avoid doing important tasks before bed, as this will just make you feel stressed out and get your mind racing.
Written by Shelby Rogers
Source (besides my own experience):
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/discomfort-15/better-sleep/slideshow-sleep-tips