College Students Need Sleep!

Sleep.

This word is so appealing to college students like myself. We love the thought of getting any extra sleep that we can get. So many of us are walking around campus exhausted to the point where we are catching our z's in class! (HINT: This does not score extra points with the teacher.) But honestly, no wonder we are all so tired... I mean, who wouldn’t be after spending endless hours taking in information - sitting in classes, listening to lectures, reading textbooks, writing 10-page papers, not to mention hanging out with friends until 3:00 in morning? College life can wear you out, man. 



 So, as educated students, we need to be smart about our sleeping habits. We have to take care of ourselves so that we can be functioning at our best every day. It's critical that we get adequate sleep every night. Researchers have found that students who get at least eight hours of sleep every night have higher test scores than those who get less than eight hours of sleep. This is because sleep is good for our brains! It improves our memory. But that's not all. Here's what else sleep does for us...

1. It reduces stress




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2. It helps keep extra weight off - during sleep, the body produces more leptin hormone, which keeps the body from gaining extra weight
3. It’s good for our health - the body makes cytokines during sleep that help the immune system fight infections
4. It’s good for our skin and hair - the body rejuvenates during sleep
5. It lifts the mood!

Try getting at least eight hours of sleep every night. Why eight? Because the body completes two complete REM cycles within eight hours and this is the “magic” number that our bodies respond best to. The more REM cycles your body completes, the more rejuvenated it is. So, for those of you who like to go to bed at 3:00 am but have to wake up by 7:00 to make it to class, try going to bed a few hours earlier. You’ll be amazed at how much more awake you feel during the day. Also, taking a power nap every afternoon has proven to increase alertness and can help you catch up on needed rest. And get this: a 20-minute nap is all your body needs. Researches have actually found that people who take a twenty-minute nap feel more rested than those who take a 2-hour nap during the day. This is because, with a 2-hour nap, your body dips too far into the REM cycle and it is harder to wake up. But with a 20-minute nap, your body is getting just the right amount of rest it needs to feel recharged.

Also, are you having trouble with falling asleep every night before bed? Here are some tips to help you feel more sleepy before bed in the evening…

1. Get some exercise during the day; this promotes restful sleep during the night.
2. Don’t take two-hour naps. The longer your naps are during the day, the less you will sleep at night. You disrupt your body’s natural sleep schedule by napping for too long during the day.
3. Go to bed at the same time every night. Pick a good time to go to bed. If it’s at 11:00, go to bed every night at 11:00. Your body will get used to this time and will naturally begin to feel sleepy around 11:00.
4. Don’t take a hot shower before bed. A hot shower will only wake up your body more.
5. Stretch. Doing yoga or gentle stretching relaxes your body.
6. Keep the room dark. Our bodies sleep best in complete darkness. You can even buy a sleep mask to block out light if necessary.
7. Don’t do school work on your bed. Train your body to view your bed as a place only for sleeping. If you read or study on your bed, your body will begin to think of it as a place to do work and not to sleep. So, read or study either at your desk in your room, or better yet, the library!

BOTTOM LINE: DO try getting 8 hours of sleep every night, even if this means going to bed earlier than you normally do. Also, DO take power naps - they help recharge your body during the day.

So, here's to getting more rest!

Sources: psychologytoday.com