Tips on how to get high-quality sleep
If you have read any of our previous blog posts on the effects of sleep on cognition and mental health, you can PROBABLY tell by now that sleep deprivation can be a pretty huge deal. Not only does a lack of quality sleep decrease your ability to concentrate in the classroom, but it can severely impact your physical and mental health in the long-term. We see this in the case of Peter Tripp, who developed psychotic symptoms after enduring eight nights of complete wakefulness.
As full-time university students with extracurricular commitments, jobs/internships, and rigorous course loads, we understand that assignments may spring upon us often unexpectedly. Maybe, for whatever reason, we forgot that a paper was assigned until the night before. However, as tempting as it may be to pull an all nighter to complete your paper or perfect your responses to your problem set, these habits can be counterintuitive. Yet, knowing that a lack of sleep can cause us great damage, we oftentimes push sleep to the backburner.
So how do we put the research together and reap the benefits of high quality sleep? To help you, we compiled a list of suggestions for incorporating much-needed rest into our schedule (we will try our best to spare you the typical advice that your parents always told you):
- Take naps at the same time every day. Good news, naps are good for us! Humans are built to sleep biphasically (meaning we are designed to sleep twice a day). Not only do they allow us to sneak in rest during the day, naps can also boost our memory,logical reasoning abilities, and reaction time. Naps lasting any longer than 30 minutes, however, may lead to a brief period of inertia that is characterized by confusion, disorientation, and a deficit in cognitive functioning (Milner & Cote, 2009).
2. Leave bed after 20–30 minutes of wakefulness. If you are unable to fall asleep after 20–30 minutes, try walking to a different part of the house. According to the National Sleep Foundation, by staying in bed awake, you associate your sleeping environment with wakefulness. Avoid tossing and turning in your bed for a long period of time.
3. Acknowledge the disadvantages of using caffeine. While I am not opposed to caffeine consumption, it can be easy for college students (including myself) to abuse caffeine. When we are awake, adenosine — a neuromodulator that causes us to feel sleepy — accumulates in our body throughout the day. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, causing adenosine to accumulate in the brain even into night. Eventually, the effects of caffeine wear off as caffeine is metabolized, causing us to experience a so-called “caffeine crash.” The built up adenosine floods the our neuron receptors, sending an overwhelming, intense signal to our bodies that it is time to sleep (Anderson, 2011). Doesn’t sound like such a pleasant side effect, does it?
4. Avoid setting your alarm. Our bodies follow a 24-hour cycle referred to as the circadian rhythm, a cycle that regulates body temperature, mood, and appetite, and other rhythms. This rhythm relies on consistency. Setting your alarm for a different time each morning can shift and disrupt this cycle. Allow yourself to wake up naturally by turning off your alarm, and avoid sleeping in on weekends.
5. Make sleeping at least 7–8 hours per night a priority. We all probably prioritize at least one or two activities: for example, we may prefer socializing with our friends or performing well in our courses. While these activities are part of a normal and balanced lifestyle, it may be time to rethink your normal routine and re-prioritize your activities. Start making adequate sleep a daily commitment, rather than another dreadful task that you have to cross off of your list. This suggestion leads us to the last tip…
6. Manage your time wisely. We talked earlier about how surprise assignments can spring out of nowhere. To avoid any surprises in the future, we recommend using a planner (my personal favorite is Google Calendars!) to map out your daily activities and assignments for the upcoming week or month. Be sure to enter any deadlines as soon as you know them. If you would like to learn more ways to manage your time more efficiently, you may consider visiting http://www.creativitypost.com/create/work_smarter_not_harder_21_time_management_tips_to_hack_productivity.
We know that sleeping and napping can boost our cognitive abilities and our emotional and mental health. Fortunately for us, sleeping adequately is not necessarily a tough code to crack. Only we cannot force you to have a good night’s sleep; you have to employ these techniques yourself in your day-to-day schedule. By making an active attempt to break your habits, you can revamp your sleeping patterns.
Remember, your physical and mental health are worth more than a high grade on an exam in the long run.
Citations
Anderson, H. (2011). The Effects of Caffeine on Adenosine. Retrieved April 25, 2017, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/481979-the-effects-of-caffeine-on-adenosine/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/481979-the-effects-of-caffeine-on-adenosine/
Milner, C. E., & Cote K. A. (2009). Benefits of napping in healthy adults: impact of nap length, time of day, age, and experience with napping. Journal of Sleep Research, 18, 272–281.