Gradually set earlier bedtimes when attempting to adjust your sleep cycle.This list is not exhaustive, but it includes many suggestions that help in falling and staying asleep so you can get the 7-9 hours your body and mind need. Given what we know about sleep, there are a number of things you can do and avoid to improve your sleep cycle. Decongestant stimulants and/or diet pillsĪlthough alcohol may help you fall asleep because it is a depressant, it reduces sleep stages II, IV, and REM, which are the restorative sleep stages.
Sleep can be affected by a number of things including how we treat our bodies, what we put in our bodies, and how we interact with our environment: What types of things affect falling and staying asleep? This not only puts them at risk for the consequences of poor sleep, but also the negative health effects of increased stimulant consumption. These microsleeps impede concentration and negatively impact retention of information.Īdditionally, individuals often use caffeine or others stimulants to stay awake. You may not notice inadvertent sleeping during the day (even in class or when studying!) that can last just seconds.Our bodies continue to pay back this debt by trying to get sleep whenever possible, which can result in microsleeps. When we do not get the sleep we need, our bodies do not forget we go into sleep debt. In extreme sleep deprivation, consequences can even include mood swings and hallucinations. Inattention, irritability, hyperactivity, poor impulse control and difficulty multi-tasking.The GPAS of students receiving 9+ hours of sleep per night were significantly higher (3.24) than those of students receiving 6 or fewer hours of sleep per night (2.74).īecause sleep plays such a crucial role in human functioning, lack of sleep can lead to a number of consequences affecting behavior, memory, emotions, and learning when we are awake.
50% of college students report daytime sleepiness, and 70% report insufficient sleep.Sleep is particularly important for college students because sufficient sleep has been linked to increases in GPA! Research has found: How much sleep are college students getting?Īs you might guess, most college students do not get the recommended amount of sleep necessary to maximize its benefits. The optimal amount of sleep for each person may vary, but generally research suggests 7-9 hours per night for college-aged populations. Assisting in optimal emotional control, decision making, and social interaction.Improving our ability to learn new information and form memories.Some examples of physiological and behavioral benefits of sleep include: As a result, sleep contributes to improvements in learning and promotes regulatory functions such as emotional and behavioral control that are important for each and every day. Sleep plays a critical role in helping our bodies and minds recover and rejuvenate.
SHOULD I SLEEP HOW TO
This handout discusses why it is important to maintain healthy sleep habits and provides tips and tricks on how to do it! Why is sleep so important? And when you’re taking online classes remotely, you may find yourself catching up on asynchronous course content at any hour of day or night while the rest of the household sleeps. Within the busy schedules of college students, sleep is often the first thing to go when trying to squeeze in all of the academic, social, and extracurricular activities that are often part of campus life. With plentiful sleep, we improve our mental and physical health, reduce stress, and maintain the routine that is critical to healthy daily functioning. Sleep promotes cognition and memory, facilitates learning, recharges our mental and physical batteries, and generally helps us make the most out of our days. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I’m awake.” Whether you have it all together during the day or feel more like Hemingway, we all benefit from healthy sleep habits. Ernest Hemingway is said to have once remarked, “I love sleep.