Maximize Your Study Time: 10 Tips for Better Sleep

You’re a college student, probably juggling studies with work and other obligations. You even may be guilty of staying up all night to cram for a test or finish a paper. If only you could get some sleep!

Sleep deprivation has some bad side effects, including decreasing your ability to focus on course work or anything else. Even if you can set aside a decent number of hours to crash, what if you can’t fall asleep?

Here are some ideas that may help you get the rest you need, perform better in school and feel better:

1. Follow a consistent bedtime routine. While there may be exceptions, try to stick with a consistent bedtime.
2. Give yourself time to prepare for sleep with a nighttime routine. Don’t expect your best sleep to come immediately after turning off the computer and hitting the sack. While this works for some blessed few, you need time to wind down.
3. Consider reading part of a novel or other non-academic book before you go to sleep. If you can immerse yourself in a story, rather than the last page you read about statistics or the Crimean War, it might help you reduce stress and thinking about worries.
4. Try to get a full night’s sleep every day. For some, that’s eight or nine hours, others wake up refreshed after six. Figure out what works best for you.
5. Do we need to say this? Don’t drink coffee, tea, sodas – or eat chocolate (ouch!) – within several hours of bedtime. Caffeine is not a good way to end the day.
6. If you have too much to do – and literally not enough hours in a day to accomplish what you need – consider what changes you can make to reclaim enough time to feel rested and not stressed 24/7. What could you remove from your list of tasks or activities that are overloading you?
7. If you can, keep TVs out of the bedroom, and leave the computer behind, too. Sleep in a quiet, dark room that’s not too warm.
8. Hungry before you go to bed? Try a glass of milk or a small healthy snack.
9. Don’t work out, run, jog, or do the Stairmaster before bed. Cranking up your heart rate before crashing isn’t a great way to prepare for sleep. 
10. Get up at the same time every day. There’s no such thing as “catching up on your sleep.” Staying on schedule is the best way to feel rested.