How to achieve a healthy night of sleep while maintaining a strong academic standing

Overview:

When I was a kid there was a popular stereotype around college students, and it was always about how students were always sleeping in and also constantly sleeping throughout the day. This was always translated to me as college students are lazy, and if they are always able to sleep 10 hours a night school must be pretty easy. Well now that I am one of those college students, I know firsthand that this assumption cannot be further from the truth. A large number of students today, including me, seriously struggle with falling and staying asleep throughout the night, and it really has an effect on the way we perform in the classroom. If we are sleeping in the middle of the day, it is usually a powernap in attempt to catch up on the sleep we lost the night before. This constant struggle to fall asleep, the waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall asleep, as well as getting out of bed in the morning feeling like you pulled an all-nighter is known as insomnia. According to an abstract done by sciencedirect.com, more than 30% of college students were reporting difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep in 2018, and you can only expect the number to keep on rising. This lack of sleep has had a direct effect on concentration levels throughout the day for these students, as well as how they perform in the classroom. Another study done by AASM showed that almost 70% of students with GPA’s below 3.0 reported having trouble sleeping, with almost 90% of those students also constantly waking up in the middle of the night. Of all these numbers, 73% of students with sleeping problems concluded this lack of sleep has a direct correlation with their ability to concentrate every day, and it is at least partly responsible for their low GPA’s. Although students like us who have trouble falling asleep think we are helpless, there are many different ways to attack insomnia without stopping at rite aid that will help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and ultimately make you feel refreshed every time you open your eyes.

Problem #1: Most college kids lack efficient amounts of daily exercise. This isn’t unheard of, as most students spend most of their days sitting down in a chair studying, where they should be. They may be exhausting their brains, but their body is far too unused throughout the day, refusing to give them the ability to have a healthy night of sleep. Solution #1: Get up, get out of house and EXERCISE! You should try and go for a 1-2 mile bike ride, walk, or a run every afternoon in between classes or after lunch to help relieve pent up energy, exercise your mind and body, and help exhaust yourself in order to start sleeping throughout the night. Keeping this regular exercise schedule for at least 7 days will immediately start showing a difference in your sleep schedule, and will keep you focused during the entire class period.

Problem #2: A good handful of college students, including me, fail to get the correct amount of sleep at night. Some of us are sleeping 4 hours, some sleeping as much as 11 hours, and the number of hours are usually very inconsistent. Solution #2: The truth is, our body and brain need to stick to a somewhat strict sleeping schedule in order to work well together, so make it happen and GET SOME SLEEP! Set a bed time for 10 o’clock every night, read or listen to a podcast for 30-45 minutes and fall asleep by 11 o’clock. Make sure to wake up by 8 a.m. every morning, because getting a full 9 hours of sleep every night is important for keeping up with mental health and increasing concentration throughout the day, especially in class. Keeping this schedule for about 7 days straight will train your body and mind to know 11 p.m. is bed time.

Problem #3: A popular conspiracy about students who are leaving to college is the idea that we are going to eat nothing but ramen and cereal for our entirety of our college career. Unfortunately, this is pretty accurate. A majority of students have far from healthy eating habits, and in order to sleep well, that needs to change. Solution #3: Avoid caffeine late at night, and more importantly, EAT WELL! Eat a balanced meal every day within 60 minutes of waking up, between noon and 1 p.m., and a protein filled dinner between 6 and 7 p.m. to make sure your body has all the nutrients it needs to get a full night of sleep. It is tough to stay on an exact eating schedule, but once you regulate your meals for about 7-14 days you will only feel hungry during those times of the day while feeling satisfied and focused in class, and throughout the rest of the day.

Summary:

Overall, keeping your mind, body, and ambition happy and healthy is really the key to succeeding in the classroom. Most students think getting less sleep allows them to study longer, read more, and ultimately improve their grades. The truth is, you will probably get less studying done and will definitely be less productive on 5 hours of sleep compared to 9 hours of sleep. I know it may not seem like much of a difference to you, but making sure you are consistently exercising, setting a regulated sleep schedule, and maintaining a balanced diet will assist you in attaining a higher than average GPA and improving your overall quality of life.

Published by Jake Scott

jmscott@csus.edu

Jake Scott takes full responsibility for the information posted. The information on this page represents that of Jake Scott and not that of California State University, Sacramento.

Works Cited

“Effects of Insomnia in College Students: AASM.” American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers, 27 Feb. 2020, aasm.org/insomnia-significantly-affects-the-school-performance-of-college-students/.

Vedaa, Øystein, et al. “Insomnia, Sleep Duration and Academic Performance: a National Survey of Norwegian College and University Students.” Sleep Medicine: X, Elsevier, 28 June 2019, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590142719300059.