It has been a busy week for me…so busy I can’t even remember what day it is. With me, when my week is busy the first thing that I remove from my life is SLEEP.
Wrong decision…trust me. When I am overtired I feel like my life is on auto-pilot. I am simply going through the motions. I hope these following sleep tips can help you improve your sleep habits and show you the importance of sleep while in university (they will help me for sure!)
1. Try to establish a regular bedtime routine: for me it is watching TV. When I lay in my bed at night and put the TV on my brain automatically knows its time to wind down. Right now I am watching Full House on Netflix so I try to watch one 20min episode before bed to relax (who doesn’t love uncle Jesse, right??)….I usually cannot even make it through the entire episode before I am asleep. If TV is not an option that works for you, try reading, listening to music or taking a warm bath.
2. Create a sleep-friendly environment: Examples of this can be a room that is quiet, dark and cool. Blackout curtains are an essential for me (but make it hard to wake up in the morning). You can also try using an eye mask or ear plugs as a quick fix!
3. Limit afternoon naps to one hour or less: I am not going to tell you to get rid of afternoon naps all together because sometimes they are 100% necessary! Just try to limit your nap time…this will help keep your night time sleep patterns regular.
4. Maintain a regular wake schedule: Yes, even on weekends. You will be amazed what you can accomplish in your morning when you wake up before 10am!
5. Keep a clean and neat bed: This may be a personal one, but I love crawling into a bed with clean, crisp sheets and nice pillows. Make a point to wash your sheets at least once a week. They also say you should change your pillows every 6 months (just something to keep in mind!)
I hope these tips can help both you and I with our sleep habits,
Sweet Dreams……..zzzz…….zzzz……zzzz
Kaitlin
Source: http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/health-promotion/sleep/tips-getting-good-sleep