Ah, sleep.
The time of day that we college students look forward to the most, even from the moment we awaken from it. Yet, it’s one of the rarest commodities; yes! The most elusive of luxuries. Thankfully, we don’t have to sacrifice it for the good of our grades or our social life.
Wait, WHAT?
That’s right. You don’t have to sacrifice sleep to get the most out of college. In fact, it’s easy to get more sleep and to feel more rested so that you’re not always running on empty–and, might I propose, to get the FULL college experience.
The Four Easy Steps
Prioritize. Need help with that or want to understand why? Click here.
Put sleep on your priorities list. I’m not trying to tell you what your priorities should be, but I am telling you that if your personal health is not near the top of your priorities list, none of your other priorities matter. Lack of sleep dumbs you down, makes you forgetful, make you more stressed, make you gain weight, and even leads to depression. Remember…you can’t do anything you want to do if you’re not physically taking care of yourself.
Carve out some time. Take a look at your planner. How early do you need to get up every day in order to take care of yourself and make it to classes or work on time? Now…count at least 7.5 hours backwards–up to nine hours, depending on how much you think you need. If, after a couple of weeks, you don’t think 7.5 hours is enough…add a little bit more to it–even if it’s just a half hour. For example, I was in a nurse school and I couldn’t control my sleep. After graduating I started working thanks to nursing cv writing service. This is where the self-control comes in. But trust me, being fully awake and present for family, friends, classes, and other life-y things will pay off. Over time, you’ll find that you’ll start getting sleepy about a half hour before your bed time, anyways.
That’s it. That’s really all it takes. If you follow these four steps…you’re golden.
What About My Grades and Social Life?
The thing is, once you start getting more sleep, you start getting way more productive during the day. You finish homework more quickly, retain information better, and study more effectively. It even makes sitting through classes easier and less of a drag. And once you set that boundary (bed time) for yourself, you learn how to set boundaries in other areas of your life. That means that your self-control increases…and you have control of your life.
Now, since you’re finishing school work more quickly, you’ll find more time to spend with the people you love and to do fun things. You’ll find that you are more effective at managing your time–so you don’t have to sacrifice your friendships for sleep!
Now…I’m not saying that you have to be perfect. This is tough for me sometimes–coincidentally, I decided to undertake the task of writing a post about getting more sleep during the same week that I’ve actually been getting less of it. Now, it’s Friday, and I’ve ended up sick! Learn from my mistake (and many, many mistakes past)!