One of the hardest realities of a new semester, is getting your sleep schedule back on track. How in the hell do we get up for a 10 a.m.???
That may sound ridiculous, but while on break, I’m usually still asleep at that time. Within these last two weeks of winter break, I set my alarm for 9:30 a.m. so I did not waste time, even if I knew I wasn’t leaving the house that day. Mainly, I did this because my biggest challenge is eating breakfast. It normally takes me a few hours after I get up to start becoming hungry. So, something that I will do this semester to help me, is to get up maybe an hour earlier than I normally do. This way hunger will come quicker, and I will have the time to eat breakfast in general.
As childish as this tip sounds, I am setting myself a solid bedtime to have a consistent schedule. This may get disrupted on some nights because, well, it’s college. I’ll never know when I’ll have to have a late night to study or work on a paper. But this is where time-management comes into play. Which as a second semester senior, I am pretty good at by now.
Here is something that you might not think of; don’t eat or drink sugary things in the middle of the day. This will cause you to have a crash-and-burn type feel during lunch time. You will feel this huge urge to take a nap, but you really don’t have time to take one. While at lunch, skip the pop and grab a vitamin water or a flavored water instead.
Some of this may come off as extreme common sense, but who knows, everyone is a different thinker from the next. My biggest concern this semester is getting enough sleep every night. And I don’t mean the “get your 8 hours in” type of sleep. I find that personally I get through my day a lot better with at least 9.5 hours of sleep. You know your body, so determine what you really need.
This does not mean sleep in late because you don’t have class until noon. Stay consistent and you should feel ready to go every day. Also, it truly helps to put down your phone once you have laid down in bed. Flip it upside down, or turn to the other side to avoid temptation, it works.
Welcome back to school!