We’ve all had a phone call from Mom or Dad asking if we’ve had enough sleep while away at university. We might say yes… but is it true?
Let’s face it: there is a sleep loss epidemic in universities. Between attending classes, endless assignments, working to pay the bills, cramming for exams, and attempting to have a social life, sleep may not take priority on our list.
Sleep expert Alanna McGinn pushes forward the narrative of a good sleep schedule and its impact on physical and mental well-being. McGinn is the founder of Good Night Sleep Site, a company focused on addressing sleep challenges and implementing healthy sleeping habits. Since 2007, McGinn has set up sleep programs designed for all ages that look at “sleep training support” to create the ideal night-time schedule.
McGinn said when she started in the industry 16 years ago, there were nowhere near enough resources and information targeting sleep issues. Starting Good Night Sleep Site was built on the idea that “there isn’t much [sleep advice] out there other than mother-in-law advice, or family advice, and it was a necessary certification to support families,” she said.
If you don’t know where to start with your sleep, don’t worry, as McGinn shared the best tips for getting quantity and quality sleep.
- Talk More About Your Sleep!
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The most important step you can take to fix your sleep schedule is to talk about it! Talking about sleeping struggles and habits can brush away some stigma and allow you to open up to receiving help.
McGinn said that if you want to prioritize your health, reassess your sleep patterns and habits with a professional or family member to try to understand the root cause and create sustainable habits.
- remember The Importance of Sleep Hygiene
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Yes, having a shower before bed is surely relaxing enough to make you snooze as soon as you hit the pillow, but that’s not the kind of hygiene McGinn is talking about. She classified sleep hygiene as the “steps and practices an individual can take in order to optimize their sleep health.”
According to McGinn, this can look like following a regular sleep pattern of going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. She emphasized the importance of a solid routine, especially how the “morning wake time is very important, [it] builds a drive for sleep throughout the day,” so you can fall asleep when you actually feel tired.
- Focus on Your Sleep Environment
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McGinn said when setting up your sleep environment, it’s important to “focus on your five senses — what do you need to hear, to see, to taste, to touch, to smell, that would help you sleep better?”
No matter where you sleep, whether you are in a dorm or your own apartment, you have to set up your ideal sleep space for your personal sleep needs. If you are in a dorm room, this could look like wearing earplugs and an eye mask or perhaps even using a sound machine.
- Ditch the Tech before bed
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We all use and love technology, and although you might want to throw your laptop to the side and fall asleep right after, it may be more damaging than we think.
McGinn suggests that we stay away from bright screens right before we go to sleep, considering our brain has something she calls a “sleep switch.” The quick transition between screen and sleep affects the quality of your sleep as well, and our snoozing might not be “the best restorative sleep because your body still feels like it’s awake.”
Try taking a break from the screen and watch it improve your sleep and your productivity.
- Rethink What Are You Consuming
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One of the most important things to consider when getting into bed and curling up under your blankets is what you are bringing with you.
McGinn shared that stressing about an upcoming deadline, watching TV, the news, or consuming social media content that heightens your stress and anxiety will affect your quality of sleep. She advised that we “set boundaries on what you are allowing in before you go to bed to help reduce that stress and anxiety.”
- Work on Time Management
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A perhaps overlooked tip to getting the best quality sleep is looking at what you do during the day and how that affects your sleep schedule.
As McGinn mentioned, “So much of what you do during the day can help you sleep better at night.”
Investing in a planner or any organization system to help you plan your day out can help you avoid late-night studying and allow you to focus on getting those solid eight hours of sleep per night.
- Avoid Large Meals Before Bed
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Hey, we get it, we have all had the experience of working late on an assignment, and perhaps you missed your set meal time and are looking for something to eat before you hit the hay.
McGinn said, “Our body can only work on one thing at a time; when it’s busy digesting food, it’s not able to get proper restorative sleep.” So it’s best to avoid the big meal and choose something lighter instead.
- VALUE YOUR SLEEP!
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Finally, McGinn’s number one tip to get the best, restorative eight hours of sleep is to hold sleep at the same value as you would your exercise and nutrition plan.
It’s challenging to mentally commit to adapting and improving your sleep schedule. “You aren’t going to see results overnight, it’s changing a habit, [and] it takes 21 days to change a habit,” McGinn said.
In the end, improving your sleep will allow for greater productivity, mental clarity, and physical health. If you consider all or just some of these points and apply them to your sleep routine, you’ll be getting eight hours of restorative sleep in no time!