Sleep-Efficiency: How to “Rest Easy”

1AM, you woke up at seven and you are crawling into bed completely exhausted from class, studying, internship applications, and just life! You have waited all day to finally get some sleep. You close your eyes, ready to drift off into deep bliss.

1:30AM and you’re still awake. How did this happen? You have been exhausted all day, falling asleep in class, downing coffee every minute of the day and now, you can’t sleep. This just doesn’t make sense.

This exhausting but inexplicable inability sleep happens often to college kids. But there are ways to prevent this from happening! Here are some tips to make even your rest an efficient use of time.

Limit your caffeine intake!

When it comes to sleep, there are some obvious things. As your parents would say, you need to watch your caffeine intake. This does matter. Too much caffeine will throw off your natural sleep cycle, causing you to be awake when you are tired. Ok, sometimes you just need some coffee but try to keep it to a minimum, so unless you are physically falling asleep avoid that cup of coffee. And go back to high school when your parents lectured you about going to bed on time. Eight hours is the minimum amount of sleep you need. Along with the right amount, try to keep a regular schedule to stay on cycle.

De-stress

De-stressing before you go to sleep is key. Clear your head of the day’s activities and everything that you have to do tomorrow. One way to help do this is to make a to do list before you go to sleep so you are not thinking about what you have to do the next day.

And yes, there are “de-stressing” activities that you shouldn’t do right before you go to sleep. Watching light-hearted TV is a good way to relax, but be mindful not to watch TV on your laptop right before you go to sleep. The light and picture from the laptop screen makes it hard for you to fall asleep (there are studies to prove this, I promise). Instead, look a magazine or read a light non-educational book. Make sure the book is not intense or suspenseful since it can make you tense, which keeps you from falling asleep right away. And yes, a lot of schoolwork is reading but a truly light read will not produce any mental strain.

All-natural sleep aid

Personally, sleeping pills and NyQuil kind of scare me. That is why if I’m really having a hard time falling asleep I have an all-natural go to: warm milk and honey. Yeah, it might sound weird but not only is it delicious, it does help you fall asleep. Pour milk into a microwavable mug and then stir in as much honey as you’d like. Follow this up by sticking the milk and honey in the microwave for about a minute and thirty seconds or until warm. After that, take your drink out, sip up, and I promise that you will be resting easy!