College students are often “pushed to the max” with homework assignments, papers due, exams, part time jobs and other such stresses. This all leads to a lack of sleep, which lends itself to more undue stress. This can all be remedied sans the over the counter or prescription medication. A few tips to consider.
Stimulus control. Ensure that the bedroom is a placed used solely for sleep. Activities such as reading, working, watching television and gabbing with friends should be reserved for other rooms. Also, place alarms, clocks and radios at least three feet from the bed itself.
Eat, drink, be merry. Light carbs, dairy or turkey as a bedtime snack often times increases melatonin and tryptophan; hormones that induce sleep. Bananas often aide in muscle relaxation.
Routine. Humans are creatures of habit so calculate your perfect bedtime and stick to it.
Meditation. Studies show that by placing one arm across your forehead and controlling deep breath intake, the body slows and craves rest.
More meditation. Sit on the couch for twenty minutes without the television or radio on and imagine all of the things that worry you or could come to mind as you lay in bed. Write them down so that you can tackle them head on tomorrow and then place the list on the kitchen table.
Nature. Animals sleep at sundown. Humans, before electricity, slept at sundown. This is the sleep pattern that nature intended and so why not come to terms with it? The work that you think you are completing late at night will take a drastic turn for the better if done in the morning.
Potty. It may sound silly, but sit in the bathroom until you expel all excess fluids.
Get up. One of the worst things that you can do if you are unable to sleep, is to lie awake. Get up and go into a different room but do not turn on the lights. If you are going to watch a television show, do not watch infomercials or the news – it often alerts the brain. Instead turn on a familiar movie or rerun.
Exercise. You have heard it before, but afternoon exercise often exudes the excess energy from your body, allowing it to relax later on.
No napping! A nap steals part of your sleep time. If you feel tired after lost sleep, do something instead, like run errands, make the bed, vacuum.
These simple steps to add to you routine do not take much effort and will have you sleeping like a baby, leading to a more productive day at school and work.