studygene: Hello, Tulip here! As a studyblr and a pre-health student, I absolutely advocate the im
Hello, Tulip here! As a studyblr and a pre-health student, I absolutely advocate the importance of self-care and healthy choices, which is why I am making this absolutely important master-post about sleep. I’ve done a lot of research to pull this together but I want to clarify that I am not a medical health professional, so some of the advice I give in this post will/will not work for everybody. Here’s an outline of the topics that I will be covering in this post:
- thebenefits of sleeping
- tips & tricks to a restful night of sleep
- the art of napping
- meditation
- the (proper) way to pull off an all-nighter
- waking up early
- otherhelpful resources
A BIG remember: NEVER EVER sacrifice sleep for staying up all night to study. Never.
The benefits of sleeping
- It can boost your mood, motivation and health. The amount of sleep you get can determine your lifespan and quality of life! With inefficient amount of sleep, people get agitated and moody during the following day; chronic limited sleep can lead to mood disorders and long-term anxiety and depression. In addition, during sleep, your immune system is busy making new molecules to strengthen your body’s ability to fight off infections. When your body is awake, your cardiovascular system is put on a lot of stress and constantly under pressure; with sleep, your heart can take a breather and keep your blood pressure and cholesterol level in check.
- Sleep reduces stress levels. A good nights sleep can help lower blood pressure and elevate levels of stress hormones (which is good). A lot of stress can literally degenerate and tear your cells, which makes you age faster. Sleep slows down these effects and encourages relaxation
- Sleepcontrols body weight issues. Sleep helps regulates hormones that affect and control your appetite. Studies have shown that when your body is deprived of sleep, your hormones are imbalanced and increases your appetite.
- Sleepimproves your memory. Sleep can help you make better connections, and improve your concentration. When you sleep, your brain is busy making correlations and organizing memories and “practices” skills learned while you were awake.
- Sleepspurs creativity. In addition to making connections and organizing memories, it can help your brain reorganize and restructure them to cultivate creativity! As they say, when you’re stuck on something, sleep on it!
- Sleepincreases your grades. Studies have shown that students who don’t get enough sleep tend to get worse grades than those who do get better sleep. Sleep deprivation impairs learning.
- Sleepsharpens your attention and keeps you focused! Many studies have shown that those who are lacking in sleep have a lower attention span and ability to concentrate on tasks. Studies have found that lack of sleep happens to often be a symptom among those diagnosed with ADHD.
Tips & tricks to a restful night of sleep
- Follow a schedule. Don’t make sporadic sleep times. Lights out at 9pm means lights out at 9pm, not binge-watch on bed until 2 am.
- Read a book. Especially a boring book with jargon that you don’t understand (my personal favorite is Atlas Shrugged by Any Rand - I never get past the first 3 chapters without dozing off). No murder mysteries or books with some kick-ass female main character that makes you want to rip your hair apart because of the plethora of romance interests you can pair her up with, but can’t decide.
- Listen to soundtracks of rain or ocean waves crashing or crickets chirping.
- Sayno to technology near bed.
- Cool down your room.
- Dim the lights.
- Relax your body. Try yogaor some light stretches to relax your muscles. Do some relaxing night rituals like putting on some nice scented lotion.
- Meditate for 15 minutes. Clear your mind, and you can go to sleep peacefully.
- Comfy bed + comfy sheets + comfy clothes
- bye bye caffeine = no tea, no coffee, no soda, no alcohol
- cut down on water consumption before bed (to avoid going to the bathroom in the middle of the night)
- wear socks to bed - warm hands and feet have some weird effect on falling asleep
- take a warm shower before going to sleep - on that note, don’t go to bed with wet hair…it’s a cold waiting to happen.
- 4-7-8 breathingmethod
- lavender scent in the bedroom - a stress free aromatherapy
- Remember what I said about never sacrificing sleep? Well, there’s an exception…if you really can’t fall asleep and your body is restless, don’t just lay there and stare at your ceiling. Get up and do something.
The art of napping
Napping, aka, mini-sleeps or dozing off…especially during the day (ideal for a peaceful afternoon) happens to actually have an art form to it, especially in increments of time. Napping is beneficial as it can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. How long should you nap? Here’s a brief guide:
- 1- 5 minutes (micro naps): great for shaking off sleepiness.
- 10-20 minutes (power naps): ideal for a boost of alertness and energy; usually limits your sleep at the Stage 1 and 2 of sleeping, making it easier to get up and get moving.
- 60 minutes: best for improving memorization. A little grogginess when waking up. Best before a presentation or meeting.
- 90 minutes (the full cycle): Improves creativity, emotional memory and procedural memory. Best before an impending deadline or a big test. Avoids sleep inertia and makes it easier to get up.
Quick pointers: Prime nap time is between 1pm to 3pm. Don’t nap 3 hours before bedtime because it will interfere with your regular sleep schedule. Always set an alarm or ask someone (reliable) to wake you up. Find a quite and dark place (or white noise + eye mask) to nap at.
Meditation
- Choose a quite place and sit comfortably. Most people sit in the traditional cross-legged. The most important thing is to keep your back straight.
- Have your eyes partially closed and concentrate on your breathing. Don;t control your breathing, just be natural about it.
- Don’t think about anything but the rhythm of your breathing. Don’t worry about clearing your mind, it comes naturally with your concentration.
- You can even count beads or say a light repetitive prayer.
- Meditation for beginners
- Guided meditation
- Why meditate?
The proper way of pulling off an all-nighter
I don’t encourage all nighters at all, but sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures:
- Take a nap during the day. Your body won’t be as tired while you stay awake all night.
- Perfect time to take a nap is between 1pm-3pm or 1am-3am
- Eat proteins. Your body needs energy to fuel it through the night. That being said, eat light. Avoid carbs.
- Grab caffeine. Caffeine is only effective in keeping you up all night if you abstain from it the day before and the day leading up to your all-nighter.
- Do some exercise periodically through the night.
- Play video game soundtracks. Keeps your attention from drooping.
- Do not study on your bed.Self-explainatory.
- Keep your window open during the night. Fresh air = fresh mind
- Don’t make all-nighters a habit. It decreases concentration and hurts your long term memory.
Another alternative to all-nighter is to go to sleep early (8 pm), and wake up early, around 5 am or so.
Waking up early
- Get excited about the morning. A funny thing that motivates me is to imagine my dream breakfast, you know, chocolate chip pancakes, a fresh choice of fruit, a tall glass of refreshing juice (yum!)
- Put your alarm/phone far away from your bed. This will force you to get up from your bed to turn off your alarm.
- Set your alarm clock 15 minutes ahead your actual wake up time.
- Sayno to the snooze button.
- Schedule your wake up time. Wake up at the same time every morning and be consistent. No excuses.
- Have a morning jam.This is my personal favorite.
- Drink water.
- Stretch. Like actually stretch.
- Splash cold water in your face. Or take a cold shower - it usually helps wake the body up.
- Have a good breakfast.
- Smile in the mirror; remind yourself that you’re freaking awesome and head out that door to conquer the day!
Other Resources
Websites:
- sleepti.me - calculates best time to go to sleep and to wake up
- rainymood - rain soundtrack overlay to help go to sleep (perfect with classical music or downtempo)
- rain, rain - app for sleep sounds on iOS and Android
- sleep tag/playlists on 8tracks (sound of rain/ocean waves or crickets chirping is the best for falling asleep)
Other master-posts about sleep:
Wed, 27 Apr 2016 18:22:41
