Be kind to yourself
You are a student, and you want to do IT ALL!, right? Excellent. However, you also need your sleep to function. Students tend to become night owls, and adapt the same sleeping scheme as a kid that just hit puberty: going to bed late and getting out of bed late.
To get your sleep to function, first of all, you need to have more empathy for yourself. Accept that your brain works better later in the day, don’t try to fool others and yourself by setting the alarm early in the morning to study before the class starts. Just save your studies for later in the day. It’s ok.
Now that you’ve accepted that, let’s talk about routines. Routines are essential, according to Marcel Smits, a neurologist at the Gelderland Valley hospital. She says that it’s not so bad if you’re going to bed late; the bad thing is when you’re starting to experiment with bedtime. Conclusion: go to bed late every night, and do so with pride!
Problems falling asleep?
If you’re into working out, keep doing that! But remember to finish it up 2 hours before sleep. “The transition between being very active and much less active takes time,” Smits says.
If you have trouble falling asleep, here are some free, great apps that might help:
Headspace
This app has helped a lot of people and has undoubtedly made a name for itself. It’s a meditation app with lots of different and soothing content. The app is free, but you’re able to subscribe to it to unlock more content.
Calm
Oh yes, this is the real deal. With Calm, you listen to stories told by people with soothing voices (e.g. Matthew McConaughey!).
Rain Rain Sleep Sounds
This is a great one! Choose between a library filled with different kinds of nature sounds and white noises. It’s literally music to your ears.
And last but not least, your room. It may be a small room or a big apartment. This is where the magic happens, so you need to take care of this space. “Make sure you have a good mattress, curtains that block out daylight and avoid being woken up by any sounds in the night,” says Smits. “Our biological clock mainly responds to light and dark, so getting a good night’s sleep also depends on turning off your laptop, your TV, and your phone. The screens on these devices emit blue light, and this type of light tells your brain that it’s daytime, and so it’s time to get up.”
Yes, your life kind circles around your studies. But don’t give up on the fun stuff! Practice accepting this messy but memorable time in your life. You may not experience the ultimate beauty sleep, but you’ll experience a lot more. Be kind to yourself!
