Snoozes, catnaps, and slumbers

And now for a *very attractive montage of pictures taken of me while I sleep.

*not

Should be studying.

Should be working on a project.

Caught me red-handed, sleeping during lecture.

Perry the platypus!

Should be studying.

Should be studying.

Anyway...

It's a well-known fact that people are most sleep-deprived in college. I think that statistic actually means that we get the least amount of real, comfortable, night-time sleep. It almost feels as if I sleep a lot when I'm at school, and these pictures kind of support me on that. But only one of those pictures depicts me in my pajamas, in my bed, and having washed my face and brushed my teeth. The rest of them? I'm nowhere near my bed and nowhere near getting the real sleep my body needs.

Why isn't it enough to steal an hour here and there of naptime in the library cubicles? Without adequate sleep, I'm setting myself up for anxiety, depression, sickness, and academic issues. *DUN DUN DUNNN*

For me and a lot all of my classmates, college is a big contest to see how long we can stay up and do work until we simply keel over. Some of those engineering kids are a lot more skilled than me in that respect. Power to you, engineering kids. We get our work done, but we're exhausted. All the time. I've learned over these past few semesters how to sleep wherever I am whenever I have a few minutes to spare. The truth is, though, you can't make up for lost sleep that way.

So, I've tried compiling a few tactics to keep my workload and my sleep schedule at least somewhat in tact, which I'll be trying out this semester for sure.

1. Try, try, try as hard as possible to get the same amount of sleep every night at around the same time. Our bodies like being subject to that kind of routine, and it'll respond positively to our sleepy times being regulated.

2. Take naps whenever possible. I'm always so bitter when it comes to taking naps, as glorious as they are, because I feel like they detract from the amount of time I have to work on assignments or to study. As a result, I end up wasting opportunities for some good shut-eye in the middle of the day.

The 4 Types of Naps you should know about

3. Exercise more. Another thing I dread because it could potentially take away precious time. But in the grand scheme of things, I guess I could spare at least 30 minutes for a decent work out and another 30 minutes for a quick shower before getting back to work. Exercise will certainly help boost your energy levels, and generally makes it easier for me, personally, to fall asleep at night.

4. Sleep in a good environment. There are various stages of sleep, and even the slightest disturbances can pull us out of that 'deep sleep' stage and into a light, less restful sleep. Try avoiding falling asleep at the library, taking naps while your friends are around, and sleeping not on your bed (all the things I do).

5. Listen to your body. Trying to finish a project while your body is shutting down on you isn't just unproductive, it's hurting you and your grades. I can speak from experience that it's hard to put down a project or assignment that you're totally focused on just to get some sleep and then try to pick it back up later, but my friend, Megan, swears by it. If you know your body is positively aching for your bed, sleep first, get up early, and finish your work in the morning.

6. Take it easy on the caffeine. I'm in college. I know about college kids and coffee. Once, I had so many cups I actually shook and couldn't sleep all night (never again). Just be smart about the caffeine intake. Don't drink too much later in the day and don't drink it if you really don't need to. The point of it is to boost your energy, not to keep you up til dawn.

7. Avoid all-nighters. Okay, who would willingly pull an all-nighter? They suck! And they screw up your sleepy times monumentally.

I've also got a little obsessed with this beauteous little app which helps me keep track of my sleep, what helps and doesn't help and whatnot.

How do manage your sleep schedule?

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