College Survival Guide: GET SOME SLEEP!

Hey all you out there! Sorry I haven't done a survival guide post in a while, been busy surviving hahaha.

So I just wanted to do a short post on something that is important to all of us...sleep.

We all have heard horror stories about college all-nighters, how coffee will become your best friend and how sleep will become a thing of the past. I'm here to tell you that this is not necessarily true.

It is beyond crucial that you get some sleep during college and here are a couple reasons why:

1. Sleep helps revitalize your brain and keep you healthy

2. It helps thing stick in your brain better, so if you study a bit before you get some sleep it will stay better than if you wake up really early and do it.

3. You don't want to be irritable and grouchy (keep others in mind lol)

4. I said this already but the most important part: YOUR HEALTH!

For more info on why you should get sleep from really smart research peoples check out this University Sleep Study.

The key to getting sleep is planning your time effectively and studying for little bits over time rather than cramming. This goes back to time management (which you can check out that post here) and effective study habits (I will put the link here once I get that post up). But a quick Google search can help you find study habits tips and tricks. (One thing you should look into is the forgetting curve, will talk about that later.)

So anyway, just remember over all: find time for sleep. It is not something you should be sacrificing and, at the same time, not something you should be abusing either. Find a balance that works for you as with all things. But for a minimum, as a college student you should be getting at least 6-10 hours of sleep a night.

So here are some tips for sleep (that you can find in the study above):
1. Nap effectively (don't over sleep with naps, do it early in the day and for at most 30 minutes)
2. Establish a sleep ritual and regular sleep and wake up times to get your body on a schedule.
3. Make sure you are comfortable! Don't compromise when if comes to this, this is one of the biggest factors to affect sleep.
4. Don't eat right before bed and avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine before bed.
5. Remember that your bed is for sleep and sex! Find a different study place!
6. Get ear plugs for that one inevitable asshole who doesn't realize what time it is and needs to shut up.

Hope these tips help and, as always, good luck!
<3 Kimmie