Exams are lingering. All the ways that we can “do better next semester” are consuming the time we spend procrastinating. Maybe next semester I can “be perfect.” But alas, if I have learned one thing from life it’s that I will never be perfect, and that’s okay.
One book that has really impacted me is James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Clear proposes that instead of ostensibly trying to “change the entire world” overnight, we improve by 1% every single day. This has changed the way that I develop my routines, and I hope is something that you keep in mind as you think about yours.
This last semester humbled me. I realized I needed actual, concrete routines for bedtime and waketime. I can’t just fly by the seat of my pants because otherwise I will be tossing and turning at 1 in the morning, mind racing.
Sleep, as my Psychology of Sleep course has very clearly shown me, is actually important! (Who would’ve thought, ha ha.) Although it was obvious to me this was the case, learning about the neurobiological mechanisms behind how sleep functions inside of us pushed me to take a closer look at the ways I rest. Sleep allows information we learn during the day to be reinforced, integrated, and stored inside our memories! If we don’t sleep, our bodies aren’t able to retain anything, heal, grow, and have energy for the next day.
As students, it is easy for us to normalize the experience of burnout. We live by our to-do lists, our calendar invites, our flooded inboxes, and the constant flurry of notifications rolling through our phones. We fall asleep while doom-scrolling, we wake up at 3am our minds ablaze, we write emails next to our duvet blankets, we have trouble sleeping—always.
Sleep Hygiene refers to all the different factors that work together to create the best environment for making you sleepy and keeping you asleep. This involves all sorts of things that you might not have thought about before, but that all impact the quality of your sleep! Things like the temperature of your bedroom, the lighting around you, when you are exercising, when you are consuming anything, electronics around you, if you work from your bed, how consistent the time you sleep and wake is, if you nap at all, among others.
Since I have had to engage with this literature and information for class, this has been something I have been constantly learning over the last semester, and I wanted to share with you some practical ways we can apply good sleep hygiene principles together!
Have a regular sleep schedule that actually works for you
I don’t think everyone needs to be a morning person. I also don’t think everyone needs to be a night owl. Everyone’s internal clock, which determines when their body naturally wakes up and goes to sleep, is different. Still, it is important to hone in on what is practical, beneficial, and attainable for you. My goal this semester has been to wake up every day consistently at 7 am because I have come to learn that regardless of whether or not I have an 8:30 am class, I do my best work in the mornings. So, I tend to make study plans, coffee dates, and gym plans, which are similar over the course of many weeks, first thing so that I can optimize the boost of energy I know I get in the morning. But maybe you’re the opposite! You have loads of energy at 6 pm and you feel most productive then—optimize that! What is important is that you don’t overcomplicate it. Try to find a time that you can consistently wake up and go to sleep at—it will make building a better sleep routine a lot easier because you can build consistency from the get-go.
Avoid blue light before bed
If you are aiming for a specific time to wake up, it’s important to set yourself up for success (as I’ve learned through many failings, ha ha). I am sorry to be the one to tell you, but all the people on the internet, all the researchers in sleep labs, even your mom who keeps nagging you to be kinder to yourself—they were right. You fall asleep faster when you aren’t on any screen before bed. Activating night mode on your devices can help, but our bodies can’t fully wind down for bed when a buzzing glowing rectangle is screaming for attention. One hour before I decide I need to have the lights out & tuck myself into bed, I try to make sure I plug my phone in on the other side of the room. My phone goes on night mode and I set my alarm for the next morning. I check the weather for the next day and subsequently set out the things I will need in the morning. (For example, if I am planning on going to the gym, I will set out my running shoes and my workout clothes.) After this, I turn on my little essential oil diffuser (according to research, smelling lavender before bed helps you fall asleep and relax more!), brew my chamomile tea (also proven to help you fall asleep faster!!), and cozy up with my journal and whatever book is on my nightstand right now.
How you sleep and what your body needs to feel well rested will be different from me. What I hope is that this gives you a helpful jumping off point for learning how to personalize sleep and find what works best for you!
Cheers,
Hannah