guess who almost always functions on 3-4 hours of sleep!! me!! but that’s not good, so here are my tips for: getting more sleep, what to do if you can’t fall asleep, how to make a sleep-deprived day more bearable, and more!! welcome to the fourth post in the #studyingwithacdemic series :)

so, sleep. it’s a huge problem with students because there’s so much work, and also so many other things that take up your time. how on earth can you get everything done in twenty four hours?! here’s a secret, though: if you get the right things done, less than twenty four hours is plenty.

－ how do i get enough sleep every night?

• you’ve all heard that we need eight hours of sleep every night to have a healthy amount of sleep, but it’s actually more like nine. so, those all nighters you’ve been pulling recently? not such a great idea.
  
• what helps me is getting a head start. i’ll finish up what i want to do for the day about an hour before i actually get into my bed, turn off tech thirty minutes before i get into bed, etc. this is just so that my brain knows that i’m calling it a day and it can wind down. 
• another thing that might help is meditation. it sounds funny and irrelevant but aCTUALLY NO it will calm you and you can go to sleep feeling very content instead of stressing over the next day.
• plan out your next day beforehand. the days i actually do this, i’m much more productive and i can go to sleep earlier. you don’t need to make anything fancy, just write out a to do list on a scrap piece of paper. anything works. by putting some thought into how you want to spend your time, you can get a general idea of how much time you allot for each activity and where you need to be when, etc. it’ll help you in the long run!!
• something i learned the hard way: don’t exercise right before bed. an hour before you sleep is fine, and possibly even helpful. five minutes before you crawl under your covers? you’ll be sweaty and gross, but worse, you’ll most likely energized. you think exercise will tire you out and exhaust the rest of your energy so you can fall asleep quicker, but nooo.
• general rule of thumb, don’t procrastinate. my latest nights / worst all nighters happened because i just couldn’t focus that day and had to do everything at four am (or some ridiculous hour like that). procrastination is never ever ever ever ever helpful and there are better ways to spend your time!!!
• know yourself really, really well. “enough” sleep for one person isn’t the same as “enough” for another person (although, you should get as much sleep as possible). if you know that you can’t function the next day with less than 8 ½ hours of sleep, don’t get any less than that. if you know you can’t fall asleep thirty minutes after drinking a latte, don’t drink one. it’s always important to understand how you work.
• it’s totally cool to stay out and partayyyy with your buddies but never let social life affect your health. okay? okay.

－ “i’m not tiiiiiired”

• yes, you are. shush.
• if you take naps during the afternoon, or sleep in class.. just try to avoid it. napping makes it a lot harder to fall asleep (and stay asleep! this is coming from someone who took a nap and woke up at 1!!).
• have you had any drinks / food such as coffee, tea, or energy bars? have those earlier in the day (or not at all) so that they don’t mess you up when it’s 11:30pm and you’re trying to sleep.
• a lot of people say that if you’re not tired, you should read a book or something to fall asleep. this is why you need to know yourself really well. if i read a book, i’m going to finish it - so i avoid starting to read a book close to bedtime. however, for plenty of other people, reading works well!
• if you’re saying that, it means you’re talking to someone. it’s a lot harder to stay awake alone. when i call my friends at 3 AM, i’m not tired at all. i’m probably laughing my head off. when i’m up at 3 AM with nothing to do or no one to talk to, i’ll probably end up going back to sleep. hang up, say bye and goodnight, silence your phone, etc. it will help.
• if you really and truly are not tired, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to fall asleep. if you lie on your bed with eyes closed and lights off, eventually you WILL drift off! it’s always better than thinking “i’ll do something productive! i’ll go work ahead!” and waking up the next day with a fried brain and achy eyes.

－ “i can’t sleep i have work”

• okay, i do understand that a lot of people HAVE to stay up because they have so much to do. schoolwork, extracurriculars, jobs on the side, etc. - sleeping early isn’t always an option. 
• in that case, at least be productive. focus on one task at a time until all the things you need to do are done. if it’s latelatelate and you want to sleep but you just can’t, there is no room for procrastination.
• another thing is to recognize your limits. if you have some things that don’t reeeaaally need to be done by the next day, but you want to work ahead, maybe it’s not the best time. it’s better to set it aside and pull it out the next day with a more energetic and clear mind.
• the most important thing is to not let this become routine. if you’re constantly sleeping late and using your brain until the wee hours of the morning, you’re going to be physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. if you need to stay up once every few months, fine. if you’re staying up super late every night, you need to either reconsider your habits or your schedule.

－ i just survived an all nighter (barely)

• great, you’ve pulled an all nighter, but now you’re going to have to stumble through the rest of the day. i’ve had to do this so so many times that i can come up with a basic template of what you need to do to survive:
• eat well. if you’re tired, you’re going to want to eat more for the energy. you should definitely consume plenty of food, but try to eat foods that will provide your body with energy instead of just eating to fill your stomach (thirty bags of chips will give you a stomach ache and not help you much).
• keep your eyes open. no matter how boring a class is to you, or how badly you want to take a teeny, quick, unnoticeable nap: if you start napping you are not going to stop that easily. and you’ll be really, really cranky if you’re woken up.
• use your tech. this sounds useless, but it’s a lot harder for me to be sleepy when a screen is radiating into my soul compared to a gentle and unassuming piece of paper.
• take breaks. you’re going to be tired the entire day. exhausted until you hit that pillow again. so let yourself take breaks as you need to, whether it’s getting up to stretch after you complete a particularly long problem or chatting with your friends instead of chaining yourself to a chair in the library.
• again: know yourself. when i pull all nighters, i’m completely fine during the mornings and it really hits me in the afternoons, but i generally feel better when early evening hits. i try to keep an eye on myself during the hours that i’m the most sleepy. if you don’t know when you’re the most tired after an all nighter (hopefully, you don’t because you haven’t pulled that many) : just think about when you’re most tired on a regular day. it’s usually the same or close.
• watch your words. a lot of people are really grumpy when they’re sleep deprived. if you know you’re one of those people, just be careful about what you say. i’ve said some really strange and regrettable things sleep-deprived (such as: “that’s my life.. i’m the tumbleweed…” in reference to the skype emoji). but i can also be pretty mean when i’m sleep deprived and tend to think more negative thoughts. so!! watch yourself!!
• exercise! i know, you’re looking at me and thinking, i got two hours of sleep and you want me to do two hundred jumping jacks? hannah, why?????! but!!! exercise gives you endorphins. endorphins make you happy. happy people are less likely to feel like a dying platypus when they’re sleep deprived (hopefully). but really. exercise gives you energy and it’s a great way to stay awake, refocus your brain, etc.
• don’t spend too much time on one thing. when you’re sleep deprived things get boring really, really quickly. make sure you’re constantly switching things up throughout the day so your body doesn’t have time to say “you know what i’m done let’s sleep”.
• if you normally listen to slow music like me, don’t. listen to loud and crazy and upbeat songs. 
• remember that all nighters are not good for you and you should NOT pull them often and ONLY use them as a last resort!!!
• at the end of an all nighter day (does that make sense), sleep. early. or the next day will be exhausting as well.

－ extra, extra, read all about it

• sleep masterpost by @medicinablr​
• tips for getting rest by @overstudies​
• tips for balancing sleep and education by @brbimstudying​
• tips for people who stay up late when they should sleeping by @studyign​
• how to go to bed early and actually fall asleep by @post–grad​
• how to pull an all nighter by @brokestudiesnrefs​
• pulling all nighters by @chaimedic​
• sleeping tips - the ultimate guide by @physicstudy

－ tl;dr

• sleeping earlier and getting enough sleep every night is ideal!! it’s okay if you need to miss a few hours but try to make them up over the weekend or some other time!
  
• manage your time wisely. don’t procrastinate, or you’ll have to stay up late doing the things that should’ve been completed earlier!
• make sure that you don’t develop habits during the day that will make it difficult to fall asleep and be tired at night (ex: lots of caffeine, naps, etc.)
• all nighters are NOT healthy and should only be used as an absolutely last resort!! you will be exhausted throughout the day and probably pretty cranky/miserable and its just not great!!

alrighty!! that is all for this masterpost :) getting enough sleep and falling asleep has always been an issue for me so i thought it might be helpful to share some of my personal tips here! i really hope they’ve helped at least a bit, but if you do have questions about this topic i’m always here for you!

if you have any more questions, comments, concerns, want to chat about your day, have suggestions for future #studyingwithacdemic masterposts, etc. just drop me an ask and i’ll answer asap to the best of my abilities!! ♥︎

thanks for reading and have a splendid day, xoxo hannah