Sleep—you may think that because you're young, you're
invincible and don't need it; but if you continue to run on empty, eventually
your body will break down. A good 8 hours of sleep each night will give you the
strength and energy you need to be more productive as well as allow you to
perform better on tests. It will also help keep your immunity in tip top
shape—getting sick can be really inconvenient, especially around mid-terms and
finals weeks. That said, it's highly important that your body recharges during
the night. But if you have a difficult time unwinding and suffer from a slight
case of insomnia, try these simple tricks below to get a better night's rest.
One of the easiest ways to fall asleep around the same time
each night is to create a ritual. After a short while, your body will send
signals to your brain telling it that it's time for bed. So each and every
night, do a couple of things in the exact order: take a shower, wash your face,
floss your teeth, put on your "comfortable pajamas"
whatever. Just like you condition your body to wake up around the same time
each morning, you can also condition your body to go to sleep around the same
time too.
2. Take
an Afternoon Nap
Many experts say that taking naps can actually contribute to
your insomnia since it can throw off your sleeping pattern, but a study
suggests that as long as you nap between the hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., not
only will you have no trouble falling asleep at a decent hour, but you'll also
perform better on tests. How so? Researchers say that napping helps protect
"brain circuits" from being over used which can help college students
perform better come test time; anotherstudy even suggests that a short 12-minute nap can boost memory as well. In
short: if your schedule permits, try to squeeze in a short, mid-day nap.
3.
Change Location
For many, not being able to fall asleep is more of a
psychological thing: they associate the bed with their inability to sleep. Thus
laying in the bed for an hour trying to force yourself to get some shut eye
isn't going to work. Instead, you should move to a different room to relieve
some of the pressure. Go to the living room or
do your night ritual all over again. Slowly but surely you'll get sleepy. The
trick is to not try and over stimulate your mind—this will keep you awake. So
avoid turning on bright lights or even checking your social networking
accounts—research
suggests that checking social networking sites before bed can reactive the
brain and make you more alert than before.
4. Do
Some Light Reading
Lastly, read a book. The trick here is to NOT choose a book
that is going to keep you interested. Rather, you want something that can
easily bore you and put you straight to sleep. Try a textbook! You might just
be able to get a few short sentences of studying in before you fall asleep.
___________________________________________________________________
About The Author
Angelita Williams writes
on the topics of online courses. She
welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita dot williams7 at gmail dot com.
