How to get sleep to work for you

In order to get the best grades, you need to be functional; your brain, specifically, needs to actually work. You need to get enough sleep. Despite the constant thinking and worrying and juggling, you need that sleep to be restful.

Getting optimal sleep is possible. You need to get sleep and pre-sleep routines that works for you. Once you’ve figured that out, you can even trick your brain into working for you while you doze. Here are some tricks.

• Get a bedtime routine. Try to do the exact same thing as you prepare for sleep every night. The routine can be as long or as short as you like, but it should remain constant.


• Don’t eat right before sleeping. Try not to eat two to three hours before you go to bed. This will help you fall asleep, and will help the quality of your sleep.


• Exercise daily, but not two to three hours before you sleep. Getting enough exercise is important, and will ultimately help your body to relax at the end of the day, but don’t exercise too close to bed-time. You don’t want those endorphins making you feel buzzed as you’re trying to fall asleep.


• Have a sleep-friendly sleep space. Try to make your sleep area feel restful. Try to block out all the reminders of your active, busy, stressful daily life. Make sure that you don’t sleep with your textbooks and notebooks on the bed.


• Don’t associate your sleep space with work and stress. Don’t study on your bed! As much as you can, keep your associations with your sleep space pleasant and relaxing.


• Don’t nap for over an hour during the day. Student life is busy, and many rest while they can. But try to keep day-time naps short, or you might have trouble dozing in the night.

Once you’ve figure out how to get high-quality sleep, you can use that time to boost your creativity and memory. As long as you don’t give yourself added stress that could potentially keep you awake, you can make sleep work for you. Here are some tips:

• Read through memory flash cards right before sleeping, as long as the test isn’t upcoming. Studies have shown that memory work right before sleep can increase your ability to memorize.


• Read through problem sets, as long as they’re not due for a long time. You can also boost your creativity by letting your unconscious mind mull over questions.

If you want you excel in your classes, then you need to worry about all aspects of student life. Make sure that you take care of your body as well as your mind.