Ask the doc: “How can I stay awake in class or while studying?”
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nodding off in class or while studying could be a sign of sleep debt. Along with getting more sleep, these tricks can help you stay awake.
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nodding off in class or while studying could be a sign of sleep debt. Along with getting more sleep, these tricks can help you stay awake.
Reading Time: 3 minutes A doctor discusses the health and academic effects when your sleep is âfragmented.â
Reading Time: 6 minutes Medication, meditation, sleeping in a caveâĶwhat actually works for overcoming chronic insomnia?
Reading Time: 9 minutes Coffee consumption among young adults is at an all-time high. Find out how to cut back on caffeine and explore other ways to stay alert.
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When youâre all revved up for the new semester, itâs easy to skip sleep in favor of diving into your new coursework. OK, itâs easy to skip sleep in favor of Insta-scrolling, Netflix-watching, nacho-eating, just about anything. If you find yourself going too far into the wee hours of the night too often, you can technically make up a few late nights by sleeping in for a few daysâbut you might still be racking up serious sleep debt.
âSleep debt is an accumulation of sleep deprivation,â says Dr. Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist in California and fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Think of your sleep like a savings account, where the minimum balance has to be roughly eight hours a night (some of us might need more or less)âfor every night you donât put that amount in your sleep account, you accumulate overall sleep debt. And trust us, that can add up fast. Sleep debt is pretty commonâ70 percent of college students reported that they snag less than eight hours a night, according to a 2010 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.Â
Why does it matter? Not unlike managing your bank account, accumulating sleep debt can leave you feeling depleted. Lack of sleep can mess with:
Academic performance Students who are sleep deprived struggle more academically and are at a higher risk of failing compared with those who are getting enough rest on a consistent basis, says a 2014 study in Nature and Science of Sleep. âSleep deprivation affects cognitive function directly and quickly,â says Dr. Breus.
In studies, sleep and GPA are related, but not necessarily in the ways youâd think. Consistent sleep and wake times may have more of a grade-boosting effect than logging more hours, according to a 2014 analysis of recent research in Nature and Science of Sleep. Itâs not just about how long youâre sleeping, but how consistent your sleep schedule is (or isnât).
Mood Female college students who reported nightly sleep debts of two hours or more were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms than those with smaller debts, a 2010 study in Psychiatry Research found. What are depressive symptoms? They include everything from changes in appetite to lack of focus to blues you just canât shake. (And this is a serious thing: If youâre experiencing symptoms of depression, reach out to a friend, trusted professor, or a counselor on your campus or in your community. Because help is out there, and you matter.)
Body Sleep debt affects your bod in a number of ways: It increases the production of your hunger hormones (while suppressing the hormones that tell you youâre full), raises levels of your stress hormones, and even messes with your bodyâs ability to use sugar effectively, according to a 2010 meta-analysis of studies in Pediatric Endocrinology.
Sleep debt can snowball fast. The more sleep deprived you are, the less likely you might be to notice. So how do you knowâand how do you fix it?
The simplest way to tell if youâre racking up sleep debt is to do the math. If the average young adult needs eight hours of sleep each night and you get only six most days of the week, by the time Friday rolls around youâre 10 hours in debt.
In most cases, the ideal level of sleep needed to keep your balance in the black is individual, says Dr. Shelley Hershner, director of the Collegiate Sleep Disorder Clinic at the University of Michigan. The average person needs somewhere between seven and nine hours nightly, but âyour absolute best judgment of whether you are getting enough sleep is if you can wake up at the time youâre supposed to without an alarm clock,â she says.
Here are some other signs you might be in sleep debt:
To figure out how much sleep you need, test your sleep limits during a break from school when you have a solid three to four weeks to sleep as much as you want, says Dr. Hershner. âFor the first week or two, youâll probably still be catching up, but by the third week, how much youâre sleeping should be a good indication of how much your body actually needs.â
Technically, you can âpay offâ your sleep debt by making up those missed hours every weekend, but playing catch-up by sleeping your weekends away isnât ideal, partially because youâll throw off your sleep schedule for the following week. That contributes toâyou guessed itâmore sleep debt. The most realistic way to get out of sleep debt is by preventing it in the first place. And the beginning of the year is the best time to do that. Hereâs how:
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”15 minutes earlier to bed; 15 minutes later to rise ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]âWould I like students to get eight hours every night? Yes. Do I think thatâs realistic? No,â says Dr. Hershner. If getting to bed an hour earlier every night seems about as likely as your professors canceling lecture in favor of a class party, try to make small schedule changes like getting to bed 15 minutes earlier and streamlining your morning routine so you can sleep 15 minutes longer. You just clocked 30 more minutes.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Take one less social media break a day (Just. One.) ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]An easy way to score yourself those extra 15 minutes at night is to cut out one social media break during the day. We know tech use affects sleep, but interestingly enough, sleep also affects tech use: When youâre sleep deprived, you spend more time aimlessly scrolling on Facebook, suggests 2016 research from the University of California, Irvine. The higher your sleep balance, the more time you can bank toward an earlier bedtime.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Be strategic about your class schedule” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]âIf you can have a 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. class, youâll probably do better than if you schedule an 8 a.m. class,â says Dr. Hershner. Look for classes that have later schedules or offer recorded video lectures so you can tune in anytime.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Learn to love the nap” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]Studies show that students who take more naps do better in class. College students with GPAs of 3.5 and higher were much more likely to be nappers than were their peers with lower GPAs in a 2010 study in Sleep and Breathing. Just make sure you donât snooze after 3 p.m., says Dr. Hershner. âThat can throw off your nighttime sleep.â[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Be consistent” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]According to Dr. Hershner, you want to try to prevent sleep debt by getting into good sleep habitsâso itâs not great to fall back on the idea that you can make up all that lost sleep on the weekends. âDonât sleep more than one to two hours longer on the weekend than you do during the week,â she says. âSay you sleep until 1 p.m. on Sundayâthen it makes it hard for you to fall asleep by the time you need to get enough sleep for Monday. Youâre already starting the week off behind.â[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Keep your tech at armâs length” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]The blue light emitted from your laptop or phone suppresses your levels of melatonin, a hormone that affects your circadian rhythms, says Harvard Health Publications. And that isnât a good thing for your sleep. If youâre not going to unplug entirely, at least switch on your phoneâs blue light filter and donât hold it so close to you. âYou want [your tech] as far from the face as possible,â says Dr. Hershner.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Use your computer after class and books before bed” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]
To cut out computer usage before bed, schedule your studying so you can get any computer work out of the way earlier in the evening and switch to books in the hour before bed. âIf your reading is all online, print out a few chapters to read so you can shut off the computer,â says Dr. Hershner.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Track your Zs” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]
âI have a Fitbit that tracks my sleep, so I know how much I get,â says Brandon B., a fourth-year graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles. âSeeing the numbers helps me.â Dr. Hershner cautions that wearable trackers arenât always accurate, but the idea behind tracking your sleep is solid if seeing your stats motivates you to stay on track. If you donât use a wearable, explore other options that help you feel accomplished for getting a good nightâs sleep, like keeping a sleep journal or using an app. We like Sleep Cycle alarm clock, and we think you might too.
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Flip your phone” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]Ironically enough, the more you worry about getting into sleep debt, the harder it might be for you to fall asleep. To avoid the anxiety, donât keep a clock within view, says Dr. Hershner. Turn your alarm clock so it faces away from you and flip your phone over and put it on airplane mode when you go to sleep.
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Get in a Zen zone” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]
Meditation can be âreally good for helping people transition into sleep,â says Dr. Hershner. To help you keep a consistent sleep schedule, make your bed into a relaxing sleep oasis. âDo not study on your bed. Let your bed be for sleeping only,â says Jieying Q., a second-year student at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Close the books and download a meditation app to help quiet your mind before bedâjust make sure youâre not taking the phone into your sleep zone.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Michael Breus, PhD, clinical psychologist; fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
Shelley Hershner, MD, director of the Collegiate Sleep Disorder Clinic, University of Michigan.
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