According to the National Sleep Foundation’s website, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. This is less sleep than children, who need about 10 to 13 hours of sleep nightly.
“I get enough sleep most of the time but I would like more,” said Salt Lake Community College student Nimia Waller. “[To improve] I think I need to have more set hours to go to sleep.”
This is exactly what helpguide.org recommends people do first, set a strict sleeping schedule. Students can start with setting the time they want to go to bed and what time they want to get up. Following this schedule is very important, but if an hour is missed here or there a power nap is an option.
A nap allows students to get caught up on some lost sleep and is better than sleeping in. A key point for naps is keeping them limited to about half an hour and making sure that they are only during the daytime. Being tired after dinner is normal. To stay on a good sleeping track, students need fight the tired feeling with something entertaining or mildly active after dinner.
Secondly, students can regulate the sleeping cycle naturally. The body produces the hormone melatonin, which helps the body go to sleep every night but is triggered by the lack of natural light or darkness outside. If students are often inside and in artificial light, a walk outside and exposure to sunlight without sunglasses can help during the day. At night student can avoid bright lights and noise, which will allow melatonin to be produced as it should.
The third step to sleeping better is to do a relaxing routine before bed. Students should avoid television, computers and anything else which is backlit or has bright light because this activates the brain. Some alternates to modern technology and the bright lights are books, soft music, audio books, a warm bath, meditation and yoga.
Make the room sleep friendly. Ways this can be done is to ensure that there is little to no noise, keep the room relatively cool and make sure the bed is comfortable.
“I change the color of my bed according to the seasons. Right now it is a lovely burgundy because it is warm. During the summer lighter cooler colors are more soothing,” Waller said. “They help me sleep.”
