Feeling sleepy during lectures?
Finding it hard to focus or concentrate during your lectures?
Looking at your watch constantly and hoping your lectures could end soon because you cannot focus? Needing that energy drink to keep you alert during classes? Missing a class because you woke up late? Not enough energy and motivation during the day to try out your fitness program. It may just be you need to improve on your sleep.
You need at least 7-8 hours of sleep each day.
- When you are sleep-deprived your brain lapses into sleep-like brainwave patterns, which is why some of you are blank during class.
- Students who are sleep deprived are more distracted, they may make more careless errors, and they have a hard time focusing on lectures, tutorials, class assignments and are more likely to do poorly during exams.
- Lack of sleep can have a negative effect on memory. It’s harder for a sleep-deprived brain to focus, so it’s harder for it to remember new things. Poor sleep can also make it harder to form and remember long-term memories.
- Research shows that sleep is extremely important, not just during exam week but throughout the entire semester.
Sleep is important for a number of reasons:
- It restores our energy. This is when the body recharges itself.
- It keeps you healthy. Adequate sleep contributes to a student’s overall health and well-being. Evidence shows that sleep deprivation can disrupt the immune system and make it easier for you to get sick. Studies have found that insufficient sleep makes it more likely to catch the common cold or the flu. Sleep deprivation is also linked to hypertension and diabetes.
- It helps us think more clearly and creatively,
- It strengthens memory and produces a more positive mood and better performance throughout the day.
Tips on Receiving Adequate Sleep:
- Avoid using your phone right before bed as it can negatively affect your sleep. Once you are on social media, that excuse for half an hour on your phone can often extend to one or two hours, time which could be impeding on your hours of sleep.
- Try going to sleep at a certain time every day. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to avoid messing up your body’s internal clock.
- There is a time for everything, a time for socializing with friends and a time for studying. Plan your study times and keep as close to your evening routine study plan as best you can. Keeping to your intended timings for evening study and assignments will enable you to complete your tasks without you having to reschedule them for later into the night and early morning, a move which ends up affecting your hours of sleep.
- Limit naps. If you take a nap, then keep it brief. Nap for less than an hour and before 3 pm.
- Avoid caffeine. Avoid coffee in the afternoon and at night. It stays in your system for hours and can make it hard for you to fall asleep.
Start maintaining good sleeping habits and you’ll find yourself more alert in class and able to retain information. As a result, you might also find yourself getting better grades and feeling less anxious about your studies while at University.
SLEEP BETTER, STUDY SMARTER, GET BETTER GRADES!
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