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Back to school is an exciting time. So much fun, in fact, that you might forget to prioritize sleep. But if you want to study for college and have energy for a busy social life, good quality sleep is your secret weapon.
To help you catch some great zzzs, we’ve put together this handy guide on how to sleep better in college and six key products to help you sleep faster and longer.
After all, you may have the best mattress at home for your body and sleeping position, but you can’t actually roll it up and take it with you. So here’s what to do and pack instead…
How much sleep does a college student need?
According to CDC guidelines, most healthy college students need seven to nine hours of sleep. Getting this amount of good quality sleep is essential to process what you learn in college each day and to help your brain repair your body overnight and ward off illness.
The result? You’ll feel more rested and energized the next day, so you’ll pay more attention in class and participate when you’re hanging out with your friends.
If you regularly experience any of the following, you may not be getting enough sleep at night:
- You wake up many times during the night
- Many mornings you feel tired
- You need caffeine to kick start your energy levels
- You are sleeping in the room
Of course, there are other causes of fatigue, so if you feel tired all the time and think you’re not sleeping well, talk to your doctor or health professional for advice.
Why sleep is important for college students
Research shows that daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and disrupted sleep schedules are prevalent among college students. In the year A 2014 study found that 50% of students reported feeling sleepy during the day, while 70% said they did not get enough sleep each night.
How does that relate to a possible GPA (grade point average)? According to the study:
- Students who slept for nine hours a night had a higher GPA of 3.24
- College students who slept six hours or less each night had a lower GPA of 2.74
The benefits of sleep go beyond the classroom, as research tells us that good quality sleep benefits our mental health, self-esteem, decision-making, and ability to form and maintain friendships.
In short, good sleep is key if you want to do better in your grades and feel more confident in your new social life.
How to Sleep Better in College: Tips and Tricks
We know there are more fun things to do in college, but learning how to sleep better will set you up for a great year and beyond. The easiest way to prioritize good sleep is to create a simple yet relaxing bedtime routine and wake up at the same time every day (consistency is key to getting a better night’s sleep).
These are the basics, but we recommend the following.
- Avoid caffeine after noon – depending on your tolerance, it can stay in your system for up to eight hours and disrupt your sleep.
- Don’t eat a heavy meal within three hours of going to bed – your body will focus on digestion, not sleep.
- Do your cardio in the morning – gentle exercises only before bed.
- Learn how to relax your brain and body before bed – a good sleep app with meditation sessions will help you here.
- Dim the lights in your dorm room an hour before bed to increase the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone).
- Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet for sleeping.
- Turn off the technology before bed – blue light pollution is the enemy of melatonin. At least switch to night mode and consider wearing blue light blocking glasses (these have orange lenses).
- Use a good sleep regimen that helps you fall asleep faster—we’re big fans of the Military Sleep Method.
- Don’t put pressure on yourself – the more you worry about getting good sleep, the harder it will be to get.
6 products that help you sleep better at night
1. Sleep tracker
How do you feel when you wake up every morning? If you constantly feel tired and irritable, there is a chance that you need more sleep. If you always wake up refreshed and don’t need to guzzle a lot of caffeine, you’re getting enough sleep.
A sleep tracker can help you get a rough idea of how much sleep you should be getting each night, what’s bothering you, and how you can sleep better. Don’t take the stats as gospel, but they are useful for gaining a better understanding of your blind spot and how to improve it if necessary.
2. Sleeping headphones or a speaker under the pillow
Bedrooms can be noisy, and if you’re a light sleeper anyway, your sleep will be interrupted by noisy neighbors. Wearing earplugs is a quick-fire way to block out external noises that might wake you up. When choosing the best headphones for you, consider the types of noise that most disturb your sleep. If it’s other students or outside traffic noise, look for noise-canceling earplugs to drown out the racket.
On the other hand, if you find it difficult to fall asleep as well as Try either a quiet, single sleep earbud with built-in white noise and soothing sleep sounds, or an under-pillow speaker to play the same thing.
3. A comfortable mattress pad (and protector)
You can’t send your entire bed to campus with you, but you can put a thick, clean barrier between your body and your inherited dorm room mattress. Invest in the best mattress topper for your budget and if you want to add softness or body-hugging comfort to a very firm bed, we recommend choosing memory foam.
Also, while maintaining a clean bed is important for hygiene, it can help you sleep better if you have allergies. This is because regular cleaning prevents bacteria and dust mites from affecting saliva (a major allergen) and reduces the amount of dust. A good mattress protector protects against dirt, spills and stains, and can be pulled over your head. Choose a mattress pad for full coverage.
4. Support pillow
Choosing the best pillow for your sleeping position and body type is a smart move for your overall well-being in college. Get the right one and your head and neck will be properly supported at night, which will help you sleep better for longer. You also won’t wake up with a stiff neck and have to deal with pain while studying and socializing.
Side sleepers need tall, firm pillows to bridge the gap between their head and shoulders, while back and stomach sleepers are better off with shallow pillows that don’t tilt their necks forward and out of alignment.
5. Alarm light
You may not need one of these right away, so put it on your ‘file for later’ list. But as the nights draw in and the morning sun of summer is a thing of the past, an alarm light can help you get up and light up for college more easily each morning.
While not quite up to the standard of actual light therapy lamps, these bedside body clocks can help reduce some of the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. (Opens in a new tab) (sad). They do this by bathing your room in a blissful sunrise-like light every morning. Use sunset mode to ease into a deep sleep at night.
6. Eye mask
Noise can disturb sleep, but so can light pollution. This could be any random light sources in your bedroom (think plugs and switches) or street lights streaming through thin curtains.
If you’re comfortable wearing an eye mask, we recommend trying one to see if it helps. If you don’t like the feeling of wearing something on your head while sleeping, start cheap. Another option is black curtains and curtains, but they are more expensive.
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