Often I am asked what I do for fun and often the response is jokingly "sleep." But any individual that knows me well enough knows that I have a bittersweet relationship with the pastime of slumbering. Personally, I love sleep but I have terrible habit of oversleeping and the occasional negligence of it. Sleep is a means of an escape from reality and I am victim of resorting to such activity to "solve" (or maybe rather evade) my issues in the real world as well as the emotions storm raging in my mind.
Sleep is a necessity for the mind and body to re-cooperate but too little or too much sleep can lead to effects on your health. As young adults face more and more pressure and distractions, sleep is being affected. As one gets older, the "bed time" for sleep slowly postpones itself from 10 PM to midnight and possibly even later. Sleep becomes less important as responsibilities weigh higher and stress levels rise. Society's pressure to do well socially and in school along with today's technological toys have young adults reducing their sleep amount. This can impact one's emotional health and cause emotional instability.
As a freshman in college, I find that my sleep habit hasn't strayed too far from what I kept in high school. In fact I have become more of a night owl so to speak. In my senior year of high school, I would rotate between sleeping a lot to sleeping very little. It was a demanding school year and all-nighters were pulled and now I am accustomed to such stunts. 2 AM was once considered my bed time but now it has extended to 4 AM. Such a habit is certainly not the best option but it accommodates to the life that I lead and the schedule I have. At the end of the day though, it's a self-destructive habit. I get in between 5 and 12 hours of sleep, ranging day to day. My sleep environment is usually quiet and comfortable and I get decent sleep.
I am sure there are many colleges who do not get enough sleep or rather get too much. Meeting social and academic pressures of university life has led students to often adopt unhealthy sleeping habits (Knowlden). For me, hearing a person sleep at 10 PM is crazy. But kudos to those people because I will probably never be able to make that a routine. It is not that I am unaware of better sleeping habits but due to procrastination and lack of self-discipline (amongst everything else), sleep has been pushed further and further down the clock.
Sleep Hygiene (SH) is "a variety of different practices that are necessary to have normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness." Sounds like common sense right? But in fact, "the majority of college students who practice poor sleeping habits are unacquainted with behaviors that promote healthy sleep" (Knowlden). Does this sound like you?
Insufficient amount of sleep can affect everything in your life - from relationships, to work performances, to cognative ability, and so on. Along with stress, deficient sleep can aid in depression which takes a toll on your emotional health and life in general.
Jodi Lobazzo Aman lists ways to get better sleep:
- Make sleep a priority. We often take from our sleep time, whenever we run out of time in our day to get our things done. This is the quickest way to burn out. This is not a time saver! Tasks end up taking longer when we are sleep deprived.
- Go to bed at the same time each night.
- Wake at the same time each morning.
- Start sleep deprived. Don’t sleep late in the morning and expect yourself to go to bed early to change your schedule. You must begin by getting up at the desired time. You can wake up when you are tired, but it is much harder to fall asleep if you are not tired. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make.
- Nix the nap if you are already having a problem falling asleep or waking up. Nap only if neither of these are a problem.
- Keep electronics out of the bedroom. Not only are these stimulating, but they give off electromagnetic energy.
- Keep plants out of the bedroom. Plants give us oxygen during the day but take it in at night, so they do not belong in the bedroom. Plants in the rest of the house are beneficial, though!
- Cut out caffeine. This may be obvious but so many people don’t make this connection.
- De-clutter your bedroom. Even under your bed. It helps clear the mind.
- No heavy or violent shows or video games before bed.
- Exercise regularly, but not close to bedtime.
- Have a good bedtime routine. Once you find something you like, do the same thing each night.
Adjusting your sleep schedule is one thing you can do to better your emotional health. After all, sleep is a luxury.
Works Cited
Knowlden, Adam P.Sharma, ManojBernard, Amy L. "Sleep Hygiene Of A Sample Of Undergraduate Students At A Midwestern University." American Journal Of Health Studies 27.1 (2012): 23-31. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
