5 Tips To Help You Fall Asleep Quickly

For many of us, the heavy workload brought on by college can severely cut into much needed sleep time. And how often do you decide to wrap up a study session because you feel too tired, only to lie down and not be able to go to sleep? Here are some tips to help you fall asleep quickly and let you wake up refreshed, ready to take on that 9 am course.

1. Limit the use of technology before bed.

The light given off by a laptop, television, and even a phone can slow the process of falling asleep. Melatonin, a sleep-promoting chemical, is inhibited by light; even staring at your computer screen can have a great effect on limiting the melatonin released. By keeping your surroundings dark prior to bedtime, more melatonin is secreted, making you more tired.

2. Nap earlier in the day and limit them to 30 minuets.

If you do have the luxury of taking a nap, try and take it in the morning or early afternoon. By taking naps earlier in the day, you limit the amount of slow wave activity, allowing yourself to still be tired come bedtime. Also, by not sleeping longer than a half hour, you decrease the chances of falling into slow wave sleep, which can also make you feel groggy upon waking.

3. Make your bed for sleeping only.

By lying in you bed while doing other activities during the day such as eating, reading, or using a computer, you are telling your brain that your bed is not just for sleep. If you only use your bed for when you are going to sleep, you will train yourself that when you lie in bed, it is time to go to sleep, and nothing else.

4. Limit caffeine consumption.

This may seem like an obvious one, but caffeine can cause more trouble than most realize. Caffeine works by binding to the adenosine receptor, blocking this sleep promoting chemical, and speeding the body up. The morning cup of coffee is fine, but caffeine in the afternoon can stay in the body past its initial effects making it difficult to fall asleep.

5. Keep your room cool.

Body temperature has a great effect on how alert or tired you feel. By keeping your room cool, you are helping the natural process of decreased body temperature in preparation for sleep. Another trick is to take a warm bath or shower before bed; this transition from warm to cool after the shower mimics the fall in body temperature before sleep.

Citations:

Achermann, Peter. "The Two-Process Model of Sleep Regulation." Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 75 (2004): A37-42. Print.

Lazarus, M. "Arousal Effect of Caffeine Depends on Adenosine A2A Receptors in the Shell of the Nucleus Accumbens." The Journal of Neuroscience 31 (2011): 10067-0075. Print.