Prepmedians Blog

Tag: Time Management

  • Sleep Deprivation in College

    Sleep Deprivation in College

    Causes of Sleep Deprivation

    Roommates

    Your college roommate can either become your best friend for life or your worst nightmare, and one determinant is your sleeping schedule compatibility with your college roommate. Some people are early birds, and others are night owls. You might find that your roommate snores too loudly, plays loud music, keeps the lights on, or invites friends over late at night. Even if you think you can handle your college roommate’s sleeping habits because y’all are friends, living with others is often not conducive to sleeping.

    Busy Schedules

    Some college students deal with 6 a.m. lifts/practices and meetings throughout the day. Others deal with part-time jobs. And even those that don’t do either, the normal college course load is plenty enough to keep college students busy. It’s common knowledge that many college students pull off all-nighters or late night study sessions to catch up on their work, and this is one determinant in sleep deprivation.

    Social Life

    Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is real. Maybe you hear there’s a party going on. Or maybe your friends are hanging out and watching a movie in another friend’s room. Or maybe something happens as small as you overhear a conversation going on in the hallway. You don’t want to be the one to miss out on something fun and only see what happened the next morning on someone’s Snapchat or Instagram story. College is a place to learn, but it’s also a place to make lasting friendships. Unfortunately, too much socializing can get in the way of someone’s sleep.

    Alcohol

    Many people think alcohol is good for sleep. Even though alcohol does help you fall asleep more quickly, the resulting sleep will be restless and less effective than the sleep you would have gotten.

    No Curfew or Bedtime

    For students who are living on their own for the first time, the freedom of college often leads to staying up just because you can. Even if you don’t have anything pressing to do, you might end up staying up just to browse your social media, or you might start your 3rd rerun of your favorite sitcom. Although you might have thought you could live on our own when you were with your parents, poor self-care and daily schedules of college students often result in sleep deprivation.

    Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

    ### Sleep Deprivation Affects your Grades
    That one all-nighter before your midterm won’t largely impact your grades, but if sleep deprivation is a consistent thing in your college life, your grades will be affected. If you’re tired every day, you’re not going to retain information as effectively or write notes as well. You also might get to the point where you start falling asleep in classes or skipping classes to sleep.

    Sleep Deprivation Affects You Physically

    Sleep deprivation could negatively impact your immune system, resulting in making you more susceptible to common colds or the flu. And in turn, this results in you becoming even more sleep deprived since you will have a harder time falling asleep.

    Additionally, if you are a student-athlete, sleep deprivation can affect your athletic performance. There’s a children’s animated movie called Meet the Robinsons where (spoiler alert) the whole conflict is a result of an orphan’s roommate keeping him up late at night, so during the following day when he has a baseball game, he is unable to make the game-winning catch because he falls asleep from his sleep deprivation.

    Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Mood

    Not getting enough sleep will increase stress. A sleepless night can result in a greater risk at developing mental disorders like depression or anxiety. One may also feel irritable after a sleepless night. Just think of the annoyance you feel when your alarm rings in the morning but extend that annoyance through the day. Sleep deprivation can negatively impact your mood.

    Suggestions to Improve Sleep in College

    ### Free Up More Time for Yourself
    I know FOMO is real, and you want to do everything readily available in college, but if your social interactions start interrupting your sleeping schedule, it’s time to start considering prioritizing things. You don’t have to hang out in your friend’s room every night. Something that I do is no matter what, if I have class the next day, I go to my room by 11 p.m. and go to sleep by midnight.

    In addition, it’s important to realize how much free time you have on weekends and whether it’s worth allocating some time to study during the weekends.

    Compromise with Your Roommates

    Some of us are blessed to have compatible roommates, while others have to deal with that roommate who has 10 alarms in the morning. Perhaps you could set an alarm and wake your roommate up (not the most enticing compromise) or perhaps your roommate can start sleeping earlier so they won’t need 10 alarms in the morning. You won’t find the perfect solution immediately, but generally college roommates are willing to work together to make the living situation as comfortable for both parties as possible.

    Deal with Your Neighbors

    There are multiple ways to deal with your dorm. Perhaps listening to white noise while you sleep or wearing an eye mask may help you deal with your loud neighbors. You could also talk with your resident adviser or landlord, if living in an apartment, about how to best deal with the situation.

    The best way to deal with your neighbors is to talk to them directly. If it’s during quiet hours or late at night, if you politely ask your neighbors to “turn it down,” chances are that they’ll be understanding and compliant. You don’t want to contact security, authority, or any person in a position of power without first talking with your neighbors.

    Fix Your Sleeping Habits

    If you leave plenty of time to sleep during the night but can’t fall asleep, it might be time to look at your sleeping habits. Do you work or watch TV shows/movies in your bed? Do you consume caffeine, sugar, or spicy food at night? Are you distracted by your phone while attempting to sleep?

    I like to completely finish my studying for the day before I go back to my room at night. In addition, I like to put my phone under my pillow so I’m unable to see, feel, or hear the vibrations whenever I get a notification. Small lifestyle changes like these can make a huge impact on your sleep quality.

    Next Steps

    Ultimately, no matter what your schedule is, it is important and possible to sleep well in college. It may take some time and dedication, but you can achieve good sleep in college without sacrificing your grades or social life. You have to take charge and keep yourself accountable of your daily life and sleep schedule.

    Are you in high school and not getting enough sleep during the college application process? Check out Prepmedians. We teach SAT/ACT test prep through sketch comedy and music so even in such a busy and stressful time like the college application process, you’ll be able to laugh. We also divide our lessons into 15-20 minute blocks so it’s easier to schedule test prep time.

  • How to Stop Procrastinating

    How to Stop Procrastinating

    1. Work in Time Blocks

    Few are able to do work for extensive periods of time. That’s why on the SAT or ACT, the testmakers give you breaks in the middle to help clear your mind so you can focus on the upcoming task. Working in time blocks adopts a similar mentality. Set a timer for an amount of time that allows you to accomplish tasks while still being bearable. When doing homework or studying, I like to take a small 5-10 minute break where I’ll go on social media or talk with friends every hour to an hour and a half as a refresher and to help focus on the next time block.

    2. Listen to Music

    Putting on headphones can help you focus and drown out the surrounding noises and distractions. You don’t necessarily have to listen to anything – just the act of having headphones on can put you in your own world and sends a message to people who see you to not disturb you. I like to listen to music while studying because the song oftentimes helps me retain information since I associate the information with the song I’m listening to. Check out our suggestions on some music to listen to while studying. Note that not all music is helpful when studying and can oftentimes result in less efficient studying.

    3. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep

    One of the most common excuses of procrastination is that you’re too tired. You stay in bed all day instead of doing anything productive. This is in large part because you didn’t get enough sleep and aren’t energized to get anything done. Make sure you’re getting the amount of sleep you need and that you’re sleeping environment is conducive to a good night’s sleep – lights are off, a quiet environment, electronics off, etc.

    4. Take a 20 Minute Nap

    This can oftentimes be an excuse to procrastinate but taking a short nap can help improve your mood and increase your productivity. At Google, they have napping pods in their offices to help their employees feel energized – a testament to how effective napping can be to one’s productivity. Obviously, you can’t go overboard with napping, but a short 20 minute nap is the perfect balance between feeling energized and not feeling too groggy.

    5. Exercise and Do Other Commitments Earlier in the Day

    Exercising or errands can oftentimes be a nice refresher from doing work, but generally, people use these as excuses for procrastination. “I can’t study now because I have to go workout.” Once you’ve done your workout, you’re going to need to shower, and even then, you might feel too tired to study. Exercising early in the day gets your blood pumping and introduces endorphins, or happy hormones. This will help you feel more motivated later on the day when you’re studying or doing any other task.

    6. Figure Out Why You’re Procrastinating

    Everyone procrastinates for a different reason but figuring out why you do and overcoming it is extremely helpful. For me, a common reason is that I’ll notice that the due date isn’t for a while, or I have plenty of time to accomplish a task so I’ll leave things to the last minute. But if you think about it, spending a couple of hours on a project the week before it’s due isn’t a big deal, but those couple of hours saved on the project can be the difference between an all-nighter or a good night’s sleep the night before the project is due.

    Next Steps

    Everyone procrastinates to some capacity but limiting how much you procrastinate is the difference between getting your work done or not. Limiting procrastination only requires small lifestyle changes, but these small lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

    Are you in high school and procrastinating on test prep for the SAT/ACT? Check out Prepmedians. We teach SAT/ACT test prep through sketch comedy and music so you’ll look forward to prepping for the SAT or ACT instead of dreading it. We also divide our lessons into 15-20 minute blocks so it’s easier to schedule test prep time.