Is Tiredness Affecting Your Studies? 7 Tips to Beat Fatigue
Do you imagine yourself in a well-respected and well-paid job in the future? Is tiredness affecting your ability to study? Is that dream job starting to look more and more unobtainable? Don’t worry with a few simple tips you will sleep better and be back to better grades in no time.
So what are the keys to improving your study effectiveness?
Firstly you need to understand that tiredness and sleep deprivation has a significant negative effect on our ability to function. Sufficient good quality sleep plays a vital role in preparing the body and mind for a productive day. A recent study showed that sleeping for 5 hours or less a night for a week impairs performance to the same extent as being legally drunk. This effect on performance also happens after between 17 and 24 hours of sustained wakefulness. When we are feeling tired we are less able to remember information. Our vocabulary also suffers.
So what does this mean for your studies?
When our memory declines we are less able to store important information. You may not know this but REM (dream) sleep, which is concentrated at the end of the night, is important in turning short term memories into long term memories. Therefore lack of sleep means greater difficulty remembering information taught to you over the course of a semester. If our vocabulary suffers it means our written and oral work suffers. Without your full vocabulary it becomes more difficult to express yourself in a clear and concise way that will help you gain the better grades. Without good grades the well-respected and well-paid job becomes more unobtainable.
Don’t worry just yet. Whilst we all sleep for roughly a third of our lives general knowledge on sleep remains poor. With sleep a little knowledge goes a long way. We can help.
The problem for most students is the working day is set up to align with standard adult working hours. When you are 16 you should be getting 9 hours of sleep a night. As we enter adulthood the sleep need is between 7 and 8 hours (of quality sleep) a night. If you have to get up at 7am you should be going to sleep at 10pm. So how can you improve your quantity and quality of sleep and avoid sleeping problems?
1. Leave enough time to achieve the sleep you need
2. Avoid watching television in your bed before sleep
3. Don’t use the computer in your bedroom before sleep
4. Avoid caffeine too late in the day
5. Avoid alcohol too late in the day
6. Make sure you exercise during the day
7. Turn off your mobile and Smartphone before bed
Want to know more about why each of these tips is important? Will better grades improve your prospects? Can you now imagine yourself in a smart suit in a perfect job?
It’s time to act! You can learn how to improve your sleep, energy and ultimately grades with a simple sleep test and sleep training.