This week, the Community Relations and Outreach Coordinator for UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Gabriel Loredo, came and spoke to us about sleep hygiene, a very relevant topic in our college lives!
College students should be receiving 7-9 hours of sleep per night for substantial growth, development, and optimal learning and memory. However, according to some recent sleep data, only 11% of college students reported to have “good sleep quality” and 1/3 of college students report to have regular, severe sleep difficulties. One UC Berkeley study found that poor sleep can lead to loneliness and social rejection. Sleep problems are also tied to depression, anxiety and suicide risk.
With that, what are ways in which we can develop good sleeping habits and improve our quality of sleep in such a stressful stage of our lives?
Here are things that Gabriel recommends to avoid to get the best quality of sleep:
Avoid caffeine after 1-3pm. Rather, be cognizant of when you have caffeine in regards to when you want to go to sleep.
Avoid alcohol and nicotine to try to fall asleep. Although you may fall asleep faster, when you use substances to fall asleep, you don’t reach the restful stage of sleep necessary for rebuilding cells and muscles.
Avoid rigorous exercise 3-4 hours before bed. Instead, opt for calmer exercise such as yoga to allow you to get to restful sleep and sleep faster.
Avoid using electronics before bed. Electronics emit blue light that messes with your body’s circadian rhythm. Especially now with everything online, it is important to give your eyes and brain a break from the blue light!
Don’t take naps. But if you do, keep them to less than 30 minutes long, as sleeping too much during the day can get you off a regular sleep schedule and avoid deeper levels of sleep.
Things you should FOCUS ON to maximize sleep quantity and quality:
Keep your sleeping space as dark and quiet as possible. Use eye masks and earplugs, if needed. If you prefer music or sound, he recommends white noise, rain sounds, or instrumental music.
Make sure your room is at the right temperature. Your core body temperature drops throughout the night, so add extra blankets if necessary or turn up the heater/AC.
Create a bedtime routine. Try reading, yoga, aromatherapy, journaling, or meditation. This routine does not have to be long or complex, but keep it to something that avoids emotionally upsetting thoughts or conversations.
Stick to a sleep schedule. Yes, college students need 7-9 hours of sleep, but just because you got one night of 4 hours does not mean you should sleep until 2pm the next day. Our bodies need a consistent wake-up schedule and consistency is more important than the amount.
Get light exposure throughout the day. Being out in the sun has shown to increase quality of sleep and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule.
Get out and identify negative automatic thoughts. If you feel like you are being pulled into the cycle of insomnia, get out a notebook and write down the thoughts and emotions that prevent you from going to sleep. Also, don’t study in bed as this can otherwise associate a place of relaxation with stress.
If you still can sleep after being in bed for more than 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing such as reading a book. But, do NOT use electronics or screens.
If you would like to reference Gabriel's slides, you can download them here. For more information about CAPS and other mental health services offered by UCLA, please refer to this document.
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