Are you feeling a little tired after freshers? Aren’t we all! University gives us little time to adjust to regular life before the workload starts to pile up. On top of extended hangovers, finding your feet and freshers flue, sleepless nights are the last thing you want on your plate. (Or should I say your pillow?)
Although we may be renowned for not getting enough of it, seep is so important for students as it promotes good memory, concentration and basically everything you need to ace your degree! If you’re struggling to get into a healthy sleep pattern now lectures have started, give this a quick read, and hopefully, you’ll be snoozing in no time!
Spend an hour away from your phone before bed.
Hard ask, I know. But it’ll do wonders for your sleep. The light from our phone or appliance screen stimulates our brains which makes it a lot harder for us to fall asleep. If your body clock is already skewed from a crazy week of partying or lack of early starts, the last thing you need is an overstimulated brain to interrupt your slumber.
Wind down the old fashioned way!
There are all sorts of ‘hacks’ scrawled across social media claiming to help you sleep better these days, but there’s no harm doing it the old fashioned way. Have a nice shower or bath, light a few candles and put on some soothing music.
Invest in herbal tea
I cannot recommend this enough. The majority of you are probably thinking ‘I hate herbal tea’. Well, give it another go! There are so many kinds and so many ways to serve it that you’ll be sure to find one you fancy. Chamomile is the obvious win to send you to sleep, but if you really don’t fancy it, a favourite amongst my non-herbal-tea loving friends is green tea with lemon and honey. The sweet taste of the honey masks any earthy, unusual tastes.
Exercise, exercise, exercise!
As a child, the best sleep of the year was the night after sports day, and that’s no coincidence. If you’re in your first year here at Lancaster, take advantage of being 15 minutes from the campus gym. A quick half an hour work out in the evening might just be enough to knock you out and hopefully put to rest an unhealthy sleeping pattern.
Try meditating
Now admittedly, the closest I’ve ever got to meditating myself until recently was a yoga class my friend dragged me to. However, in a fit of sleep-deprived panic, I gave it a go one evening. There are tones of different types of meditation, so find which works for you. There are also plenty of videos on YouTube
Reading
As students, you’re probably thinking you do enough of this already. I’m not talking about academic reading. Pick up a fictional book every once in a while and try to enjoy it. Getting lost in a book unrelated to your course helps to disassociate a lot of university stress, so will hopefully be just what you need to drop off to sleep! Not only that, but reading makes your eyes quite tired, which is always what does it for me!
Medical Help
If after trying a few home remedies, nothing helps, there’s no harm in popping in to visit the campus doctors or any local GP. They can prescribe a variety of medications or offer professional advice.
