Image by Alan Cleaver, Flickr
Sleep – whether you love it and can’t ever seem to get enough (like most people) or dislike it and see it as a waste of time that can be spent doing other activities (the very idea!), it is irrefutable that we need it in order to function well on a day to day basis.
As some of you will come to realize, or may even know already, once you enter university/college, sleep becomes the Golden Snitch of the Quidditch Game of Life. And unless you have some Potter lineage in your family tree, it will be a concept incredibly elusive and infuriatingly out of reach for most of your nights.
When, miracle of miracles, you are able to squeeze in a few precious hours of shuteye, waking up is understandably the very last thing you will want to do. Unfortunately, due to unavoidable commitments such as 9am classes and early job shifts, you are left with little to no choice in the matter.
So if you don’t majestically leap out of bed at the first glimpse of sunlight, here are some tips that will make dragging yourself out of dreamland a little less painful.
- First things first: the alarm clock. The majority of us students use the alarm functions programmed into our cell phones, or you can kick it old school and buy one from your local Walmart. Set multiple alarms, and change the intervals between them regularly, even if it’s only by a minute or two. Also, place your alarm device as far away from your bed as possible. This way, you’ll be forced to get up to turn it off. Yes, you’ll probably hate yourself for this, but narcissism is overrated anyways. Oh, and a strategic alarm tone can be helpful as well. Choose the most annoying option offered on your device, or customize it with a personal song that you know will get you moving (such as “Circle of Life” from The Lion King Soundtrack, a personal favourite).
- Water is your best friend. Besides the fact that you should be drinking water consistently throughout the day, chugging some down after waking up has positive benefits for the body. According to an article from LiveStrong, water intake in the morning will help replenish and refuel the organs within your body that have become a little more than parched overnight, providing a refreshed and alert effect on your body and mind. Some even say that a glass of salt water in the morning has health benefits as well. Showering in the morning is another way to achieve similar energizing sensations, and the promise of cleanliness and good hygiene will appeal to the germaphobe in all of us.
- Simply sitting up in bed or forcing your eyes to stay open is one baby step closer to actually waking up. Take a few deep breaths and stretch out that diaphragm. Do some simple, languid stretches – reach your hands up to the ceiling, then bend down and touch your toes. Stand up. Take a couple more deep breaths. Give yourself a little wiggle, shake it out. Rub some sleep goop out of your eyes. Feeling more awake now? Good. Go start your day.
- And finally, probably the mother of all sleep advice: go to bed earlier. Bad sleep regiments are usually a result of procrastination and poor time-management skills. Understandably and unavoidably, sometimes a few hours of sleep are sacrificed for final exams and assignments weighted at 40% of your grade. But if do you get the chance to sleep before the crack of dawn, take it. We all know that one more YouTube video actually means four more, and that Tumblr is the danger-zone-level-six-mega-black-hole-death-trap of the Web. Do your best to avoid sites like these just before bedtime; your future self with thank you profusely for it. Though it may be tough at first, once you establish a (even semi) stable routine of sleeping earlier, getting up earlier will subsequently be a bit easier because you’ve clocked in those essential hours that your body needs to operate daily. Be strict with yourself on this front – discipline is key!
So until the blessed day that Professional Sleeper becomes a credible job position or we find a way to add more hours into a day, these tips will hopefully aid in making mornings less detestable. Stay strong, fellow sleepers.