College Can Be Hard Enough. Sleeping Shouldn’t Be

When you’re trying to catch a few Zs in college, it shouldn’t feel like a chore. On some nights, after studying late, late into the night, it won’t be hard to fall asleep at all; you’ll have wanted to get to bed for the past several hours! Still, other nights it can be tough trying to get to sleep in college. You’ll be in a dorm room, which might be the size of your closet back home. Suffice it to say, it can take some getting used to trying to sleep in your new surroundings.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, we could tell you to cut the caffeine, but we know that realistically that’s just not an option sometimes. Being realistic, if you’ve been sucking down coffee all night to stay awake, don’t plan on sleeping well or falling asleep easily. But for non-caffeine-induced sleeping issues, there are better solutions than just saying oh well and staying up all night.

DormCo sells some dorm products designed to help you rest better. From eye masks to white noise machines to the softest dorm bedding you can get, there are a variety of dorm supplies to help you rest better. Still, those college items can be coupled with other techniques. First off, as difficult as it may be, try to get to bed around the same time most nights. Some nights you’ll be up late studying or being social. Those nights will happen, and you just won’t be able to be in bed every night by 10 or 11. But when you can, by all means go for it. If you don’t start classes until later on most days, staying up late and sleeping in won’t necessarily be a sign that you’re slacking! Hopefully your class schedule isn’t all over the place, and if it’s not, you should by all means attempt to get to bed around the same time.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, what about trying during the day? That’s right. Naps in college are huge. Since your class schedule probably won’t have you going back to back to class after class, you’ll have time to catch a nap during the afternoon. Take advantage of that time. Most dorms are located near classrooms around campus, meaning you’ll have time to sleep and not be late for your next class. If you have trouble sleeping at night, at least a nap can help you get through the day!

Reading when you can’t sleep has long been recommended. But don’t go reading fantasy novels! You might as well read your textbooks for class. If that doesn’t put you to sleep, we don’t know what will! Just kidding... sort of. You might not absorb material as easily when you’re tired, but if it helps you sleep, that’s what’s important. Or, if you already did your reading skim back through the textbook. Either way, we’re betting you’ll start feeling tired soon. If not, trying answering those review questions at the end of each chapter. That will take your mind off things, and probably tire you out quickly too.