One of the many side effects of the escalating arms race of college admissions is the sleep deprivation for so many of today’s teens. There’s a growing body of research that shows just how important adequate sleep is for mental and physical health and performance. Check out this TED Talk by a pediatric neurologist, this study of elite performers in a variety of disciplines, this short video by the Army Surgeon General, and this study by the director of sleep medicine at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. They all agree on just how vital adequate sleep is, and how damaging—especially for children and teens—a lack of sleep can be.
So how are busy, hardworking students supposed to find the time for more sleep? Between classes, homework, practices, rehearsals, meetings, etc., many kids who would love to be asleep much earlier are staying up until the wee hours just to keep up and get their work done.
Here are a few tips that can help.
1. Make sleep a priority.
You might say there’s just no way you can get to bed earlier. But if you were offered a million dollars if you could successfully go to bed an hour earlier than your usual time every night for a week without letting your grades or commitments slide, you’d probably find a way. The first step towards doing anything is deciding that it’s important.
2. Prune your activities.
Activities are supposed to be things that you do by choice because you enjoy them. Are you involved in anything that’s lost its luster? Is there some commitment that seems to be taking your time without giving back any fun, learning, camaraderie, or other benefit? If so, consider letting that activity go. Colleges don’t expect you to spend every waking second doing something productive. And I’ve never met an admissions officer who would want a student to dutifully plod through an activity they just don’t like anymore.
3. Study smarter.
You know those students who do well in school without necessarily studying harder than the rest of the class? It’s not because they’re all just more intelligent. Most of them study smarter. Here are some tips to help you do the same.
4. Ditch the snooze button.
Check out this past post on why the snooze button makes you sleepy.