Many high schoolers struggle with their sleep schedules. Some sleep at 1 a.m. and wake up four hours later for school. They have so many responsibilities that they overwork themselves. Before they know it, it is one in the morning again. What’s worse is that if this happens for long enough, their body will become accustomed to sleeping at an unhealthy time and their sleep cycle becomes harder to fix – but there’s still hope. There are several ways to fix your sleep cycle so that it is efficient and effective.
How the sleep cycle operates
According to Harvard Health Publishing, there are four major steps within the sleep cycle. The first step is when you are in between awake and asleep, then your heart rate and breathing slows down, your muscles relax, your body releases its necessary hormones and regenerates muscle tissues, and finally the most important step is REM sleep. REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement, and it is a very complicated aspect of the sleep cycle. In simple terms, REM sleep is when the body dreams and begins its preparation to return to consciousness.
The National Library of Medicine explains, that there are a total of four stages of sleep that take around 90 minutes and cycle back four to six times depending on the person and the amount of sleep they give themselves. The amount of sleep necessary is dependent on the age of the person and preexisting health conditions. For most high schoolers, eight to 10 hours of sleep is necessary.
Students need to first make sure they make time for rest. This can be difficult depending on the responsibilities of a person, but you must make time for good rest. Sleep can affect so much more than how tired you are. It can also affect mood and mental health. If you make sure that you can receive at least eight hours, then you are already close to fixing your sleep schedule. Of course, there are some people who believe that they don’t need eight hours because they can function fine on six or less hours of sleep. Sleep is necessary to help improve your dexterity, memory, and other cognitive functions. All that development happens in REM sleep, which is the last and most important cycle of sleep, so getting that eight hours of sleep is necessary.
Cell phone usage and sleep
In order to go to sleep, get off your phone. It’s not new information that using your phone is addictive and that the light from your phone can affect how long it takes to make you fall asleep. If for some reason you refuse to take this advice, there is a setting on your phone that changes the brightness of your screen to help you ease into sleep better.
Try taking at least 30 minutes off of your phone before you go to sleep. Read, write or do something that doesn’t involve your phone. Fixing your sleep cycle is only one part of the problem, now you need to know how to maintain it.
Create a schedule
A schedule is important because without one, any progress you’ve made so far would be lost. Creating an outline of your day that helps you receive eight hours of sleep would be beneficial in getting good rest. A solid strategy could be creating a schedule of the next day before you go to sleep. That way you have something to do before you go to sleep that isn’t using your phone, while also planning your next day. Creating a simple outline you could follow would not only help you with time management, but it also will leave room for getting the necessary 8 hours of sleep.
How to fall asleep
Many people simply close their eyes and wait for slumber to come, but they don’t realize that there is a science to going to sleep. Temperature and eating routines are all things that are overlooked when considering how to fall asleep as fast as possible. The National Library of Medicine gives evidence that suggests temperature is heavily associated with how people fall asleep. In simple terms, the body needs a lower temperature in order to go to sleep. Lower temperature induces sleep better than higher temperatures, then the body regulates its temperature as you sleep. In order to fall asleep easier it is beneficial to have a room that is slightly colder than room temperature. Of course this depends on the individual, but on average, sleeping in a cold room is helpful for falling asleep quickly.
A study by Ohio State Health & Discovery showed that what you consume can create problems with entering deep sleep cycles. Foods high in fat and sugar can throw off sleep hormones and lead to less successful rest. Drinks with a high amount of caffeine and alcohol content can also cause serious problems with sleep. In order to have the correct amount of sleep and nutrients, you must be efficient with your time. Scheduling when you have your last meals can help with getting better rest and it will help with digestion. A strategy could be scheduling your last meal four hours before you go to sleep, and avoid snacking before rest too.
Meditation is also a good way to help yourself fall asleep. Meditation helps calm the mind and relax the muscles, which lead to easier, calmer sleep. There are many ways to meditate, and the most effective way differs from person to person, but the most consistent method is controlled breathing. Breathing exercises usually involve breathing in for four seconds, holding for seven seconds, then breathing out for four seconds.
Creating a good sleep schedule to get good rest may be difficult, especially if you’re already used to an incorrect sleep cycle. Although it might take some time and commitment, it will help you in the long run. By getting off of your phone, creating a schedule of when you eat and sleep, and regulating your temperature, your success in sleep will come to you. Good rest leads to a more healthy lifestyle, mood increases, memory improves, and your exhaustion will disappear.
