Our latest blog looks at how you can sleep better as you settle into college or university life.
If you are heading off to college or university this autumn, how well you are going to sleep may be the last thing on your mind right now. Or maybe you are particular about your own space and sleep set-up and wondering how you will cope in a new place? Whether you are bothered about sleep, or hoping to take it all in your stride, we’ve got some practical and realistic ideas for those first days.
Setting up your student room
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that people sleep better when we feel safe and secure. As a student, your daytimes are likely to be busy: filled with going to new places, meeting new people and learning new things. However, no matter how tired you are, the part of your brain that governs sleep at night-time is happiest if there is something familiar to help it settle.
Tips for planning what to pack and how to furnish your new room:
- If you are bringing new bedding, unpack it and wash it at home first, so that it has a familiar scent – smell is one of our most effective emotional triggers
- Consider bringing something with a familiar texture from your bedding at home – a fluffy blanket or even a cuddly toy
- Happy photos of friends and loved ones can help prompt those feelings of security
Your student bedroom will have to fulfil many purposes: as well as sleeping there, you will be studying there, possibly socialising there and maybe even eating some meals in there! All of this can make it harder for your brain to understand when it’s time to switch off and sleep.
Here’s some ideas that can help:
- If you have a chair in your room, use it for more than just clothes. Using the chair means you can minimise sitting or lying on the bed during the day and save it mostly for sleep
- Change the lighting in the hour before bed. A lower or warm-coloured light is what our brains associate with evening time, and this can help the production of sleep-friendly hormones such as melatonin
- Use your curtains or blinds! Making your room as dark as possible really can help
- Use a throw or desktop screen to put your study materials and computer out of sight and help your brain switch off
- This is one good reason for tidying your room a bit. A calm space can help your brain to get calm
Starting your new social life
One of the big changes for many students is that there are no longer parents or carers around to keep half an eye on you. For some new students, this means that freshers’ week and the first few weeks of term are particularly busy – there may be all sorts of social events you want to attend. It will be tempting to use every minute of every day: you’ve worked hard to get there, so of course you want to enjoy it! Finding the right balance for you will help you get the most out of every opportunity.
- Coffee, cola, energy drinks may seem like a good way to keep you alert, but they are blunt tools. Caffeine can stay in your system for nearly 12 hours, keeping you awake when you want to sleep. Think carefully about what you drink after lunchtime
- Sugary foods, including fizzy drinks, can also inhibit the production of sleep-friendly melatonin. Keep your late-night suppers less sweet, and at least an hour before bed
- Nicotine, alcohol and drugs can all have both short term and longer-term negative impacts on your sleep
When you want to sleep
You’re tired and you want your bed. But everyone else is still partying. What should you do?
Liv is a student in Dundee and had this to say:
“Have boundaries from the get go. I have a friend who will hangout and have fun and then be in bed like clockwork at the same time every night and nobody holds it against him. Be very upfront with people about what time you wanna leave places and then just leave.”
And finally: when it comes to nearby noise, keep it simple: earplugs are your friend. A pair of silicon (rather than foam) earplugs could be a useful thing to have in your bedside drawer. If you don’t cope well with that ‘underwater’ feeling of earplugs, try leaving out the one in the ear that is closest to the pillow.
As you settle into your new place, you will have the chance to develop new routines and learn those of your friends and neighbours. There will be deadlines and lots of time pressures to juggle and no-one expects you to keep a perfect sleep routine as a student. Learn what works for you and get the best sleep to help you have the best possible time – good luck!
Our website is packed with handy sleep resources for all ages – read more sleep tips for teens here.
