-By TOLULOPE IBUKUN
Up and down, we hear a lot of people complaining about sleep. How they can’t sleep or have a disturbed sleep. Some of the factors affecting our sleep pattern may include stress (medical school palava), diet, the environment etc. here are some of the ways to keep that sleep coming regularly:
- Have a regular bedtime routine: this may be difficult to do for all university students but we do need the time between studying and going to sleep in order to have a restful night’s rest. Some of these routines are taking a warm bath, reading a book or novel or listening to relaxing music (not any shaku shaku song pls)
- Create a sleep friendly environment: create a place that is comfortable, quiet, cool and interruption free as much as possible. E.g. dim the lights a little bit, use eye masks.
- Use the bed only for sleep: this may be difficult due to limited furniture but try not to use the bed for doing assignments and other activities that may cause anxiety. Use a chair or find somewhere else.
- Watch your diet: avoid eating or drinking too much before bed as it can make you feel very uncomfortable. Avoid taking caffeine, alcohol or nicotine before bedtime.
- Limit naps to about one hour or two tops
- Don’t forget to exercise regularly: Exercise is a natural healthy way to boost your sleep drive making it easier to fall asleep at night. Research continually shows that those who regularly exercise get better sleep over those who don’t.
