3 tips for forming smart sleeping habits during university

“How are you?”
“Tired.”

Sound familiar?

If you’re like most Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students, at some point you’ll probably find yourself staying awake later than you would’ve liked to. But here’s the thing: not only do you not have to participate in the culture of sleeplessness to succeed at TMU — you’ll actually find it more difficult to succeed without frequently getting a good night’s rest.

In my first year at TMU, after going about a week with poor sleep, my attention became shaky, my writing abilities worsened and my test performance plummeted. I also found I had little energy for socializing, a poor appetite and I was catching colds more frequently. I decided to get smart about sleep and it has really paid off.

My health, mood and grades all experienced a positive shift. Being sleep smart is different for everyone. It’s not about getting a perfect 8+ hours each night as much as it’s about keeping sleep in mind when building your schedules and making plans. Here are 3 tips for forming smart sleeping habits as a TMU student.

Schedule no-go blocks

If you’re a commuter student like me, factor in the length of your commute, your getting ready/winding down time and your hourly sleep target to determine “no-go” blocks in your calendar. If you’ve got class at 9 a.m. on Thursday, and you have a 30-minute commute, an 8-hour sleep goal, plus 30 minutes to get ready at night and in the morning, your no-go block should start around 11 p.m on Wednesday. Take that block into consideration when making plans with friends, studying at the library or choosing a movie showtime. Set your boundaries and get yourself commuting home by the time your no-go block starts. You can enable a “Sleep Focus” or “Bedtime mode” on your phone that will notify you when it’s time to start winding down for the night. Trust me, morning you will thank night you.

Plan to offset your sleep

Even if you get into a good sleep-scheduling routine, inevitably, life happens. You may find yourself thinking there aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your work done and get a good night’s sleep. Even if that is true for one night, you don’t need to let it affect your sleep hygiene that entire week. Let’s map it out.

Suppose you have a shift at work Monday afternoon, an in-class quiz Tuesday morning, dinner plans later that evening, tickets to a concert on Wednesday evening and an essay due at 11:59 p.m. that night. It’s a busy week, for sure.

Looking at your calendar, you know you’re working on Monday until 5:30 p.m. That means you’ll need to work on your essay and study for your quiz that night, so you anticipate getting a little less sleep.

As soon as you recognize you’re at risk of getting poor sleep one night, you should immediately try to plan to get a healthy amount of sleep the next few nights. Knowing you’ll be busy with classes and a concert that you’ve been excited for on Wednesday, you now need to prioritize writing your essay and getting a good night’s rest on Tuesday night. That means it’s probably a good idea to ask your friends if you can reschedule your dinner plans for, say, Friday night.

With that space freed in your calendar, you can work on your essay until it’s time to get a good amount of sleep, maybe even making up for a lost hour from last night. Feeling well-rested on Wednesday, you can make the final touches and submit your essay in between your lectures and dance the night away at your concert.

You can also practise this without planning for it at the start of the week. If a sleepless night creeps up on you by surprise, figure out what you can reschedule over the next few days to make time for sleep and your studies.

Productive unplugging

No one can run on fumes forever, and not prioritizing sleep is a sure way to burn out. To keep a consistent, high-quality work output, you’ve got to change the way you think about sleep. Instead of viewing it as a limiting burden, try thinking about sleep as one of the most productive things you can do. Consolidating your memories, restoring your concentration, repairing your muscles and regulating your metabolism are all attributed to getting enough sleep.

To set yourself up for a good night’s sleep, try building good wind-down and unplugging habits. If you’re studying until the moment your eyes shut, you might not be giving yourself enough time to disconnect from the stress of your day. Build a screen-free, self-care night time routine that works for you. Maybe it’s a warm bath, meditation or reading a few pages from a (suspense-free) book. Unplugging mindfully is not only one of the kindest things you can do for your mind and body, it’s also one of the most productive ways to recharge them and get you ready for tomorrow’s tasks.Remember, forming smart sleeping habits is not about perfection; it’s about putting in the work to sleep as well as you can as often as you can. Scheduling no-go blocks so your plans don’t interfere with your sleep, offsetting your sleep the next night when you don’t meet your sleep goal and unplugging a while before bed are just some of the habits that worked for me. So long as you’re prioritizing sleep, do what works for you. To stay healthy, sharp and successful at TMU, you can’t sleep on sleep. So get out there and make the most of the waking day — or maybe hit snooze once… enjoy a few extra minutes of sleep.

Until next time,

Ido, your student ambassador