Simulación

The university student’s guide to

Sl e e p
Getting a good night’s sleep: Why bother?
Canadians sleep 1 hour less than 25 years ago, and on any given day, millions of Canadians are deprived of sleep. As society increases in complexity, more demands are placed on individuals and families. As a result, people feel that there are not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done. Theamount of hours in the day can’t be increased. Therefore, to meet the demands on their time, people have to cut things out of their schedule. Unfortunately, rather than cutting out events or activities, or not undertaking new responsibilities, many people choose to cut out sleep. Experts warn that sleep deprivation is a major health problem in today’s society. Some sleep researchers point out thatgetting enough good sleep is as important to health as exercising and eating a low-fat diet. Research is revealing that lack of quality sleep affects health in many ways, including a decrease in memory and a decrease in the brain’s ability to function at optimal levels. This means that for students, cutting out sleep could translate into a decrease in academic performance.

Are you getting enoughsleep?
Sleep needs vary from person to person and from situation to situation. In general, most people need from 6 to 8 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep each night. One good way to identify how much sleep you need is to find a few days where you can sleep as long as you wish, and do exactly that...sleep. Don't set the alarm. Make sure that you have not deprived yourself of sleep for the weekbefore. Note how long you sleep and this will closely approximate the amount of sleep that is best for you. Most people can tell when they haven’t had enough sleep. For some, though, it is less clear. Below are a few questions that can help you determine if you are not getting enough sleep. Answer yes or no to the following questions: 1. Do you usually need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning?2. Do you often feel drowsy in warm rooms or during “boring” meetings, classes or presentations? 3. Do you often need a nap to get through the day? 4. Do you fall asleep almost as soon as your head hits the pillow at night? 5. Do you often fall asleep watching television? 6. Do you fall asleep after large meals or after drinking alcohol? 7. Do you sleep extra on weekends? 8. Do you have a hardtime getting out of bed in the morning?

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No More Sleepless Nights Power Sleep 50 Ways to Sleep Better

If you answered yes to a few of these questions, you are possibly sleep deprived. If you answered yes to most of the questions, you are probably sleep deprived. Fortunately, there is one sure way to overcome lack of sleep...get more sleep. One way to make more time forsleep is to figure out what is keeping you out of your cosy bed. Is it because of poor time management skills? Is it because of taking on too many responsibilities? Once you have identified the reason, brainstorm what you can do to change it. For example, build your time management skills or learn to prioritize. Remove or decrease the time spent in activities or responsibilities that are notimportant. By getting more sleep you will probably be more alert and motivated to enjoy the things that ARE important.

Sleep problems
Sleep problems may include trouble falling asleep, trouble, staying asleep, or waking up too early and being unable to fall back asleep. Insomnia—not getting enough restful sleep—can be transient, meaning that it lasts anywhere from a few nights to 2 or 3 weeks. Itcan also be chronic, where a person has poor sleep on most nights for months or even years. Transient insomnia is often the result of stress, which can happen during exams, when a person is experiencing job troubles or relationship problems, or from any situation that seems overwhelming. Learning to manage stress and using relaxation exercises can help treat insomnia that is linked to stress. Both...