Why is a good night’s sleep good for your health? March is National Bed Month, and considering we spend approximately one-third of our lives sleeping, we’d better make sure we are setting ourselves the best standard to allow for optimal sleep.

Below are some of the benefits of getting the right amount of sleep, and ways for you to adjust current habits – even with workloads from uni, you still need to maintain a healthy sleep schedule.

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Improves health and brain function

Having a regular sleep schedule when you have a full day of studying or work ahead of you means that when your head hits the pillow every night at a reasonable hour, you drift to sleep soundly.

Sleep helps your brain process the events of the day – converts short term memory into long term memory. It also helps to boost your immune system, which helps to keep colds and flu at bay in the winter months.

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Sleep keeps you in a better mood

Being well rested allows you to think more clearly, solve issues that may have appeared in your life and have a generally more positive perspective on things. Without the weight of tiredness around your neck. When you don’t get enough sleep, this can cause you to feel more irritable and stressed. The more stress you feel, the more difficult it is for you to sleep – and so the vicious cycle continues to obstruct your life.

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Be in the best shape for study!

When you have a regular sleep schedule, you can keep to the other schedules that you find in your daily student life.

It’s best to start your night-time routine around two hours before you intend to sleep. Everyone is guilty of falling asleep with our phone still clutched in our hand, but the advice is to start limiting screen usage at least one hour before going to bed. Try not to drink caffeine or alcohol before bed, as these can affect your body in a way that is not productive for good sleep.

Reading a book or listening to a podcast will be better for your brain than staring at a bright screen in the dark.

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Try and resist the urge to day nap

Day napping can be seen as a luxury for some students. You finish a lecture and find yourself diving back under the duvet. Whilst it does feel good to get in those extra hours, it does mean that your internal clock starts to become confused. Try and keep yourself busy until bedtime – there’s no better feeling than trying to keep your eyes open and sinking into a well needed full night sleep.

If you really think you can’t resist, try napping for no more than 30 minutes.