Blogging of a Better Night’s Sleep

I am Alex Silber, and I approve this message.

Donald Trump… Lately that is all we see and hear on the news, on Twitter, on Facebook – him and his toupee are everywhere. 

And now, Trump and his presidential campaign may be invading more than just your television screen or your smart phone.

According to Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, Donald Trump’s aggressive and insulting behavior could be attributed to him getting little sleep.

The GOP frontrunner is apparently a “‘clear and present danger to our society'” because he is a perfect representation of promoting American values: productivity over sleep. Figures like Trump are partially to blame for Americans poor sleep cycles.

Our technology, as well as our work ethic, is deeply embedded into American culture. This causes our values to lie elsewhere; we value work over giving our bodies the rest they really deserve.

So where can we find the satisfactory medium where we get our work done, without losing those cherished extra couple of minutes in bed?

Here is some simple advice: put your technology away, and finish your to-do list without procrastination or distractions. As a college student, I promise that you will have a lot more time in your day if your eyes are not glued to a screen.

Huffington brings up an interesting point; would she not “have been as successful if she had not cut back on sleep earlier in her career?”

However, sacrificing much-needed sleep to move up in society is not a solution. We must value our sleep; it is okay to be tired, and it is okay to get necessary eight hours of rest.

Otherwise, Americans eventually will have more serious problems to worry about than contemplating how many hours of sleep they really need to work.

The idea is to focus on what you are doing, give it your full and undivided attention. Not only will it take you less time to complete what needs to be done, but the engagement leads to a better final product.

I do not necessarily agree that Trump is a figure to blame for these promoted values, because it is understood that he is a busy man.

Every one is busy and has their own issues, and we all hold these issues differently. It is human nature.

The issue at hand for college students is being able to go to class, do their work for all the full-time credits on our plates and possibly work a part-time job.

This is a lot to juggle, but take a deep breath. Make a list of what needs to be finished for the week and schedule your time beforehand. Finish your work early in the day, allow for a full night’s rest.

Now to lay in bed, and count Trumps… I mean, er, sheep.

 

 

 

Blogging of a Better Night’s Sleep

Wake up, its “work-o-clock”.

Several and consistent stops to Starbucks or Dunkin across campuses, college students grab a quick cup of coffee for that much needed boost. That boost to wake them up for that next shift at work, that 12 page paper due on Tuesday, or that internship interview that’s on… shit. Was it Thursday?

According to an article in The Guardian, people are always left feeling tired because the cells in our bodies are all out of sync internally and externally.

In more simple terms, our body needs to be on the same page as our minds and the way we can do this is by working in sync with our “chronotypes”. These are our genetical make-ups that decide whether we are morning people or night owls.

We tend to believe that running on 5 hours of sleep every night will be fine, and relying on artificial products to put us to sleep or wake us up will solve all of our problems.

This is far from true, and it is because every little cell in our body is all out of function and running on different schedules then one another.

Doctors of the World Health Organization have detected that during different times of the day, there are areas in the body in “micro-sleep” mode, not functioning while others are. This is due to these cells being awake while we are sleeping because they are running on different schedules.

So how as college students will we ever do this? It is much easier said than done sure, but it IS possible.

First and foremost, we are looking for about roughly 7-9 hours of natural sleep for that great rested feeling. To do this, we have to allow for our body to get that chance to rest by following a synchronous schedule.

Especially with registration for classes approaching, it is important to remember to not overload yourself. Sign up for the credits you feel you can handle, and at times that are appropriate for you. 

College classes are offered at all times of the day because they know we are busy people – so yes, it is okay to have your first class start at 12:30 on Monday.

And for those of you who work, it may be a bit of challenge working in classes with a work schedule but the key is to have trial and error. Now you will know what works for you and what does not, do not take on more hours than you can handle.

Another thing to keep in mind is that our schedules on the weekends are much different than those the week: and it is actually better to follow at least a similar schedule rather than losing and then over-sleeping to make up for it.

I personally do not like waking up early but I find myself to be more productive when I have an early start on the day. I have had classes at all different times of the day, but I found a schedule somewhere in between that works for me.

The whole idea is to feel prepared and excited about getting out of bed to start a new day. Positive thoughts are always a great addition for another day in a chaotic world.

Put your computer away, and go enjoy what you wake up for every day. Life is what you decide to make it.

 

 

Blogging of a Better Night’s Sleep

Soon enough, your bed may no longer be your hardest goodbye.

After a long and busy day, people cannot wait to get into their beds to get that deep sleep they had been dreaming about all day. Instead of counting sheep, people rely on their social media and text messages to entertain their sleepy minds until their eyes shut.

However, recent studies have found that the bright back-screen lights of our latest technology devices actually make it harder to fall asleep, and can cause sleep deprivation which can lead to worse health complications.

In response to these studies, Apple Inc. has done it again by adding a new setting to their iOS 9.3 update which will be known as Night Shift. Apple iPhone users will be able to alter the settings specifically to a warmer colored screen, reducing blue light projection.

Blue light, whatever that means, apparently inhibits the production of melatonin, a hormone that tells our bodies when it is time to hit the hay.

Android is looking to make a similar update to improve the backlights of Droid users smart phones.

According to a doctor interviewed by Heather Kelly of CNN, a combination of the new setting and a lower brightness level is a start to preventing our smart devices ruining our sleep cycles. The only way to really ensure a great deep sleep is to completely eliminate use of our devices before crawling into our sheets.

I personally find that the use of my iPhone while in my bed has no affect on how I sleep. There are so many more factors that contribute to getting a good night’s sleep including duration, disturbances, personal factors, etc. and I just do not find my laptop or iPhone to be one of them.

Whether I am working on a presentation that is due tomorrow late at night, or catching up on the tweets I missed all day, I fall almost immediately asleep.

College students’ have non-stop days, the last drops of energy fueled by 2 cups of coffee. We need as much sleep as we can get, and a backlight is the least of our problems.

And if we are advised to stay off our phones before we go to bed, when we go to class, when we do homework, then when? When else do we have the time to get that late night text in to Mom letting her know you’re still alive, or posting that funny article you found on your friend’s Facebook wall?

When I am trying to fall asleep, sometimes the light of the moon shines in my eyes… Can Apple make an app for that?