My Current Sleep Schedule

Within the last year or so I have become what I like to refer to as a "sleep junkie." In order to ensure that I get the best night of sleep possible, I implement different tactics that help me to get better sleep. For instance, I like to put down all electronics an hour before my head hits the pillow. This is important because cellular devices produce blue light which messes with our bodies' perception of our circadian rhythm and results in less production of melatonin. Furthermore, I also attempt to not eat 3 hours before sleep and I avoid any coffee after the hour of noon. These are just some precautions I take, but helpful sleep tactics are not my true focus for today's blog. Today, I would like to share my current sleep schedule and how it has helped me perform better in all aspects of my life.

I just finished my sophomore year of college and as a STEM major, I spent my year tackling some of the world's most infamous villains; Organic chemistry 1 and 2 and physics. If this year has taught me anything, it's that sometimes you have to take a left hook to the face to learn a little something. I was foolish to believe that the study habits I maintained during my first year of college were enough to allow me to survive my second. I learned my lesson quickly and realized I had to change things for the better. I bet you all are wondering what the miraculous solution could be. If you happened to guess a sleep schedule, you are wrong I actually started partaking in deep ancestral meditation sessions and after unlocking my spirit animal I gained access to all the universe's answers. Just kidding. That would have been cool though. In reality, a good sleep schedule was all I needed to turn things around.

My sleep schedule goes something like this; I wake up at 5:30 am and go to bed at 9:00 pm. I will say there was some leniency on the weekends, I mean we can all understand that sometimes life gets in the way. Anyways, I have no doubt that many reading this would choose a lifelong dedication to listening to Matty B raps rather than following this horrid sleep schedule. I was hesitant at first as well, but the benefits outway the sacrifices ten folds over. The feeling of being on a strict sleep schedule is quite like no other. I imagine it would be like the surreal feeling Thanos felt when he finally snapped his fingers or when Michael Jordon told those motherfuckers to go home after hitting the game-winning shot versus Cleveland. Having a defined sleep schedule and following it to a T, provides you with a well of endless energy and a determination to attack life in a whole different way.

I would like to address some of the science behind this before I get into exactly how it helped me. First off and foremost, it is essential to get 8 hours of sleep for most people but the time needed really depends on age. As a college student, it is imperative to get 8 hours of sleep. Some of the positive effects of 8 hours of sleep or as follows; results in better concentration and productivity, results in a stronger heart, results in a healthier immune system, and results in proper weight loss. Not to mention, sleep is key in memory consolidation and if acquired in abundance can do wonders that Quizlet never could. I could keep going on, but I think you get the point. Another reason a good sleep schedule is so vital has to do with circadian rhythm. The sleep circadian rhythm is our body's natural 24-hour cycle that alternates between periods of alertness and sleepiness. This cycle is dependent on light exposure and helps dictate internal bodily conditions that make it easier to stay awake or sleep. It is best to be on a sleep schedule where you wake up with the sun and go to sleep as it disappears past the horizon. This allows you to make full use of all 16 hours of sunlight. Following a schedule like this will make it easier to go to sleep at night and provides you with a lot more energy to expend during the day.

Now for some of the ways, this schedule helped me. For as long as I can remember, my sleep schedule has been as inconsistent as most NBA players dating history. In a span of a week, I could see the early dawn hours of 5 am before going to sleep or be on the opposite spectrum with an early disappearance of 9 pm. This was mainly during my high school days. What a weird time. Back to the point, despite an inconsistent sleep schedule I did maintain consistent schedule habits. This includes snoozing my alarm multiple times and/or waking up to only scroll on my phone among the covers. Not by any means a description of a thriving scholar. Staying coherent with these habits, it is also no surprise at all that I was a (still am, but getting better) raging procrastinator. These habits are not helpful in college I can tell you that right now and I would not recommend them. They are probably a 2 out of 10 on any linear numeric scale. On the other hand, following a strict sleep schedule helped me rid of these bad habits and pick up some other habits as well, like going to the gym and using my time for more useful endeavors. I almost never snooze my alarm now and I always immediately get out. Furthermore, I have never been more productive in my life and I am battling with my procrastinator tendencies. All in all, I attribute a lot of my success in this last semester to this sleep schedule and my self-improvement as a whole. I would highly recommend that everybody follow a good sleep schedule, not just college students, as it has many benefits for all.