If you can’t sleep, then you can’t function properly at all the next day.
Staring at the clock and trying to calculate how much sleep you will get if you fall asleep at this exact moment won’t help you. There are a number of problems that could cause lack of sleep; learning the solutions might be an entirely different problem you need to add to the list.
There’s the “drunk and yelling people outside your room” problem. It’s Thursday night and you are ready to go to sleep because Jersey Shore is over and your homework is done. Just as you get into bed, there is a bunch of screaming, yelling, giggling girls walking outside your window or down your hall.
They might have woken you up or might be keeping you from sleeping. The main point is you are not sleeping. The solution to this problem is headphones. Drown out the noise with something loud but calming and soothing so you will be catching z’s in no time.
Then there’s the “I stupidly scheduled an 8 a.m. class” problem. You thought to yourself, “I am going to get my day done early.” You also thought, “I used to get up for high school before 8 a.m. — same thing.” Big misconception. It is not the same as high school. If you are not a morning person, you won’t be getting your day started, let alone early, if you are sleeping straight through your first class.
First, go to bed earlier on nights that you have to get up early. Second, set one alarm, then a second and then a third. It might help to put your alarm across the room; then you have to get up and move, which hopefully will motivate you to just stay up and keep moving.
There’s also the “my roommate is studying with the light on or watching TV” problem. This one can hopefully be solved with a few possible solutions. You could try covering your face with your pillow or an eye mask if you have one. If not, you might want to look into purchasing one from Amazon.com.
As for the noise, putting in earplugs or headphones will work in order to drown noises out. If those are not working for you, kindly ask your roommate if he or she can turn down the television or if he or she can maybe turn off the main light and work with a desk light.
Lastly, there’s the “I’m laying here and I really just can’t sleep” problem. This one is a problem that can only be solved with by figuring out what works best for you. Figure out if you need noise or silence, some light or pitch black. Once you learn what type of environment you need, you can move on.
Obviously, if you need no light or noise, turn off the TV and turn off the light. If you need noise, pick a movie to watch and make it one you have seen a thousand times. That way, you can just turn over and listen to it since you’ve seen it all before.
Sleep patterns are different for each person. There will be some nights you might not be able to figure out what it takes to fall asleep. You could be awake for hours upon hours — tossing and turning and flipping your pillow.
If all else fails, it’s time to start counting sheep.
Mesha Baylis-Blalock is a freshman studying journalism and a columnist for The Post. Do you put on Sleepless in Seattle? E-mail Mesha at mb345109@ohiou.edu.
