As a college athlete, sleep is absolutely vital, but many athletes are sleep deprived–42% to be exact! That's a problem–if athletes don't get the required amount of sleep they need, their performance will suffer. For the sake of your health and athletic career, here are 5 ways to improve your sleep schedule!
1. Stick to a schedule
College can be a very difficult time to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Carve out dedicated time for sleep to the best of your ability and stick to it. Regardless of your schedule, listen to your body–if you start feeling tired, go to bed!
Related: Circadian Rhythm, Sleep Bucket, and 8 Sleep Tips for College Athletes
2. Be mindful of what you eat and drink
Going to bed hungry or stuffed can affect your sleep so try to avoid large meals within a couple hours of bedtime. Avoid things like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, especially too close to bedtime. Most people think a “night cap” helps you sleep, but aside from making you drowsy, it actually causes you to have much lower-quality sleep.
3. Create a relaxing environment
Environment is everything! So clean your room, get fresh bedding, light a candle, get into comfy clothes, and maybe make some herbal tea to help you wind down at night. If you live in a noisy area, try out some white noise or lowkey music to get to sleep (earbuds can also help).
4. Limit your naps
Napping is a major part of the college lifestyle, but it can interfere with nighttime sleeping. If you need to nap at some point during the day, try to limit it to 30 minutes.
Related: 3 Ways a Lack of Sleep Negatively Impacts Athletic Performance
5. Get off your phone
Limiting blue light exposure two hours before you go to sleep will greatly improve your sleep quality. If you need to be on a screen within that time, consider getting blue light glasses. Or, manage your time so that work that requires screen time is done by evening, so you can spend the last two hours of the day working on written homework or just decompressing can help you relax.
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* Originally published on January 10, 2023, by Madison Machado
