Dear Nancy 

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Dear Nancy,

I’m struggling… Ever since the first day of school, I have been exhausted. I stay up until 1 a.m. and I wake up at 5 a.m. before every school day. I don’t know what to do! I get my homework done at around 8 p.m, and I stay up late on my iPhone on social media until I fall asleep. I’m so used to my summer sleeping schedule that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to adjust to a good school one. Plus, by midnight, I’m usually not even as tired as I was around maybe 10. Life is hard. What can I do to get my sleep schedule in order?

We all know coming back to school after having almost 3 months of summer can be a toughie. We’re tired, we don’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn and we just want to sleep until noon. Right? Well, as it seems that getting our sleep schedules back on track returning into the brand new school year is utterly impossible, it can happen!


There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel and although it may be dim, hard to see, and seemingly five million miles ahead, we all can get there sooner than we think.


It is ever so easy to stay up until 2 a.m. watching TV, texting or reading a book and frankly, it’s pretty enjoyable at the time. However, it’s not so enjoyable when our alarm goes off at 6 a.m. and we have to get out of bed and get ready to go to school for 7 hours.


But how in the world can we train ourselves to go to bed at a reasonable hour and not get lost in all of the technology and distractions around us? It seems pretty impossible, that part is evident. If the right habits and strategies are developed, it’s not going to seem nearly as impossible anymore. In fact, once the habits become habits and we get used to going to sleep earlier and cutting the distractions off, it may become EASY! But, what are these magical strategies and habits mentioned? Is this some sort of scam? No, my friends, it is not!

1. TRAIN 

To begin, one of the simplest and most painless ways to train ourselves to fall asleep earlier is to be in bed at a reasonable hour along with doing some sort of relaxing activity like reading, writing or mentally reflecting on our day while winding down in bed! But, some of us may ask, “Why wasn’t scrolling through social media or texting on my device in the list of relaxing activities? I find that more relaxing than any of the activities listed.” Well, guys, many studies have proven that if we eliminate all electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime, we will be able to fall asleep earlier and sleep far more soundly! Yes, electronics are great and fun and it may be hard to just shut them off a while before bedtime because of all of the posts and messages we may have, but everything isn’t just going to disappear overnight before we wake up! It’ll all be waiting for us in the morning! We can even consider it something to look forward to! A little time away from technology isn’t a bad thing.

2. SET TIMES 

Another easy way for us students to develop a healthier sleep schedule is to have a set bedtime and wake up time. For example, having all of our homework done before 8:30 p.m. every night, and strictly being in bed by 9 p.m. Sounds crazy, right? But, believe it or not, it’s surprisingly effective! This way, our bodies will get used to going to bed at 9, and falling asleep at a reasonable hour will, in time, not be such a struggle! As long as all distractions are eliminated and we’re doing relaxing activities if still not tired at as early as 9 p.m.! 

Waking up at a set time everyday is also surprisingly effective. Our bodies will get used to it and waking up and getting ready for the school day will become easier and easier every day! We might even find ourselves waking up super early on the weekends. It’s an insane thought, but who knows?

3. BURN OFF YOUR EXTRA ENERGY 

Last but most certainly not least, we can get our sleep schedules rocking and rolling in no time by simply eating right and exercising regularly! If we don’t exercise at least once a day, where is all of the extra energy going to go? Being wide awake at bedtime can very easily be from lack of exercise sometimes. So, always eat right and exercise! Who would regret that? 


Who knows what challenges and obstacles we students will face during the 2015-2016 school year? Who knows how many assignments, projects and presentations are coming up?


Well, something we all do know is that school is always going to begin at 7:30 a.m. Right? We do know how many hours of sleep we get every night is crucial! Running off of not enough hours of sleep during the school day can’t be fun. Let’s treat our bodies right. But, how? Well, by using all of the strategies listed above of course! If we set a wake up time and a bedtime, eliminate electronics at least 30 minutes before bed, do relaxing activities such as reading, writing and more while winding down in/before bed, and always eating right and exercising, it’s pretty much a given that we will feel more energized and ready for school in the morning without wanting to crawl back into bed for 48,000 hours! 


Don’t we all want to have energy in the morning and feel more healthy overall? Who doesn’t? We’re in this together, Reagannites. Let’s just take this journey one night at a time. 

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