Chances are, you’ve seen the following image before. Chances are, there’s one part of the triangle that’s your go-to sacrifice.
As BCIT students, we all know how hard it is to get enough sleep at night. We likely compensate by drinking caffeinated beverages, skipping lectures, or sleeping in the pods in the library. However, if you’re not able to get those recommended 8 hours of sleep, you’re doing more damage than you think.
Sleeping as little as 6 hours per night for over 2 weeks in a row causes similar negative effects as if you were awake for 2 days straight (Van Dongen, Maislin, Mullington, & Dinges, 2015). Maybe once in a while you’ll pull an all-nighter, but the crash will come for you that afternoon. So, would you decide to go to class after being awake for 2 days? Probably not. But do you often get 6 or fewer hours of sleep a night? Perhaps.
If you are the kind of student to pull all-nighters, you’re also being affected more than you think. After only 19 hours of being awake, cognitive decline is equivalent to a blood alcohol content of 0.1% – more than the legal limit to drive in BC (Williamson & Feyer, 2000). If you wouldn’t attend class while intoxicated, you shouldn’t come to class sleep deprived. And you especially shouldn’t drive if you’re sleep deprived; keep yourself safe and ride with a friend, take the bus, or call a taxi.
What can you do to get this much-needed sleep without sacrificing your grades or social life?
- Study with friends – accomplish two goals in one
- Budget your time – limit procrastination and prioritize sleep
- Cut your losses – staying up late studying won’t help you if you’re fuzzy-minded while taking that test
- Rationalize your grades – an assignment worth 1% of your grade just isn’t worth staying up all night for, but a final worth 40% might be
- Get relaxed before bed – put away the social media and give yourself time to wind down at the end of the night
- Maintain your sleep schedule – late nights on the weekend may be tempting, but it throws off your sleep cycle
- Put the caffeine away in the afternoon – caffeine too late in the day can keep you awake late, even when you want to be asleep
No matter how much sleep you regularly get, there’s always room for improvement. By taking the steps to maintain your physical wellbeing, you’ll ultimately improve your student experience while attending BCIT.