5 College Students Share the One Thing That Transformed Their Sleep Schedules

This article is sponsored by Casper. Use the code WAYUP50 to get $50 offer your Casper mattress purchase.

Here’s a scary fact: Studies show that college students today sleep two hours less per day on average than college students back in the 1980s. However, “just go to sleep earlier” is a lot easier said than done, especially for a college student.

How can you get more meaningful sleep in your schedule without having your schoolwork, extracurriculars or social life suffer in the process? You’re in luck: We talked to 5 students who got hired on WayUp about their sleep struggles and how they overcame them, all while keeping their normal college schedules intact. Now there’s no excuse not to hit the hay.

1. Make Your Bed Comfy

“Usually at school I have trouble getting a lot of sleep. Because there is only so much that can get done in a day and sleep is not the priority, I look forward to my sleep and think that  comfortable bed, pillow and sheets are necessary for any good sleep schedule. To get better sleep, I changed my sheets and pillows to a much more comfortable set. I also started to not snooze my alarm to ensure I get up a specific hour and not lay around in bed.” – Sam Tedori, University of Pennsylvania ‘18

Sam brings up a great point: Make your sleeping environment comfortable. Hate the feeling of laying on scratchy sheets and hard pillows? Don’t be afraid to splurge a little bit to create a more relaxing environment, like getting pillows fit to the shape of your head and sheets you want to lay in all day.

You should be excited to go to sleep, not dreading the process of trying to get to sleep.

2. Invest in a Great Mattress

“During freshman year, I slept something like 6 hours on a good night but often had to make do with 3 or 4. I had class early in the morning, and wasn’t used to balancing the college nightlife with getting homework done on time. I usually told myself I felt fine, but ended up dozing off in class and/or crashing for a nap as soon as I got to my dorm in the afternoon. I wasn’t actively looking to address the problem even after a few months, but when I tried out my friend’s mattress and got one for myself, I found myself sleeping much more comfortably and for longer periods of time. Now I have the opposite problem!” – Adrian Traviezo, Columbia University ‘18

You’d be surprised how big a difference a great mattress can make. If you’re looking for a good night’s sleep on campus, a Casper mattress is a great way to go. You’ll stop counting sheep in no time.

3. Turn Off Your Phone

“I frequently browsed the internet before bed, which disrupted my sleep schedule and kept me up later. As a result, I would often go to bed with negative thoughts regarding upcoming deadlines and projects, leaving me with anxiety. Thus, I decided to not engage with any electronic device 30 minutes before bed, and it’s made all the difference.” – Spencer Rivera, Babson College ‘17

It sounds so simple, but it can really change your mood: Put down your phone before bed and pick up a book or journal instead. Your body is able to adjust being away from screens and prepare for bed, and you’ll have some peace of mind by not surfing the web right before trying to get some shut-eye.

4. Pamper Yourself

“A few months ago, I was getting about two hours of sleep a night. I’d fall asleep but couldn’t stay asleep. I was missing class and on the occasion I did make it to class, I was falling asleep during it. After visiting the sleep doctor, I started shutting off all electronics an hour before bed and sleeping with an eye mask on and the results have been great.” – Kalley Jonas, University of Minnesota 2017

In addition to turning off your phone, drawing the blinds and taking other measures to fall asleep quickly, don’t be afraid to treat yourself in the process. Wear an eye mask like Kalley, or even just take the time to brush your teeth and wash your face thoroughly. You’ll feel so much more refreshed.

5. Get Some (App) Help

“I had a very stressful junior year, between class, independent research, an increasing amount of responsibilities in my extracurricular activities and a difficult internship search. With some constant stress in the background, falling asleep always took me a lot of time and I rarely had enough sleep. I started using Flux on my computer, an app that changes the color scheme of your screen to reduce the amount of blue light it emits closer to bedtime (blue light keeps you awake, a bit like sunlight). I also added the same function on my iPhone, and that definitely helped with falling asleep faster.” – Quentin Becheau, Princeton University ‘17

Do you really need to use your phone or computer late at night? If so, there are ways to keep its damaging effects from hurting your eyes and keeping you up. Flux is just one of many great options for those of us who need to keep that phone open at night.

You shouldn’t have to sacrifice sleep in college, so by taking these quick tips, you’ll sleep soundly and totally crush it in college.

This article is sponsored by Casper.

Casper believes in creating products and experiences to help you dream your way to a better life, a life well slept.