Students hear all the time that sleep is important, but studies show that quality sleep for college students can be compromised by a multitude of factors, including heavy workload, family/relationship/roommate conflict, as well as anxiety and depression. Additionally, prolonged periods of screen time and low physical activity (which are especially prevalent in our lives right now as online students) can compromise college students’ sleep patterns even more. So, how do we actually achieve quality sleep and reap the benefits of it, despite the many things that can interfere with our sleep as college students?

First, it may help to first get a clearer picture of what your sleep patterns are like in order to assess how effective those current sleep habits are. By tracking your awake and asleep windows, the quality of your sleep and simultaneously logging your mood/mental clarity/physical activity for at least a week, you can reflect on how your sleep patterns may have impacted how you were feeling, mentally and physically, throughout the day. The purpose of this exercise is to understand your ideal sleep standard, as it is recommended that college students achieve 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. For some people, 9 hours of sleep may be too much sleep and actually induce more mental fog and physical fatigue than 7 hours of sleep does. Though for another student, 9 hours of sleep may be their optimal length of sleep. 

It is a common misconception among students that just getting enough sleep will improve their mental and physical health. However, It is important that the quality of the sleep receives just as much attention. What activities throughout the day are you engaging in that may either positively or negatively affect your sleep quality? Some things to consider:

• Caffeine intake 
• Physical activity 
• Screen time 

It is important to note these activities in your sleep pattern log as you may find in your reflection that your quality of sleep was impacted by certain activities throughout the day. For example, you may have logged that you had a hard time falling asleep at night when you drank your morning cup of drip coffee plus an afternoon espresso drink from Starbucks. Then, you may have found that this lack of quality sleep caused you to feel tired the next day. To make up for that lack of quality sleep, you may have had another extra cup of coffee that day, but unfortunately, that led to even more restless sleep the next night. Reflecting on patterns like these gives you valuable insight to how slightly adjusting small habits throughout the day, like skipping the extra cup of coffee or going for a walk/reading a book instead of watching a Netflix show, may increase the quality of your sleep.

By reflecting on your current sleep patterns and utilizing some of the other tips and helpful apps listed below, you can become more aware of what leads to an optimal quantity and quality of sleep for you. UC Davis also has a wonderful Student Health and Counseling Services department, with counselors and workshops that can help you achieve your health and wellness goals. 

Apps that help achieve better sleep:

1. Headspace: Free feature or premium version. Comes in a free version but students can get it for 9.99 per year 
2. Noisli: Plays calming sounds such as rain or ocean for a certain time period. 
3. Calm: Offers sleep based meditations and calming sounds. Free features or premium version. 
4. Sleep Cycle: This app tracks your sleep duration, when you have light rest and when you have deep rest or a dream state also known as REM cycle. 
5. Pzizz: App uses psychology combined with psychoacoustics to deliver a sleep aid to users.