A sleep schedule in college is almost nonexistent. To many students, the easiest thing to do is drink caffeine and hope for the best.

I’m here to tell you that it’s not a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love my morning, lunch and afternoon coffee, but I also love sleeping and naps.

In college it’s hard to balance all that you’re doing. Adding a sleep schedule into that can be hard, especially if you’re the partying type.

Sacrificing sleep isn’t the option you should be taking. When you don’t get enough sleep, not only does your mind suffer, but so does your body.

You may find yourself spacing off or even falling asleep in class, becoming more tired during the daytime. You also won’t be able to think and process information as well as you should be.

Setting and sticking to a schedule is important. Sleep should always be in your schedule.

Once you’ve established time for sleep, you need to find the best way for you to sleep. It’s not as simple as just getting to sleep; you need to have good sleep, otherwise, you’ll still be dealing with the consequences of not sleeping.

The first thing you have to do is get to know your body. Some people may only need six hours of good sleep to feel good, while others might find eight is essential.

Your sleeping environment is the next thing you’ll need to worry about. How much light do you need? What about noise? Is your phone going to bother you? These are all questions you need to think about when you’re trying to get the ideal sleep.

Caffeine and sugar in the morning is great, but you should really start avoiding it when it gets closer to bedtime.

Don’t distract yourself right before bed. Starting a new project or staring at your phone isn’t going to help your brain shut down.

Instead, try to find a routine that you do before bed every night to let your body know it’s time to sleep.

If you have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, try sleep aids like melatonin. When you are laying down try not to let your mind wander. You need to shut it down in order to fall asleep.

Sleeping in on the weekends is nice, but not a great idea if you want to keep consistent. Waking up around the same time everyday will help train your mind and body to get better sleep. If you sleep in one day, it’ll be harder to try to wake up early the next day.

Sleep is an important aspect of a college student’s life. You shouldn’t just prioritize other events over it.

Once you learn how your body likes to sleep, you’ll be on your way to a better night’s sleep, even on the brick mattresses at the dorms.

Do yourself a favor and start sleeping better. You’ll thank yourself later.