Sleep and The College Student

Just last week, the National Sleep Foundation observed National Sleep Awareness Week. As daylight savings time shifts our clocks and our sleeping patterns, everyone has lost a little sleep, and college students may be especially vulnerable.

While the average person needs between 8 and 9 hours of sleep, college students instead get an average of 6.5 hours a night according to one survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation.

The problem isn’t restricted to students either. Another NSF survey conducted in 2005 found that more than 30% of drivers have not only driven while drowsy, they have fallen asleep at the wheel.

A study published in August 2008 in the Public Library of Science by Chiara Cirelli and Giulio Tononi suggests that sleep plays important functions in consolidating new memories, discarding unimportant information, and allowing the brain to prepare for future demands. “Sleep may be the price you pay so your brain can be plastic the next day,” say Cirelli and Tononi.

Several studies have linked lack of sleep to difficulties in recalling information, performing complex tasks, and increased difficulty in learning while sleep deprived.

“Getting enough sleep everyday is as important to your health as eating healthy and being physically active. Physicians should regularly ask all patients about sleep, diet, and physical activity habits.” says Woodie Kessel, MD, MPH, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (ret.) who was a member of the 2009 Sleep in America poll taskforce. “Sleep is as vital as eating right and exercising to our health.”

The techniques for improving sleep are simple, but effective.

• Only use the bedroom for sleep, not for school work! The more activities you bring into bed, the more difficult it is to simply sleep.
• Go to bed at the same time each night, and wake at the same time each morning. This includes weekends and days off. One day of sleeping in can throw off your sleep patterns for days.
• Avoid exercising within three hours of going to bed. Exercise causes a release of several hormones that promote energy and mood, but the energizing qualities of these hormones will keep you up longer than you would normally be.
• Try exercising shortly after waking to utilize those hormones in the morning.

How to Beat Procrastination with Mind Control

A new study could hold the solution to all of your procrastination woes. Don't put off reading this, read it now. It might just change your life. Even if it doesn't, it will change the way you think.

Procrastination is not a new problem. Marcus Aurelius wrote about it, inviting readers to "Think of all the years passed by in which you said to yourself 'I'll do it tomorrow'." Buddha taught to avoid it, calling procrastination a bargain against death.

The putting off till tomorrow what should be done today has probably been discussed and dissected since the second day of human history, when man first thought to himself, 'Dang, I really should have finished this yesterday!'

A new study, published by the Association for Psychological Science, has found that our tendency to procrastinate is largely tied to how we think about a task. Do you think of your upcoming projects in vague, non-specific terms? Chances are high that you'll put it off, waiting till the last minute - if you get around to it at all.

The research shows that thinking about upcoming projects in a concrete, task oriented manner is the key to beating procrastination. "As a result," the study says, "individuals are quicker to identify opportunities to act, initiate responses, and complete assigned tasks prior to a deadline."

The idea isn't necessarily new. Productivity expert David Allen, author of the best seller Getting Things Done, describes such thinking as a core element in the GTD system. His system describes finding 'next-actions', breaking down projects into smaller steps.

Productivity blogger (and GTD devotee) Merlin Mann explains this pretty well. "How you articulate an activity or how you choose to frame a project within the context of your larger life and work will say a lot about how successful you can be," writes Merlin. "This starts with simple things like beginning next actions with a physical verb."

So, in the spirit of these new findings, here's a quick list of steps to take in order to make this new thought process a habit.

1. Figure out what needs to be done in the near future.

Look at assignments that are due in the next week. These might be major projects or just regular assignments. Initially, limit yourself to the projects that are coming up soon, the items that you should be working on right now. As you make this a habit you'll naturally begin to apply these steps to every assignment you get, as each comes in.

2. Find a 'finish line' for each project.

First and foremost, you need to have a concrete idea of what you're trying to accomplish. If you don't know what you're trying to do, it'll be a whole lot harder to get it done, and far easier to put it off. Lacking a defined end definitely falls into the category of abstract thinking, and that's what gets you into procrastination trouble.

3. Figure out at least three steps that must be taken to complete each project.

Start with your end goal and work backwards. If your end goal is to have a snack, your plan might include such steps as getting off of the couch, walking to the fridge, opening the fridge, extracting from the fridge your snack of choice, and then returning to the couch to enjoy said snack.

If it's a writing assignment, look at the parts that will need to be assembled to make your finished piece of writing. You'll need to find a specific topic, relevant research, and a properly structured piece of writing about your topic and research.

4. Simplify your steps into a checklist.

Take your list of steps and make each item as basic and direct as you can. Don't obsess over it, but jot it down onto a short checklist. In the writing assignment example your list may look something like this:
- Find/brainstorm a topic
- Find x number of relevant details about the topic.
- Write a 600 word essay, using the research above.

5. Use this same process as part of your regular planning.

The findings of this study are important not because it explains why some people might have procrastinated in an isolated incident, but to explore also how our own thinking leads us to put things off.

If you want to apply this to your own life, find a way to change your own thinking. Maybe it's a sticky note that you put in your planner. You could use a detailed organizational system like Getting Things Done, or something as simple as jotting things down in a planner and adding a couple of "action steps". However you do it, this simple change in your thought processes should lead to higher productivity, and less stress.

Introducing - Me!

Pleased to meet you - my name is Brian Westover. I'm a student in Comm 240, Intro to Journalism, taught by Brother Williams. This blog will be my official blogging outlet for the class, and all of my posts for the class will go right here.

This is not my first blogging venture, however. Once upon a time, I was regularly posting at thewriterspot.blogspot.com, and there's a good possibility that I'll post these entries there as well, and resurrect that blog. It was a blog about freelance writing, and my trying to learn the business. Writing is, after all, what I want to do for a living.

My ultimate goal is to work regularly with one or more magazines, ideally writing about health, science, and self-improvement topics. I think I’d prefer magazine writing over hard news journalism, if only because it would be less stressful.  This is however, just a general direction, and I’ll likely wind up doing something very different. Given the present economy, I’ll probably be happy for any job I can get.

Last but not least, here are a few facts about me that aren’t writing related:

• -          I’m married, and have been for two and a half years. My wife’s name is Jessica, and she’s great.
  
• -          I’m working full time at RadioShack. It’s a crappy job, but it pays the bills.
  
• -          I started out as an engineering major, and I hated it – a lot.
  

I guess that’s about it for me. I am looking forward to this semester, and everything this class can teach me.