Behind the Ivy - Summer 2018

WELLNESS

with your trusty black coffee beside you, trying to cram in some extra studying before tomorrow’s exam. By the time you finish, there are only a couple of hours left for sleep. The next day you do your exam and then realize you have to start studying for the next one. You try to study, but since you didn’t get enough REM sleep the night before, your brain can’t absorb any new information, leading you to stay up late again and repeat the cycle. Not only can sleeping stop you from getting caught in this spiral, but it can also save you from making stupid mistakes. Have you ever tried to do something that requires brain power while tired? It was probably riddled with mistakes, if it even made sense at all. Getting enough sleep helps you stay alert and attentive, so

that you don’t mix up “there”, “they’re” and “their” on your English exam. Now that you can see how important sleep is, especially with exams just around the corner, I urge you to skip the caffeine and get some sleep. A couple of hours may seem like nothing, but they can make a big difference. However, sleep may not be the real issue here. If you have gotten yourself stuck in the vicious sleep reducing cycle, you have to remember that your body comes first and foremost. It can be really easy to discount how important it is to take care of our bodies, but, in the long run, it will be the lack of sleep that hurts us most, not that level three on our exam. The biggest suggestion I can give you, if you are already stuck in this cycle, is to stop procrastinating and

give up Netflix. These two can work individually or together because, as we all know, Netflix is the best way to avoid studying. It can be difficult, but if you can skip your daily dose of Gossip Girl , you will be rewarded with time you didn’t even know existed and will be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. What I’m getting at here is that, in the showdown between sleep and studying, sleep will always conquer in the long term, whether it’s for better or worse. I can’t force you to change your habits but, next time you are faced with the decision of working late, contemplate the urgency and importance of the circumstances and whether they are really worth the consequences that come from a lack of sleep.

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 | SPRING ISSUE