As the school year begins to get in gear, students and staff try their best to stay on a healthy schedule when it comes to sleep. However, as the work piles up , it gets harder and harder to keep that lifestyle. Below are some helpful tips for getting to bed on time.

 A common cause for students to lack sleep is their work-load. Although homework and projects are inevitable, there are ways of lessening the load. One option is to make good use of extra class time. Whether it’s advisory, SS, or just a class that has some free time, try to whip out that homework that could be keeping you up late into the night. Another choice is to make sure to get your work done before doing optional activities. For example if you know you want to play a certain game, try to prioritize your work first to ensure you get it done on time.

 Another reason for losing sleep is stress. Especially with hard classes and packed schedules, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. There are actions you can take to lower stress levels before bedtime. A good calming activity is journaling. Sometimes it can be therapeutic to write out all of your feelings and worries into a private notebook. Once you’re done writing, you can put away your journal and all of the stress along with it. The next stress-reliever is reading. This can mean reading a long novel, a magazine, or even a comic book. Reading causes the brain to leave the topic that is causing stress and focus on the book in front of you.

 Finally, one of the most common reasons people lose sleep is using a phone. Whether it’s the blue lights messing with your eyes or an exciting show you want to finish, phones are very capable of keeping someone from sleeping. The most important step in ceasing late night phone usage is setting a time to put it away. If you begin a specific routine that includes setting your phone aside, it becomes easier to stick to that plan.

 Getting the correct amount of sleep is super important, especially during school. Although it can get difficult to go to bed at the right time, following these steps will hopefully make it easier. Just remember to get that deep sleep!