Students Has Insomnia Affected Your Grades Find Out How To Sleep Better - Health

Students, Has Insomnia Affected Your Grades? Find Out How To Sleep Better   by Mary Speller

in Health    (submitted 2012-08-14)

Insomnia, or more commonly known as sleeplessness, is a disorder that can not only affect your rest at night but your performance at work or school the next day. There are three different types of insomnia: They are known as transient, acute, and chronic.

Transient insomnia only lasts for a few days and is usually caused by another mental disorder such as depression/anxiety or by more overlooked factors such as changing of the sleep environment, stress, and variation in the time at which one goes to sleep. Normally, the consequences of transient insomnia are far from serious, usually involving a feeling of sleepiness and impaired motor functions: similar to that of normal sleep deprivation.

Acute insomnia is the second most severe type of insomnia that lasts for slightly less than a month. It is most commonly caused by daily stress and can lead to sleepiness, dramatic mood swings, and severe decrease in tasks requiring long-term concentration.

Chronic insomnia is the most severe form of insomnia and lasts for over a month. Normally, it is cause by a secondary disorder, but it can also be considered a primary disorder. Chronic insomnia is most common when there are high levels of stress hormones rapidly shifting throughout the day. Individuals who have chronic insomnia will have the same symptoms as the other two types of insomnia, but may also be accompanied by muscular fatigue, mental fatigue, hallucinations, and a general feeling of time passing at a slower rate.

Whatever type of insomniac you may be, it is important to know the primary causes behind it and what route to take to alleviate yourself of the condition before it starts taking a toll on your life at school or work.

For college students that have periods of insomnia, it is incredibly important to take both preemptive and remedial steps to ensure that insomnia does not affect your grades. Studies have shown that students with less than 7 hours of sleep per night will perform significantly worse than those who sleep for 7 hours or more. Then, take into consideration having much less than 7 hours of sleep per night on a daily basis. Suddenly, one bad night of sleep and a flunked quiz turns into an entire week of poor performance on assignments across all of your classes.

In order to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of insomnia it is important to take several steps, whether you do not have insomnia and are trying to prevent it, or are currently suffering from it.

First, watch what you eat. Try to stay away from foods that are high in sugar or drinks that are loaded with caffeine. These types of foods do nothing to nourish your body and even though they may give you the extra boost you need to start your morning they will end up ruining your sleep cycle. Also, try to stay away from fried and processed foods during dinner. These types of foods, while some healthy, will make your stomach experience pain or discomfort if eaten too much; resulting in a night filled with frequent trips to the bathroom or pain instead of the sleep you should be getting.

Next, try to decrease the amount of stress you have. It is perfectly normal for college students to feel overwhelmed when away from home with all the pressure in the world to succeed.

Whenever you are feeling like everything is piling up on your shoulders, take a quick 10 minute break and find something relaxing to do such as: continue reading a chapter of your favorite book, listen to that new album you just bought, finish drawing that picture you started. Even small things like keeping pictures of loved ones and pets from back home can be enough to make you feel less home sick and more comfortable while working. You also need to manage your time well. The majority of the time, students who are stressed out are only that way because they did a poor job planning out their workload. Schedule your time accordingly. Sometimes going out with friends might have to wait for another hour in order to make sure that you are not scrambling on Sunday evening to finish a paper.

Lastly, there are some natural cures and remedies you can try if you are experiencing insomnia: Limit the amount of alcohol you drink, keep a normal schedule, and establish a bedtime ritual. If none of those fixes do the trick, then it might help to take a melatonin supplement before bed as well. Melatonin is an over the counter supplement which is used to help bring people into a defined and comfortable sleep schedule.

Insomnia can be one of your greatest enemies, but with the right knowledge and will power you can overcome it and continue to succeed every day instead of being dragged down. If your insomnia persists even after following the methods above, then go see your local doctor and get it taken care of. Insomnia is much more than a lack of sleep, it is a disorder that can negatively affect your everyday life and the work you do to achieve your goals.