5 sleep hacks you need to know

Let’s talk about sleep. We all know it’s important, but let’s be real—uni life isn’t exactly designed for getting your eight hours. But don’t panic, these five sleep hacks are here to help!

1. No caffeine after 2pm

Coffee is lifeeee. But if you’re sipping on an oat latte at 6pm and wondering why you’re wide awake at 2am, that’s on you, bestie. Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 8 hours—yep, even that cheeky Red Bull before pres.

Try swapping your post-2pm caffeine fix for a herbal tea, or you could even go for decaf. Your future self will thank you.

2. Create a cosy sleep space

Your uni room might be currently giving prison cell vibes, but you can defo make it a cosy lil sleep haven!

Try making your bed for sleeping ONLY—no eating, revising, or texting your situationship there. Get some cute fairy lights, invest in a decent pillow—you deserve it, hun. Maybe even try a lavender pillow spray from Boots for spa vibes!

3. Make your bed a phone-free zone

Let’s start with the obvious. Your phone is the biggest opp when it comes to sleep. Do you really need to watch that ninth GRWM video at 1am? Probs not.

Try switching your phone to sleep mode, or better yet, set a “wind-down alarm” an hour before bed and yeet your phone across the room and chill with a book instead.

4. Say hey to sleep cycles

Here’s the tea: your sleep happens in cycles. Wake up in the middle of one? You’ll feel like you’ve been hit by a bus. But wake up between cycles? You’ll feel freshh.

Try using a free sleep calculator to work out how you can wake up ready to face your lectures.

5. Relax and meditate

Ever lay in bed and your brain decides that’s the perfect time to replay every awkward thing you’ve ever said since 2016? Cos same. Turns out, stressing about not sleeping makes it even harder to fall asleep—shock!

Sometimes, all you need to do is find a way to shut off your brain and meditation and mindfulness can really help with that! If you’re looking for ways to look after your mental health as a student, we’ve got you.

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