Alice,
Since final exams, I have been sleeping way more than I did during the
semester. Normally, I can get by on six to eight hours a night, with maybe
one morning to sleep late, if I've been leaning to the six-hour end for
too many nights. And I would sometimes even wake up in the A.M. before any
alarm clock and just get up since I would be wide awake. (Which was a
good thing...)
But lately, I've been sleeping for eight to twelve hours a night, and
still feel groggy when I do get up. I'm not doing anything noticeably
different now than during the spring semester and don't think I'm
depressed about anything. I would like to get up at seven or eight A.M.
like I'm used to doing, but I just can't drag myself out of bed.
—Any suggestions?
Dear Any suggestions?,
We each have a system of biological clocks that dictate our physiology
and behavior. These internal clocks are usually well synchronized with
each other and with the external clocks we have come to accept in
society, so we are most often unaware of their existence. Circadian
rhythms are cycles of biological functions regulated by your internal
clock that run for a period of about twenty-four hours. These natural
internal rhythms can become desynchronized when disturbed by stressors,
such as flying across several time zones, or erratic sleeping and waking
habits that many college students frequently experience.
Once your biological rhythms are out of phase with one another, you
are more prone to feel stress in the form of irritability, exhaustion, and
lowered resistance to illness. Many individuals cannot adapt their sleep
schedules to the schedules they would like.
Sleep Regulators
Alice's Suggestions to Help Regulate Sleeping Patterns:
- Get up at the same time every day. If you need to, change the
time you go to bed to make sure you get enough sleep.
- Sleep in a cool, dark, and quiet room. Wear earplugs or create white
noise with a fan to screen out external interruptions.
- Sleep only at night.
- Avoid alcohol near bedtime. It can interrupt REM (rapid eye movement)
sleep, the most important part of the sleep cycle.
- Limit caffeine and sugar intake prior to sleep.
- Try not to drink a lot of any kind of liquid at night so you won't
need to wake up and pee.
- Avoid heavy meals near bedtime.
- Don't exercise aerobically for several hours before bedtime.
- Ease into sleep by doing something pleasurable for thirty to sixty
minutes before slumber: reading, watching TV, talking with a friend,
holding a mate, etc.
If your sleepiness continues, see a health care provider. Alice is
glad you mentioned depression, because mild depression can be related
to sleepiness. You could also explore this with a counselor. If you are
at Columbia, call x4-2284 to make an appointment with a provider at
the Health Service and/or call x4-2468 to make an appointment with a
counselor at Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS).
- Alice
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Sleeping too much
