As a graduate student, CMU alumna LeAnne Forquer, now a psychology faculty member at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., had her own trouble sleeping, prompting her to conduct a study to determine if other students experienced the same problems.

Along with CMU psychology professor Carl Johnson, Forquer surveyed more than 300 college students, many of whom admitted that it took longer than 30 minutes for them to fall asleep and/or they woke more than once a night for at least five nights a week. (I know the feeling!)

The study, which was published in the Journal of American College Health, concluded that one third of the sample took more than 30 minutes to fall asleep and 43 percent woke more than once a night. The students in the sample also had later bedtimes and wake times on weekends compared to weekdays, disrupting the circadian rhythm, a person's 24-hour day-night cycle that influences quantity and quality of sleep. Stability of the circadian rhythm ensures better sleep, therefore, bed and wake times should be the same every day of the week, including weekends.

Saying this and doing this is really two different things, because most college students have to go to class at various times during the day (or night -- and sometimes weekends), and then go to their internships or part-time or full-time jobs to pay for school, food (love that Ramen), gas, etc. Even so, having such sporadic activities spawns ill-equipped sleeping abilities, causing the body to "freak out".

"What I found most interesting about the study was the large numbers of students who were having the same problems as me, such as taking a long time to fall asleep and waking numerous times throughout the night," Forquer said. "I had felt for so many years that I was the only one."

College students are among the most sleep-deprived age group in the U.S. Sleep deprivation can have detrimental effects on daily performance, including academics and driving, and has also been linked to depressed mood and behavioral problems. While we're at it, lets add higher levels of stress (anxiety), more need to "snack" or overeat, and an overall lack of energy to that as well.

A similar study by Forquer and Johnson, published in Sleep and Hypnosis, found that the use of continuous white noise may help college students get better sleep. The study found that white noise was effective for college students with self-reported sleep problems to decrease difficulty in falling asleep and night wakings.

"These issues are extremely important because not getting enough sleep is associated with impaired attention, school performance, and also can lead to driving accidents as people fall asleep behind the wheel of their car," said Forquer. "Helping students sleep better will hopefully carry over to help them in some of these areas as well."

White noise isn't the only thing that can help in this situation (and for some it won't work - I can't use it, it makes me think of Poltergeist). Speaking from experience, you have to get a good night's sleep. If you don't, it will catch up to you and cause serious health issues. Some other things that will help you catch those Zs at night:

• Nature Sounds with Audio Player: You can get these nifty little devices at Wal-Mart or Target. It is a little audio device that has five different settings from a heart beat, to rain or "the sounds of the forest". You can set it on a timer and it will automatically shut off, or you can have it go on all night. This is great because it carries a pleasant, natural sound without being too distracting to your subconscious. It will literally lull you to sleep. It works.
• Exercise One Hour Before Bed: This is really great. Most of the time we cannot fall asleep at night because our brain is still going full force with its own white noise of the day and thoughts of tomorrow. Exercise increases the endorphins in your brain, elevates your mood, relieves stress and helps clear your mind. 15 to 20 minutes will do. You can do it in front of the television, to music or purchase a cheap, used DVD from Amazon so you have "workout buddies". Always make sure you hydrate yourself before and after the workout with good ol' H2O.
  
  • Post Exercise: Take a nice hot shower right after you workout and immediately get into your sleep wear. Once you are all clean, relaxed and jammied, make yourself a nice, hot cuppa herbal non-caffeinated tea without sugar (fruit flavors are the easiest to drink for those of you that are sugar freaks like me). It is important NOT to put sugar in this tea. Sugar will only stimulate your brain all over again.
• TV Shows: If you have your television on, but turned down to the point you can barely hear anything -- and make sure it is not a horror movie, think cartoons or the weather channel -- this can also help rock your neurons to sleep at night when all else fails.
• Preventative Measures: Stop the caffeine, sugar and food consumption by a certain time.
  • Cut out caffeine by 5 p.m. Caffeine after that time will only keep your subconscious brain active, long after your body and conscious mind are exhausted. In other words, you might be awake but you won't be home. The bottom line is, once your body builds up a tolerance to caffeine it doesn't make you alert anymore, it just helps keep your basic motor functions somewhat active. You won't be able to focus or think clearly by gobbling it up. It can also cause anxiety and panic attacks, irritability and make no mistake - it is a drug - it will wreak havoc over your body's nervous system, digestive track and ability to absorb calcium. Think brittle bones, bounding bowels and a bad attitude.
  • Sugar is a bad bed fellow. Yes, it gives you instant energy and it tastes oh-so-good...but, it is a nasty little bugger. It plays croquet with every system in your corporeal dwelling, and eventually it will have its way with you, whether by way of obesity (a grand energy zapper all by itself), sudden plummeting sugar "low", or diabetes (something you will never get rid of). At 5 p.m. sound the sugar gong - don't do it. Grab some protein instead (sandwich meat rolled into little bits, boiled eggs). You'll gain less weight, create more muscle and curb your appetite.
  • Snacking at the wee hours of the night is not a good idea. You should not eat three hours before bed. Why? Because, aside from the weight-gain factor, it will cause problems with digestion, thus keeping your body active while you are trying to go to sleep because it hasn't finished digesting yet...which means, it is going to keep your brain active. If you are hungry, try some room-temperature water or that nice fruit herbal tea I told you about. You won't feel like a big fat blueberry (think Willy Wonka) being rolled into bed when you lie down, and you'll be able to fall asleep faster. Trust me, Taco Bell 30 minutes before you pass out in bed is NOT a good idea...

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Marilyn   |2008-05-12 23:40:26 If you do everything besides sleep on your bed like homework and eating, I advise you to stop. I used to do this, it conditions you to make your bed a place for other activities besides rest. So try to kick these unhealthy habits so you can bring back your dreams. Reply 0   0

Kait   |2008-05-12 18:19:41 It's so hard to get the sleep you need in college because the workload is so heavy. It really requires time management, so I think we need to work on that as well! Reply 0   0

jamesa   |2008-05-12 11:10:31 I am guilty. I have no choice though, I have a weird schedule with the classes I need for my major, and then the need to eat...I do a lot of caffeine and sugar in the evenings to keep me going. I can cut down on the sugar and maybe try to keep my caffeine from going past 7...but i think that nature thing sounds like something I might try. thanks for the article! Reply 0   0

BeLa   |2008-05-12 10:28:16 Dammit, it's definitely me, too [smiley=sad] I should consider the exercise thingy at night (and perhaps restrain the cookies galore to a minimun... *ashamed* Reply 0   0

mathewas   |2008-05-12 10:13:41 This is definitely me. It takes me way too long to fall asleep at night - more than just 30 minutes. But I'm guilty of having sugar after 50, so, I need to stop doing that. Thanks for the tips! Reply 0   0

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."