College and Sleep Should Be Two Peas in a Pod

Our new college bedding study highlights problems with the pillows and mattress pads that college students take to school with them.  But, gross fungi aside, it also brings up a very important point — a good night’s sleep increases a student’s chance of success in college exponentially.

Multiple studies have been done on the subject.  One, covered here at SleepBetter.org, looked at 60 college-age subjects.  The participants were split into two equal groups.  In the morning, the first group learned a batch of 30 fake words.  They then returned later in the evening to take a test on how well they learned the words. Meanwhile, the second group studied the same phony words at nighttime. This group did not complete their vocabulary test until the following morning after a full night’s sleep.

Once the tests were scored, researchers found that the subjects who slept after learning the new words performed much better than those who were awake throughout the day.

By entering a deep sleep, your brain is better able to establish connections between new facts and previous knowledge.  Since learning new things and applying connections is what college is all about, it only stands to reason that sleep and attending college should go together like two peas in a pod.

Here are some recommendations from an article we published last year called Five Tips to Help College Students Sleep Better:

• Make sure they have a proper pillow.  Check out that pillow your student is taking to school.  Has it been around since they were in kindergarten?  If so, replace it.  Not only could it be filled with fungi, an outdated, out-of-shape pillow can also make it hard to get comfortable at night.
• Add a mattress pad. Dormitory beds are notoriously uncomfortable, but adding a good mattress pad can make them tolerable.
• Earplugs may not be a bad idea.  It’s no secret that dorms are noisy.
• Talk about what a bed is used for.  This will sound strange, but using a bed for a desk, a TV chair, and even a video game lounge can lead to not getting to sleep when it’s bedtime.
• Suggest a good sleep routine.  Going to bed and getting up at the same time every night is the best way to go.  Knowing that’s unrealistic, however, perhaps suggest they try to go to sleep at around the same time Sunday through Thursday.  Recognizing that Friday and Saturday night probably won’t mean lights out at 10pm, suggest trying to get to bed no later than a couple of hours after their weekday bedtime.

After reading about our college bedding story, are you freaked out about what’s inside your pillow?  Be sure to check out our article on how to clean your pillow!