Healthy Living

Get a Good Night’s Sleep...
Richa, a 28 year old IT professional was working day and night to get her job assignments done to get the well awaited promotion and incentives that she had been longing for. Her dream to achieve this goal to get a new house was just about to be fulfilled but the long nights staying up awake working allowed her just about 2 or 3 hours of sleep each night. She developed sags beneath her eyes, had severe headaches, and also began to have a loss of appetite and decreased concentration.
Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. Like in Richa’s case, lack of sleep can cause severe problems and when it comes to adolescents of today it seems to become more prominent.
Usually, college goers end up staying up awake late till night whether it might be to finish a last minute assignment or talking to their friends till the wee hours of the morning. This causes various problems including minor ailments like aching muscles, daytime drowsiness, dizziness and yawning to major ones like hypertension, depression, blurred vision, and memory lapses.
An average teenager needs around 9.5 hours of sleep per night but students today seem to be compromising on it to bend their ways. They need to understand that sleep is an important part of their daily biological clocks and the deprivation of it may lead to serious consequences.
Here as some tips to keep in mind which may help students to manage their sleep cycles and stay healthy.
— One must make it a point to end the day with a pleasant or relaxing schedule: listening to choice music, reading a light and leisurely book, doing some simple, relaxing exercises, watching a fun-filled television-show.
— It is significant to keep a watch on what you take at dinner, as most of our mind-body variance arises from indigestion of food at the physical level or indigestion of emotions at the mental level. A rich and heavy dinner close to bedtime can intervene with your sleeping patterns, make you sluggish in the morning and can disrupt your normal diet routine.
— Try caffeine free drinks. Try reducing caffeine by switching to something healthier, like bottled water. OK, if that's too much to ask, at least try a caffeine-free version of your favourite drink!
— Don't think too hard right before bed time. If you have assignments to complete, you can prefer not wanting to put it off until night. It's harder to relax and get to sleep when your mind is stuck in the deep-thinking mode.
— Turn off the cell phone. What's so important it can’t wait until morning? Unless you have a really good reason, turn it off and get some rest. Might sound irrational to many but it’s just a solution as nothing is important than your own health.
— Keep track of time. Often, students have great intentions, but other tasks seem to keep them up late, time after time. That's because teens have to develop an understanding of time management and task completion. Start keeping track of things you do routinely and the amount of time needed to do certain tasks. Then plan ahead so you can get to bed on time.
— Play music if you want, but not too loud. Many people play music at night. If it doesn't bother you, go ahead. Don’t play it too loud, though, or it will disrupt your sleep.
So, keep in mind the above points and get your good night’s sleep because health is all that matters and a healthy body keeps the mind healthy. So get to bed on time to wake up fresh to enjoy the marvelous day which awaits you!
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Sheeba Shamsudeen BA (Journalism, Psychology & English)