It is a shame that I’m having to write a third part to “Not enough sleep,” but once again I feel the need to give advice that can already be well-known facts for all of you.
Last semester I was extremely excited about my schedule for the Spring term because I had organized all my classes in such a way that I would only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Therefore, every single week I would have a 5 day weekend starting on Thursday after my last class and ending on Monday night. Despite the fact that on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would have 4 classes during the day, I didn’t feel that bad about it. Last semester I had 4 classes on Thursday and I did just fine, so I figured it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. Also, I would have 5 days to do any homework due on Tuesday, so I wasn’t worried about that either.
Unfortunately, I didn’t think about how such a schedule would ruin my sleep cycle. On a Tuesday night I hang out with my friends until late at night because I know that on Wednesday I can wake up at whatever hour I want, but then on Wednesdays I try to fall asleep early and I just can’t. I end up falling asleep late, and then my 8:15am class kills me. I spent the rest of the day just as tired because a simple 30 min. nap won’t do to give me all the energy I didn’t get at night.Â
As the days go by my sleep schedule gets worse and worse. This last weekend I went to sleep on Thursday night at 7:30am (so it was actually Friday morning). I woke up at 5:30pm on Friday so I wasn’t sleepy but until 6:30am that night (which means Saturday morning). On Sunday night I fell asleep at about 5:30am (yes, you got it, that’s actually Monday morning) and woke up today (Monday) at about 3:00pm. Tomorrow it’s Tuesday and I have the 8:15am class once again…it’s quite entertaining to guess at what time I will fall asleep, but at the same time it’s kinda sad..
Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love having 5 day weekends and being able to wake up at any time of the day during my off days. The problem is that having 4 classes, each lasting 75mins. on days when you haven’t slept much is just too much for me. If you think you will be able to maintain a healthy sleep schedule then I’m sure you will find my schedule very rewarding, but I just can’t do it. It’s been 4 weeks of classes (which for me equal 8 days of classes), and I’m almost out of free skips in every class, because sometimes I’m way too tired and decide that it’s just not worth it.
Next semester I’m thinking about trying a variation of this same schedule. I will have classes every day, but all my classes will start after 1:00pm. That way, I can sleep until late in the morning, get enough sleep, and not have such busy days like my current Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hopefully this schedule will work better and I’ll be able to stick to that.
In the meantime, all I have to say is that when you come to college you have to make sure that you will be getting the amount of sleep that you think you need. Therefore, just like with taking off the cast by yourself and procrastinating, my already-known advice is to choose a schedule that will help you get enough sleep, and to not use all your free skips for the classes when you haven’t even reached midterms, cus you will definitely want to use them later!
Well, personally I would like to use them everytime, but that’s just not possible. So make sure you use them wisely!
Peace
