How rubbish sleep can affect your grades

How do you keep your head above water at university when everything gets a bit too much? 

Well, there are the obvious ones; study more, get fresh air, binge your favourite shows, and so on. But want to know the BEST thing you can do to improve your grades? Sleep more.

Let's face it, being a student doesn’t always mean quiet nights in (especially before lockdown). Even if you're not the partying type, getting to sleep in the early hours after a long day and night of studying doesn't help. Neither does depending on a truckload of coffee either!

We need our sleep. At best, a lack of sleep makes us underproductive zombies. At worst, it can lead to serious physical and mental health issues that will only make student life more difficult to deal with.

Having a good sleep will make you sharper, smarter and a little bit better at everything you do:

1. It aids learning and memory
   Sleeping helps us to learn more because our brain replays everything that happened that day in a process called consolidation. This is why an allnighter before an exam/presentation/hand-in won't do you any favours.
2. It fosters creativity
   When we're sleepy, it dulls our reactions, lessens our attention to detail and slows our ability to make decisions. By sleeping better, not only can we think out of the box, we can crush it to mush. YAAAS!
3. It makes us more productive
   Sometimes you’d rather do anything but study, and that's ok. Go to the gym, do some cooking or even clean your room - this might feel like procrastination but it will lead to a more effective study session afterwards. As long as you set aside times for these tasks, they can help you focus your mind before it's time to study.

Getting a good night’s sleep at uni is easier said than done. But certain things don't help, like downing fizzy drinks, eating sugary foods and scrolling on your phone 5 minutes before going to bed.

My advice? Take a break once in a while and get some serious shut-eye.

8 hours of sleep here you come!