How to Enhance Your Sleeping Experience as a College Student

The Problem Do you ever accidentally fall asleep while studying in bed?

The Problem

Do you set five alarms in the morning but find yourself hitting the snooze button for every one?

But why do we do this?

The Motivation Wave Theory

 Your motivation is at an all time low in the mornings

 Your ability to get out of bed is often low, especially if I stayed up late doing work

I can completely relate

My Experience  Stayed up late studying for my final exam but I

needed extra time in the morning to review

 Set my alarm for an hour and a half before my morning exam

 Naturally, I woke up at 8:15…for an 8:30 AM final.

 Rushed to my final, did poorly, and still felt tired and horrible even with that extra 1.5 hours of sleep

But there is an easy solution

it’s as simple as this.

  Loft your bed

  Move your alarm

The Tricks  Loft your bed at the right height •  Not too high so that you will want to simply pass

out on an alternate area (floor, futon, etc.) •  but, high enough that you need to exert extra

effort to climb in (i.e. not just jump in)

 Move your alarm so it is not within arms reach from your bed

Why do I know this works?

The reasoning

•  Even if you want to snooze, you will need to get out of bed to reach your alarm

•  By the time you get off your bed, it would be hard to have to get back on the bed

•  The act of climbing into bed requires extra effort, making the act of sleeping a deliberate process

The Side Effects

•  Many students use their laptops before sleeping, leading to unnecessary procrastination with FB, twitter, etc.

•  With a lofted bed, students will need to climb out of bed to put their electronics on a safe surface

•  many will just avoid this hassle by NOT bringing electronics into bed

(don’t worry…they’re good)

The final results?

Waking up when you NEED to wake up and going to bed when you WANT to go to bed.

Sharleen Tu Stanford University

Student in BJ Fogg’s Behavior Design Class

Thanks for viewing! Contact me: Sharleen.tu@stanford.edu