Darker mornings, drowsier days, sleepier evenings… I smell fall and the rise of winter. The fleeting beauty of the leaves as they change colors means a new season of school and a new added weight to your already drooping eyelids. Running on 6 hours of sleep with an essay due tomorrow and exhaust filling your body… quick what do you do? As an avid sleep lover with a large range of commitments, I’ve been through it all. Let me tell you what works – and what doesn’t.

1. Power naps. Yes, they actually do work when done correctly. This is a recent phenomenon I discovered. I used to come home and sleep in large amounts with the slowly depleting chance of having any motivation. I realized this just does not work. The trick about power naps is that you do not enter REM sleep. This is the key to not waking up unaware of the year and a little too discombobulated to function. These naps typically last 20 minutes or less. A recent game changer that a fellow sleep deprived student showed me was an app called ‘Power Nap’. It tracks your movement and before you enter REM sleep it plays a melodic tune to awake you. Seriously – golden.
2. Caffeine. Of course it’s a simple solution but seriously not as easy as it sounds. Too much and you’re not sleeping, too little and you’re in the same cycle you were before. I recommend tea if you’re consuming caffeine past 5, my personal favorite is the hot tea pomegranate oolong from Caribou, or the Green Tea from the Cove. Or a Chai Tea Latte, of course, offered at all good coffee shops.

      3. Music. If you’re trying to stay awake while studying this is the key. Late nights while I’m trying to finish that last part of the European History       essay I actually put on the Hip Hop throwbacks radio on Spotify. This includes Lady Gaga, Jason Derulo, Miley Cyrus, yes, all of your favorite KDWB kickbacks. How can you fall asleep when Bangerz is beating in your ears?

I hope that my experience can provide you with what you need to stay awake. To all of you who resist the desire to go to bed immediately when you arrive at home, I seriously feel your pain. Trust me, you can do it. The pain is temporary.