Baylor Sleep Expert Offers Six Tips for More Restful Sleep
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Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-327-8012
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It’s 11 p.m. on a weeknight and three Baylor students are in their rooms, taking an online course on Lithuanian grammar while listening to music. In a little while they’ll turn off the lights and get some sleep before taking an early-morning language exam.
The students are not in a campus residence hall, and Lithuanian is not a language offered by the College of Arts & Sciences. The students are tucked away in bedrooms at a sleep lab where they’re contributing to research that will change the way they and their cohorts study, learn, flourish and succeed.
It’s the work of Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of Baylor’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory.
“A well-rested brain sets a person up for success." - Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D.
“A well-rested brain sets a person up for success,” Scullin said. “It certainly sets students up for success because student life is busy and stressful –– both academically and socially.”
And yet, a survey of 1.5 million students conducted by the American College Health Association shows a gradual decline in their sleep since 2000 and a steep decline since 2019.
"Sleep health is of growing concern nationally, and there’s now increased awareness of the issue among the leadership at our University and the College of Arts & Sciences,” Scullin said. "It’s now part of our five-year strategic plan, which is encouraging to see."
Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D.’s Six Tips for a More Restful Sleep
Avoid electronics at bedtime.
Some experts recommend avoiding electronics for up to two hours before going to bed, but this simply isn’t realistic for most people. What we can do is plug in our phones outside of the bedroom — or at least not within reach — and then complete our nighttime routine before turning out the lights and getting into bed.
Be mindful of what you eat and drink.
Better sleep quality is linked to consuming more fiber and less saturated fat and avoiding heavy meals within two to three hours of bedtime. Beverages that contain caffeine and alcohol might not always be perceived as affecting one’s sleep, but laboratory studies show that they affect sleep stage architecture.
If you snore most nights, make an appointment with a sleep clinic.
Habitual snoring is the primary symptom of clinical sleep apnea, which is harmful to the heart, brain and other systems. Most clinics now offer home sleep tests to screen for sleep apnea and there are multiple treatment options now available.
Spend 20 minutes daily outdoors in natural daylight, especially during the morning hours.
The average person spends 90 percent of the day indoors, but people need natural light to synchronize their internal biological clocks. Increase your time outdoors and you are likely to experience greater alertness during the day, and more sleepiness at night.
Use your bed only for sleep –– rather than for work, studying, or entertainment.
Our brains are very good at forming contextual associations, such as a desk always being used for work or a couch always being used for watching television. If we use our bed for both alerting activities and restful activities, then it becomes more difficult to “turn off” our brains at night and fall asleep.
Write your worries and to-do list before going to bed.
Take five minutes to write out everything on your mind before bedtime. This approach offloads stress and gives you a good action plan for the next day. In a prior study, our lab found that this approach helped people fall asleep 37 percent faster.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.