More College and Universities Encourage Naps and Healthy Sleep

If your campus had a nap mob, would you join in?

Many schools across the world are starting to notice their zombified students and take action. For example, Hastings College in Nebraska, put a bed in the middle of the student union and dressed some peer educators in PJs to engage the student body in conversations about good sleep habits.

Elsewhere, Macalester College in Minnesota publishes a “nap map” to show where students can catch a few winks between classes.

The University of Louisville is also planning a “flash nap,” and their director of health promotion, Karen Newton, joke that “We have to arrange in it advance so our public safety folks know it’s not an epidemic of something.”

Last week, The Associated Press released expert advice on how college and university students can develop better sleep patterns. Aside from the usual less caffeine/ more exercise advice, they also recommend “Make your bed a place just for sleep. Don’t study, watch TV or do anything else there (or not much else. Some colleges advise limiting your bed to the “three S’s” — sleep, sex and sickness).”

They also recommend you put away the iPhone late at night.

“Don’t use electronics — laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc. — late at night. Not only will the content stimulate your brain, the brightness of the screen is comparable to a morning walk in the sun when it comes to waking you up.”