Waking up for early classes is a pain for every college student. It is not fun, it is not easy, and you’re going to feel like crap every single morning. There are certain techniques that will dampen the pain of this task. 

The night before:

• Set out your clothes. Scrambling around the dark trying to be quiet, looking for that one article of clothing that is clean enough to wear is a terrible way to start off.
• Pack your backpack and have it in an easy to reach place so you can get out of your room as fast as possible
• Set two alarms. Nothing is worse than waking up three hours late and realizing that your alarm did not wake you up.
• Go to bed on time. It is easier said than done, but getting a full night’s rest is key in waking up. Seven hours is a good night’s sleep for college students.
• It helps if you turn of all bright lights at least 15 minutes before you fall asleep as this makes it easier for your eyes to adjust and thus makes it easier for you to fall asleep. You also may want to review class material while in bed to help you fall asleep faster.
• Don’t pull all-nighters because it is very important that you get the correct amount of sleep. About seven hours for college students is enough. Even if you have stuff do try not staying up all night as this will ruin your sleeping pattern for the rest of the week.
• Take a shower. This way you can sleep in that extra fifteen minutes, and have more time for breakfast.

The morning of:

• Take advantage of your snooze button. Snoozing can be a great way to help yourself wake up. But only use the snooze button once.
• It also helps that you try to wake up the same time every day. This will help your body develop a routine on waking up.
• Take time for breakfast, even if it’s just a breakfast sandwich eaten as you go to classes.
• Have a set time on how long it takes to get to class on time.
• Understand that missing class is not an option. It will be so easy to rationalize, stay in bed, and decide to go back to sleep. Get up and get going!
• Have a routine. Everyday know what must be done. Set exact times and follow them precisely.

The rest of the day:

• When you get tired, take a 15 minute nap. Don’t nap beyond this amount of time.
• Eat a good breakfast. It gives you the little boost you need to get through lectures, assignments, and work. Be careful of energy drinks, they have numerous adverse health effects.
• Be consistent with your sleep patterns, staying up to 3am on Saturday morning will lead to sleep problems the next week.
• Develop an agreement with your roommates on quiet time.
• Stay on campus. This will help you get your work done and make it possible to go to sleep on time.

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