Lily Kane/Winonan

Everyone has been there: lying in bed trying hard to fall asleep when all of a sudden it’s two hours past the desired sleeping time.

How can this be fixed?

That was the subject of Fit Stop: Importance of Sleep and Relaxation at Winona State University on Tuesday.

The first thing Fit Stop stressed was the importance of getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Humans need that amount to get the perfect time of REM sleep.

While many students know getting too little sleep is bad, many might not realize that getting too much is equally bad. It can cause a student to be just as tired during the day.

While some might think that tiredness just makes a person tired, it can also cause some serious side effects.

Aside from thinking slowly and having trouble remembering things, it also lowers reaction time, which can be a big problem when driving.

Another issue is that the brain isn’t working at full capacity so people end up making poor decisions and taking risks they normally wouldn’t.

So how can this be fixed and help people be safe and healthy?

Some of the suggestions at Fit Stop were pretty well know.

The idea of not studying in bed is a commonly heard notion. This keeps the stress from homework and school from being attached to the sleeping area. The area around the bed should be maintained so that it stays clutter free and, therefore, stress free.

One important idea that was emphasized by the instructor was to not just lie in bed for hours hoping to sleep.

She recommended if a person couldn’t fall asleep in less than 20 minutes to get up and do something. Lying in bed won’t help.

However, getting up and grabbing a drink of water, walking up and down the hallway for a few minutes or doing anything that is simple and relaxing will cause the body to respond and calm down.

There are many other uncommon things that students don’t necessarily think about when it comes to sleeping.

One major misconception is that because alcohol is a depressant, it should aid in sleep. While it does initially seem to help, it can cause problems by not allowing a solid, uninterrupted night of sleep. People are more likely to wake up and toss and turn rather than get any rest.

In this winter season with many people getting sick, some students are taking medicines that help with cold symptoms.

Pain medications, like Advil and ibuprofen, along with decongestants and asthma medications, are related to causing bad sleep.

This came as a surprise to Grace Carr, a Winona State student.

“The idea that taking pain relievers messed with my sleep was shocking,” Carr said. “I always take those. I thought they were supposed to help me sleep.”

In fact, there were a lot of surprising concepts discussed during the program including that exercise is good but it can be harmful to sleep if it is done right before bed. Also, sleeping-in on the weekends can mess with a typical weekday schedule. According to Brook Heim, a Winona State student, the most shocking tip for getting better sleep was, “snacking before bed time. I have a bad habit of that.”

If anyone is still having issues with sleep, it is recommended to go into the Wellness Center for help.

Contact Lily at [email protected]