Wellbeing column: Sleeping Your Way to a Peaceful Christmas

On the radio there is Christmas carols echoing about Christmas peace, and social media encourages us to disconnect from everyday life and focus on building inner Christmas peace. However, for a student, the beginning of December can be one of the most stressful times of the year. All the unfinished schoolwork and final assignments from courses are looming over us, and the holiday season’s part-time job shifts are just around the corner. It feels like there’s never enough time in the day. How are you supposed to relax in this chaos? By sleeping, of course!

One of the best benefits of sleep for studying is its positive impact on cognitive function. While you sleep, your brain works full-time, storing memories, processing information, and building new connections between the new and the old data. Sleeping poorly is essentially a disservice to yourself, as with sufficient rest, the material you're studying will stick in your brain more effectively, and problems become easier to solve. After a good night’s sleep, a task that seemed challenging the night before may feel like it’s solved almost effortlessly, as your brain has been processing it throughout the night.

Sleep doesn’t just benefit the mind, it’s also essential for physical well-being. During uninterrupted sleep, your body recovers, your immune system strengthens, and tissues repair. By getting enough sleep, you’ll be more resistant to the cold and flu epidemics that tend to flare up during the holiday season, and better equipped to handle the physical strain caused by stress.

Your mind also thanks you when you sleep well. Pushing through with little sleep will ultimately lead to a negative mood and unnecessary irritability. It’s no surprise, since sleep plays a crucial role in regulating mood and emotions. With insufficient sleep, stress management abilities decrease significantly, and managing negative emotions becomes more challenging. The likelihood of falling into a spiral of hopelessness increases. You’ll stay more focused on the tasks at hand if you don’t waste time worrying due to the fatigue-induced brain fog.

So, while I’m not wishing for Christmas peace just yet, I do wish all the readers of this column restful and restorative sleep.

Nea Similä, student of theology, trainee in University chaplaincy