Back-to-School Checklist
Get your body ready for falling asleep early at least a week in advance. If you’re like most people your age, then you probably got used to going to bed later and later—and waking up later and later—during the summer. This may be one of the reasons why it’s particularly hard for you to fall asleep on the night before the first day of school. To make sure your body is ready for sleep, you need to make a plan to start going to bed earlier and earlier at least a week in advance, so you’re actually tired by bedtime. Start by going to bed a half an hour earlier than you normally would and waking up half an hour earlier than you normally would. Keep doing this until you’ve reached the time when you’d actually be going to bed and waking up for school. If you get into the same sleeping and waking routine at least a few days before the first day of school, then it’ll be much easier for you to fall asleep at the right time.
Get all of your clothes and books in order so you don’t have to worry about it. On the day before school, you should make sure that you have all of your school supplies in order and packed away. You don’t want to get worried about having to rush out to get a notebook an hour before bedtime, or that will get you riled up. You should also pick out your outfit in advance so you don’t stay up worrying about all of the different options you’ll have to try on in the morning. If you feel like you have everything figured out before the big day, you’ll be able to sleep more soundly. Make sure you check the weather for the next day, too. You don’t want to have the perfect outfit planned and then to wake up to find that it’s way too warm or cold to wear it.
Make a plan for getting to school. Another thing you should figure out before the evening is how you’re getting to school. Whether you’re taking the bus, catching a ride with your friend and your mom, getting your older brother to take you, or walking, you should have this ironed out the day before so it doesn’t make you lose any sleep. Don’t tell yourself you’ll figure it out in the morning or you may lose sleep over it. In the morning, the hardest thing you should have to decide on is how much milk to pour in your cereal. If you make yourself have too many decisions to deal with in the morning, then you may not be able to sleep as soundly.
Avoid caffeine or sugary foods that day. Caffeine or sugary foods can make you hyper and can give you the jitters and make it harder for you to get to sleep. If you do drink soda or caffeine in other forms, try to not have any after noon, so your body has time to settle down. Avoid sugary energy drinks at all costs, too; they’ll give you a quick energy rush but will leave you feeling shaky and may even give you a bit of a headache. If you feel yourself having excess energy in anticipation of the big day, do some exercise. This can help you feel healthier, happier, and more relaxed.
Don’t save anything until the last minute. In general, you should have everything taken care of before you get ready for bed on the first day of school. This can mean figuring out where to meet up with your best friend, knowing where your homeroom is, or finding the new shoes you wanted to wear on the big day. If you leave anything up in the air, it will only cause you to lose sleep, so make sure you’ve got all of your ducks in a row before you hit the hay. Even master procrastinators should take care of as many odds and ends as possible. You don’t want to be running late on your first day of school or feeling frazzled because you can’t find your glasses.
Having a Relaxing Evening
Take a relaxing bath. A nice warm bath can help you feel relaxed and can calm down your mind and give you some time to think. You may be so busy talking to all of your friends, texting people, and memorizing your schedule to really slow down, and some time in the bathtub will make it impossible for you to do too much at once. Put your cell phone away, throw some bubbles in the bath, and spend some time with your eyes closed feeling like you don’t have a care in the world. Some scented bath bubbles or bath bombs can really help you feel refreshed and relaxed. Try humming to yourself as you soak up the suds. That can also help you let out some tension!
Try not to think about the first day of school after a certain hour. Though it may seem next to impossible, tell yourself you won’t think about the first day of school after a certain hour. Say that after 8 pm or so, you won’t talk to your friends about it, you won’t talk to your family members about it, and you won’t go online and chat about it. This will help you stop obsessing over it and will make your mind turn to other things. Of course, it can be next to impossible to stop thinking about something right away, but if you make a goal of it and even tell other people about it or write it down, it’s much more likely to happen.
Meditate. Meditation can also get you in a calm frame of mind and can make you feel more at peace and less excited. Just find a quiet room, get a comfortable seat, and focus on relaxing your body one part at a time. Focus on the breath rising in and out of your body and try to avoid thinking about anything at all other than calming down. Just doing this for 10 minutes a day can help you feel more relaxed and may help you fall asleep more easily. You can even practice concentrating on your breath rising in and out of your body after you get to bed. Counting your breaths can be even more effective than counting sheep.
Play a calming game. Another way to unwind before bed is by playing a simple, non-electronic game that can soothe your mind a bit. It should be something you play by yourself, which can help take your mind off the fact that school is starting the next day. Here are some games that you can try: Crossword puzzles Sudoku Solitaire
Eat a healthy meal a few hours before bed. On the night before the first day of school, you want to eat something that is healthy and nourishing enough for you not to have trouble going to sleep because you’re hungry while also not making you feel so full and uncomfortable that you have trouble resting. Eat some healthy veggies, some lean proteins, and some pasta, rice, or another simple side dish, avoiding any overly rich or fatty foods, such as french fries or dishes with thick sauces. Give yourself at least 2-3 hours to digest your food before you head to bed.
Read. Reading can help you feel more relaxed and to take your mind off of the fact that you’re starting a new school year the next day. Pick a book that isn’t too challenging and which is a real page turner, so you have something to keep you interested in those last few hours before you have to try to sleep. Read a few chapters under soft lighting and don’t get distracted by your phone or other people talking to you. Reading, in its own way, can be like a form of meditation, and if you really follow the rhythm of a story, it can make you feel relaxed. Don’t pick a book about topics that are too disturbing or serious, or that may lead you to stay up even later. Of course, if murder mysteries always make you fall asleep, then go for it.
Getting Ready for Bed
Have a calming winding-down routine. You should find a relaxing calming down routine that works for you well before the evening before the first day of school. Everyone’s routine is different and you can try a number of things, which can include listening to soft music, drinking chamomile or peppermint tea, reading a novel, or writing in a journal. You can even try to do these things in the same order, so that your mind and body know when you’re ready for sleep. It can be hard to just get off the phone with your best friend, finish up that summer assignment, or stop playing your favorite video game, and then to head right to sleep. If you do this without some kind of a transition to sleep time, then your mind will still be racing. Give yourself at least an hour to luxuriate in this routine before bed.
Turn off all your electronics at least an hour before bed. Even though you may be addicted to electronics, you have to put them away if you want to be able to fall asleep more easily. You should shut off your television, computer, and cell phone at least an hour before you go to bed, so you don’t feel overstimulated. This can help your mind relax and stop racing and can help you focus on getting ready for bed. You should get in the habit of doing this every night, not just on the night before the first day of school. It will help you have a happier, healthier sleeping schedule. Try turning night mode on your devices when the sun goes down. That will filter out blue light from the screen that can make it harder for you to fall asleep when you go to bed.
Don’t sleep with your cell phone. A recent study has shown that at least 1 in 10 teenagers receives and sends text messages in the middle of the night, after they are woken up. You should turn your phone off, and even leave it in a different room, if you want to have the most restful sleep. If you leave your phone by your pillow, then you’ll be less likely to fall asleep because you’ll be anticipating a message from one of your friends. Plus, you’ll be less likely to be woken up while you do fall asleep. Think about it: what can your best friend say to you at 2 a.m. that really can’t wait until the morning? Almost nothing.
Don’t have any intense conversations around bedtime. Another way to make sure you go to bed on the night before the first day of school is to avoid any intense or stressful conversations before bedtime. Don’t pick this night to tell your best friend why you’re mad at her; save that for another day. If your sister wants to have a “big talk,” ask her if it can possibly wait until the next day. You already have enough to worry about as it is, and you don’t want to stay up rehashing your conversation or argument. If you and your friends do chat about what the first day of school will be like, don’t let the conversation go on for too long. You don’t want to get too excited speculating about all of the things you don’t know about. Talk about things that are light, simple, and which don’t stress you out. You can even work on spending more time alone as you get closer to bedtime so you don’t have to worry about other people at all.
Dim the lights. Your brain uses lighting cues to help set your internal “body clock,” so the sooner you start dimming the lights, the sooner your brain will get the idea that it’s time for sleep. After dinner time, try not to spend too much time around bright lights, and read by a softer light or even light some candles, so you start feeling like it’s really time for sleep. This can make a big difference and can help you fall asleep a lot more easily. When you get up in the morning, let the light flood into your room. This is a way of telling your body that you’re ready to wake up.
Think of boring things. When you’re lying in bed, try to think of the most boring things possible to help yourself get to bed more easily. As long as you don’t think of anything too complicated, like chemical equations, almost any topic that doesn’t excite you at all will do. You can force yourself to drift off by thinking about topics that are so completely uninteresting that you feel like you have absolutely no choice but to fall asleep. Here are some things you can think about: All of the multiples of 2 The states and their capitals All of the people you’ve ever met who are named “Dave” or “Ashley” The entire plot of the last book you read or movie you saw The lyrics to your least favorite pop song The names of as many farm animals, vegetables, or flowers as you can think of Your least favorite school subject
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