By Christina Bui, 2012 OCA Intern for APIASF

The relaxing, mind-drifting activity most of us (*glaring mentally at nocturnal teenagers and college students*) do every night to refresh our energy and body – that is what I crave every single day. It’s what I reflect upon often, especially since I’m always up by the crack of dawn and usually not able to come home until 9 at night.

I must confess that I often prioritize my responsibilities over my actual needs.

I try to meet my most basic need: getting enough sleep. I have tried drinking coffee and Red Bull, eating lots of candy and sugar and running on adrenaline from pulling an all-nighter in order to stay awake during the day. Regrettably, I found out the hard way—by falling asleep in class—that no alternatives work; I simply need to get to bed earlier. Prior to this year, I would sleep around 2 a.m.—sometimes 3 a.m. or later—and wake up anywhere between 6 to 8 a.m. for classes. Over winter break, I would sleep at 7 a.m. and be knocked out until 1 to 2 p.m., waking up to the sound of multiple alarms. I realized that getting enough sleep was essential to leading a more productive day and staying on top of schoolwork and responsibilities.

With that said, my 2012 resolution was to sleep before midnight. I am happy to report that not only do I sleep before midnight on most nights, I tend to get extremely drowsy around 9 p.m. nowadays and can barely stay up past 11 p.m. It feels absolutely amazing to be able to wake up feeling invigorated sans drowsiness.

On a disappointing note, though, I have not felt revitalized in a long time since I often get 6 hours of sleep—7 if I’m lucky. Perhaps that is an indication that I need to yet again fix my sleep schedule and cut back on the amount of work and activities I pile onto my “to do” agenda. Rarely a day goes by in which I don’t have anything planned and as mentioned earlier, I’m usually not home until after 9 p.m. My summer schedule mirrors that of my spring semester sans mounds of homework and readings.

With that said, also important is getting in some “me” time: days or long stretches of time I can spend to myself relaxing and doing what I enjoy, which often involves catching up on T.V. shows or mindlessly playing games. Solitary “me” time is my reflection period; I think about my goals, shortcomings and purpose in life. It’s strange to ponder such issues so often, but by doing so, I can identify short- and long-term improvements for myself and my needs.