It is midnight on a Monday, and all of Leah Chapman's roommates are asleep. She walks into her room, turns off the light switch and crawls into bed. An hour goes by, and Chapman is still wide awake.
"I have a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes," the UF sophomore said. "I stress out about my schoolwork, especially around finals."
Chapman is not alone when it comes to her stress-induced insomnia. More than 61.6 percent of UF students suffer from sleeping problems, according to the Healthy Gators Student Survey conducted by the Healthy Gators 2010 Coalition in March 2008.
Stress-induced insomnia can escalate during finals week, says Tina Long, a health promotion specialist for GatorWell.
"Your body likes the same consistency," Long said. "You'll start to feel more rested."
Steve Arnett, sleep coordinator at the Sleep Disorders Center at Shands, recommends exercising during the day and trying not to cram for finals. If you cannot fall asleep after 15 minutes, get up and do something else, he suggests.
"Don't lie in bed waiting to fall asleep," Arnett said. "Your mind will just go crazy."
He suggests getting out of bed and reading a book until you begin to feel sleepy. Sleeping in and taking naps during the day will just cause a snowball effect of sleeplessness.
Some sleep "don'ts" include watching TV before sleeping, exercising before bedtime and consuming caffeine at night, he said.
Long suggests taking a 10- to 15-minute study break about every 50 minutes.
When creating an action plan for finals week, incorporate some fun activities such as walking or socializing. It helps keep the stress from building up, she said.
Chapman is guilty of sabotaging her own sleep.
"I tend to fall asleep with the TV on and go for late-night runs," she admits. "And I guess if I laid off the Mountain Dew all day, I'd get a better night's sleep."
