Figure out how much sleep you need. I’m sure you’ve heard people say that “the average person needs 8 hours of sleep.” This simply isn’t true. Sleep varies for everyone. Generally, college-age students need 8-9 hours of sleep to function. I personally need about 9.5 to feel prime. Some need more, some less. Getting too much sleep is just as bad as getting too little sleep. If I get more than 10 hours I feel sluggish all day.

Figure out when to sleep. In addition to how much sleep you need, determine the best hours of the night that work for you. If you are a morning person, you may like to go to bed at 11 PM and get up at 8 AM. Some people like to get work done at night and wake up at 11:30. I find that going to bed at midnight and waking up at 9:30 is optimal for me. I try to schedule my earliest class for 10:30 if possible. This gives me enough time to get ready for the day after an optimal night of sleep.

Wind down. One of the reasons I could never fall asleep is because I was always doing something right before I would turn in for the night. The National Sleep Foundation suggests (see “What We Can Do”) developing a relaxing pre-bedtime routine and starting an hour or more before you want to actually be asleep. I suggest something that doesn’t require much physical or mental power, like taking a shower or listening to calming music. I don’t recommend reading right before bedtime because that trains your body to become sleepy as soon as you start reading. This can make studying difficult…

Make sleep a priority. Sleeping is the most important day-to-day activity you do. Don’t skimp on it. If you get a proper sleep, everything else you need to do takes less time because you are at full mental and physical capacity. The brain repairs itself during sleep and the body releases growth hormones, which are essential not only for growing but also muscle and tissue repair.

College is a busy time. Attending class, studying, working, volunteering, participating in clubs, physical exercise and squeezing in some time for fun add up to strenuous days and long nights. If you find yourself falling behind and just can’t concentrate because you are so drained, follow these steps on a daily basis. If done correctly, your all-around well-being will improve dramatically. It worked for me: after analyzing and adjusting my situation, I stopped skipping class, was able to study harder, retain more information, and ended up with a 3.85 GPA for Fall quarter.

Typing on a laptop isn’t nearly as effective as writing information down by hand. Students go into “stenographic mode,” as Cole says, when they type notes. Most college students can type deftly without processing the information they are recording. Think about this comparison: If someone watches a film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera and is asked the name of Phantom a week later, that person may or may be able to recall that fact. However if the same person takes a lead role in a play of the same story, they will instantly tell you that the Phantom’s name is Erik and they will probably remember that fact for the rest of their life. Handwriting notes versus typing them is similar. Physical writing requires that a student think about the topic at hand.

Also, a laptop is a huge distraction. A student with a laptop is tempted to surf the Internet, play Solitaire, chat on IM, play with Photoshop, watch TV and movies, etc. You name it. A piece of paper, on the other hand, offers no entertaining alternative to writing. You can doodle if you want, but even that only serves as a reminder that you should be taking notes. Students have a hard enough time paying attention and trying not to fall asleep without a large, bright screen begging them to do anything but pay attention.

Finally, a laptop is a distraction to the people around the user. If a person is using their laptop below me or next to me, the brightness of the screen encourages me to look at whatever they’re doing, which usually isn’t taking notes. Once I am pulled in, I stop paying attention to confidence intervals and start wondering if anyone left me comments on my Facebook. Even if I can’t directly see a laptop, the sound of typing above and around me is enough to be distracting.

Because of these reasons, I recommend leaving your laptop at home. Your productivity will increase dramatically and you will have to study less because you will remember more from lecture.

Do you bring your laptop to lectures?

To sign up for the service, you must have a valid University of Washington email address. Registration was quick and painless. No unnecessary data is required, just basic registration information. The interface is easy, intuitive, and looks great.

The main idea of the site is to pit users against each other and see who can come up with the wittiest answer to a question posed by GetHundos in 160 characters or less. An example of a contest is: “How do you know when you are obsessed with Husky football?” Users come up with responses and other users vote up the ones they like and vote down the responses they think are lame. A picture can be uploaded with the response to enhance the message and make it funnier. Whichever entry garners the most votes at the end of the time period nets $100 dollars (hence the name GetHundos). Users also have the options of SuperVoting and Bombing entries, which count as +10 and -10 votes, respectively.

Users can earn “hundos” for entering and winning contests as well. Hundos are like currency and are used to buy more SuperVotes and Bombs at the GetHundos store. They also determine your rank in the GetHundos community. Like any other social network, users can befriend others and grow their network. In addition, users can become Fans or Haters of other people and establish alliances.

GetHundos is a simple but extremely entertaining site for college students. Once it gets bigger and looks beyond the UW campus, GetHundos should be very popular. If you are a UW student you should sign up right now. If you already have, what do you think of the site? What contests have you entered so far? What contests should be posted there?

Find me on GetHundos using the name cyruskazemi