Off to College, Probably Not Off to Sleep -- Part 2

Ah, there's nothing quite like dorm room living:

• Tight quarters.
• Old, rickety furniture and carpeting.
• A small, hard bed.
• Thin walls and rowdy neighbors.
• Late-night hallway parties.
• Perhaps a humming mini-refrigerator and anannoying roommate with whom you share absolutely nothing in common.

Now, that might not sound so pleasant if you're over the ageof, say 30, but for many college students, it's acceptable--a kind of hazingperiod during the transition from high school to the big school.

But none of this bodes well for sleephygiene. I don't know any college student who isn't sleep deprived and living on caffeine.

Last week, I dispensed some secrets to settling into college life without losing too much sleep over it.The dorm room deserves special attention.

It's where college students willspend a great deal of time mixing attempts to get some shut-eye and a host ofother activities--socializing, writing papers, studying, talking on the phone,hanging out, listening to music, and so on.

Whether it's your first-born makingthe move to college or you yourself are about to move on up, heed these dorm room makeover tips:

But all that aside, I'll admit that the most challenging task of all awaits: Having that straightforward conversation with your roommate(s) about the "rules."

What if one of you needs to stay up late finishing a lab report, tapping on a laptop with the lights on? What if your roommate wants to invite the entire floor to party in your room until the wee hours of the morning on the night you've promised yourself to go to bed early?

How will you manage living with someone who likes to keep to a totally different sleep schedule than you?

Conversation.

You must have it.

Early and often.

Good luck, my aspiring graduates. Cheers to the new academicyear.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD

The Sleep Doctor™

This article on dorm room makeovers is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.