Sleep Month Is Over, But The Freshman 8 Is Not

YAWN. Good morning! It's 7:30 a.m., and I feel so alive! You see, just a short month ago, I would have awoken bleary-eyed and confused after an unsatisfying five hours of sleep. Throughout the day I would have had multiple caffeinated beverages to keep my brain intact. All day I would think about sleeping, only to stumble home at 8 p.m. and find myself wide awake, neurons somehow pulsing on the dregs of coffee in my veins. Sleep would come six sad hours later. And then the whole thing would begin again.

It's really no way to live, and it's a cycle that started for me in college, when varied wake-up times, free-flowing legal stimulants and midday naps were new and interesting (and plausible). This month, we HuffPost College set out to to break those habits both for us and you with a series we dubbed the Freshman 8.

Here is a rundown of some of the things we've learned:

-Light is the enemy.

-All-nighters -- not worth it.

-Good sleep habits should start early.

-Your dorm room setup can change the way you sleep.

-Less sleep = increased chance of mental illness.

-More sleep = increased chance of higher GPA.

Read the full Freshman 8 archives here. We hope you've enjoyed sleep month as much as our psyches have. And remember, today is the LAST day to qualify for our Freshman 8 Sleep Contest to win a trip to New York! Enter here.

How did sleep month go for you? Did you gain your Freshman 8? Let us know below!