A simple guide to help you wake up and wind down

Exam season is here, and you're probably seeing a lot of 'wake up with me at 5am' content, but that's not the most realistic routine for students. Whilst it's important to wake up at a reasonable time, you don't need to wake up so early that you have a full day before 10am. The same goes for winding down at night; you don't have to go to bed super early, but it's important to have a good rest.

We've put together some ideal, realistic routines to help you create a balance of studying with mental health and rest:

Morning Routine (Focus: Energy & Calm)

Goal: Wake up early enough to avoid rushing around and over-cramming studying – set a calm tone for the day.

8:00-8:30am | Wake Up and Hydrate 💧

Set your alarm for the same time each morning to help regulate your body clock and get yourself a glass of water. It's the best time to hydrate, as you've gone all night without it, and extra cold water will help wake you up in the morning.

Tip: Leave your water bottle in the fridge overnight.

8:30-8:45am | Slow Movement & Sun ☀️

Do some light stretching to relieve any stress your body might be carrying. Make sure you open your curtains/blinds and let the morning sun in.

8:45-9:00am | Fuel Up 🍳

Eat a nutritious breakfast – eggs, overnight oats, avocado toast, fruit. Something to avoid the mid-morning crash that makes you want to crawl back into bed. Make yourself a tea/coffee and enjoy!

Tip: Look out for our Breakfast Club events in halls. 

9:00-9:10am | Change your clothes 🧢

The worst thing to do when you're trying to be productive is to stay in your pyjamas, so it's best to change into something else that's comfy or pick out a fun outfit for the day.

9:10-9:30am | Plan your day 📖

Go through your main tasks for the day and prioritise what needs doing first. In this time, it could be worth briefly looking over your flashcards or doing some active recall notes to see what you already know to begin with before diving into studying.

9:30am | You're ready to study 📚

A good tip if you don't know where to start is to start with smaller topics first. Anything like keywords or shorter topics is better for easing yourself into being productive; then, once you've accomplished those, you can move on to the bulkier topics. 

Starting your morning slowly and moving at an un-pressured pace can help you feel like you actually don't want to spend the whole day in bed.

Night Routine (Focus: Relaxing & Sleep)

Goal: Tell your brain that it's time to switch off from studying to ensure quality sleep and self-care.

8:00-9:00pm | Shutdown Sequence 🚿

It's time to stop your heavy studying for tonight and get yourself clean! Sometimes, the best detox after a day of studying is to have a shower – it can be nice to treat yourself to some nice-smelling shower products or shower fizzers to pamper yourself.

9:00-10:00pm | Pack & Prep 🎒

Now that you're all clean, it seems like a great time to prepare yourself for tomorrow. Pack your bag with everything you need (laptop, charger, pencil case, notebooks, etc.) and plan an outfit if you have an early exam or if you decide to find somewhere else to study tomorrow. This will help you reduce stress in the mornings and will give you a longer, slower morning.

10:00-11:00pm | Unwind 📺

As we said, this is a realistic routine, so we know saying step away from technology may not be that realistic for students. Keeping that in mind, if you like to wind down with the TV on, scroll through your group chats or see what's happening on Instagram, then this is your time to do that. We do recommend that you spend at least 20-30 minutes before you go to sleep without a screen because blue light disturbs sleep. Even just listening to some music or reading a book will help you wind down earlier on.

11:00pm | Sleep 😴

Aim to get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night – a calm, relaxed brain is more likely to retain content than one that crams information until 3am.

The key to a good night routine is to acknowledge when you're feeling tired and know that if you feel sleepy at 7 or 8pm, you can go to bed; you don't have to wait. If you're struggling with sleep, read The Power of Sleep, which has some good tips on sleeping habits 💤