Blog posts

The Art of Mastering Sleep: Why switching off can help you feel more switched on!

by Hamzat Ahmed, Imperial Athletes

Sleep Hygiene, Enhancing Cognitive & Physical Performance

In busy university life, recovery often comes last on the list. Deadlines, lectures, projects, part-time work, and social commitments can quickly fill every hour of the day. Sleep, however, quietly shapes how well you think, focus, and manage stress. This blogpost unpacks why sleep matters and how small, practical changes can unlock more energy, sharper concentration, and better overall wellbeing.

The Science of Sleep

Sleep isn’t wasted time, it’s the body and brain’s most powerful recovery tool.

While you sleep, your brain processes information, your memory strengthens, and your body repairs itself.

When sleep is poor or inconsistent, focus slips, energy drops, and stress feels heavier (Stores, Linceviciute, Pilkington & Ridge, 2023). A few nights of disrupted sleep can have a significant impact not just on your academic work but in other areas of your life including your overall wellbeing.

Sleep Hygiene Fundamentals

Image courtesy of Sleep Research Foundation

Sleep and ‘good sleep’ aren’t necessarily the same thing. For example, have there been times when you’ve woken up in the morning but not really felt well-rested even though you’re pretty sure you’ve been asleep? Conversely, compare these to times when you’ve started your day feeling fresh and ready to tackle whatever lies ahead! ‘Good sleep’, like regular exercise, rarely happens by accident. ‘Good sleep’ is sleep that is consistent, sufficient in duration, and of high enough quality that you wake up feeling physically restored, mentally sharp, and ready to perform throughout the day. It’s built through intentional habits and routines – such as those below – that support rest:

  • Stick to a consistent sleep and wake time – the occasional lie-in or late night won’t matter but broadly maintaining a regular sleep pattern at weekends will help to regulate your body clock so that Monday mornings don’t feel quite so tough…
  • Create a wind-down routine, e.g. put your laptop away; move from sitting at a desk to relaxing on your bed; have a cool bath or shower; practise mindfulness techniques such as meditation; read a book – develop simple habits that help your body relax and signal that it’s time to sleep.
  • Set up your environment – a dark, quiet and cool sleep environment supports melatonin release, reduces sleep disruptions, and facilitates the drop in core body temperature needed for high quality, restorative sleep (Cajochen, 2007; Hirshkowitz et al., 2015).
  • Limit screens and stimulants before bed – this will help your brain slow down.
  • Keep your bed for sleep, not studying or scrolling – again, this will send a message to your brain that this is your place to rest.

These habits can build a solid foundation for better energy, mood, and mental clarity. And, on this point, it’s worth noting that research by University College London (2009) found that building habits does take time – and, it’s important to be as consistent as possible (to find out more about this work, check out: Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle, 2010; another excellent read in this area is Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People); however, frequent and ongoing repetition can help you to effectively integrate these strategies into your daily routines.

Barriers & Solutions in High-Demand University Environments

For many students, sleep feels negotiable. Late-night study, early classes, packed schedules, part-time jobs, or shared living spaces can make quality sleep hard to maintain. These challenges are real but manageable – here are some suggested strategies to try:

  • Anchor your wake-up time each day: this will help to keep your body clock steady.
  • Plan sleep like any other commitment: schedule it around classes and deadlines.
  • Adapt your environment: blackout blinds, eye masks, or ear plugs can help in noisy accommodation.
  • Use caffeine wisely: avoiding it later in the day (Bonnar & Gradisar, 2015).
  • Create a simple, repeatable pre-sleep routine: this trains your brain to start winding down.

Making Sleep Part of your Academic Routine

Sleep connects to every part of university life. It shapes how you retain information, how focused you feel in lectures, and how well you cope with stress. Instead of treating sleep as optional, try thinking about this as a non-negotiable part of your daily structure.

  • Check in with yourself – on how rested you feel each morning (a useful way to gauge this can be to ask yourself ‘do I feel I have enough energy to tackle the day ahead?’
  • Communicate sleep boundaries – to friends, flatmates, or group members, when needed.
  • Use sleep to support those big academic pushes – like exams or deadlines (you’re more likely to get through your work more effectively and more efficiently when you feel mentally alert and able to focus!)
  • Model good habits – in your peer groups, consistent sleep benefits everyone!

Actionable Takeaways

  • Choose one small change to start today, for example, setting a consistent bedtime or putting your phone away 30 minutes before sleep.
  • Track your sleep subjectively for a week to build awareness & to see where you can gain further small wins.
  • Protect sleep time in your schedule, just like you plan for lectures or study sessions.
  • If you know your week will be intense, plan recovery windows in advance (even if these are just short breaks) & try your best to stick to them.
  • Speak to someone if it all starts to become overwhelming, e.g. friends, family members, staff in your department and in halls of residence. Imperial’s Student Support Zone also provides a range of information and links to different sources of advice. Or, if you’re not sure where to start or who to speak to, why not ask Impy: the Student Success Guide Chatbot!

Some final thoughts to leave you with…

Sleep is not a luxury – it’s a performance tool, not only for your brain but your whole body. By proactively shaping your habits and environment, you can set yourself up to work smarter, think more clearly, and handle academic pressure with more energy and resilience. Seeing the strategies in this blogpost for the first time is a reminder: the simplest way to boost your focus might be as easy as going to bed on time!

 

Hamzat Ahmed is the Performance Sport Manager at Imperial College London, and oversees the university’s sport performance programme. His primary focus is on a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to developing and maintaining peak performance, drawing on experience working with athletes across various stages of their careers.

References & Useful Resources:

Bonnar, D. & Gradisar, M. (2015) Caffeine and Sleep in Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Journal of Caffeine & Adenosine Research. 5:3, 105–114.

Cajochen, C. (2007) Alerting effects of light. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 11:6, 453-464.

Covey, S.R. (2004) The 7 habits of highly effective people. London, Simon & Schuster.

Hirshkowitz, M. et al. (2015). National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations: Final report. Sleep Health, 1(4), 233–243. 

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C.H.M., Potts, H.W.W. and Wardle, J. (2010) How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology. 40: 998-1009.

Stores, R., Linceviciute, S., Pilkington, K. & Ridge, D. (2023) Sleep disturbance, mental health, wellbeing and educational impact in UK university students: a mixed methods study. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 47:8, 995-1008.

University College London (2009) How long does it take to form a habit? https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2009/aug/how-long-does-it-take-form-habit [Accessed 28th April 2026]

ALSO: Why not check out the resources page on the Imperial Learning Well Project website – here, you can find a range of materials that can support and enhance your study strategies while also maintaining positive wellbeing. These have been co-created with Imperial students for Imperial students, based on empirical data exploring the lived experiences and tried-and-tested practices of your fellow students at this university.

What’s your body telling you?

by Abby Sanderson, Move

Our bodies are incredible systems; they cope with so much on a day-to-day basis to keep us well and functioning. Sometimes we can take them for granted and forget to listen to what our body is trying to tell us. On the one hand, while student life can be busy, fast-paced and enjoyable, it can also be stressful at times, and this can manifest itself in the body as pain, fatigue or illness. On the other hand, we can experience periods of boredom or feel like we lack motivation. All of these feelings are normal, but try asking yourself this:

What would happen if we slowed down, took a minute, and really tried to listen to what our body is telling us…? (more…)

The power of taking breaks

by Laili Sadr, Imperial SCHMAS

What happens when we don’t take a break?

Focusing or hyper-focusing on a topic or a problem can be a double-edged sword. Although spending hours in the library reading and researching can make us feel as though we’re working hard, actually our brain can start switching off and we might stop processing the information in front of us. This is due to “cognitive overload” (Neurolaunch, 2024), which is when the working memory – where we retain and manipulate information in real time – is overflooded. This affects the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in our brain and results in mental chatter, stress, inability to make decisions, impaired memory and/or an inability to focus.

But why?

The simple explanation is this: (more…)

From Surviving to Thriving: How and why peers can be your best support and resource

co-authored by Dr Jon Fenton, Department of Physics & Dr Sue Sing, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship

As part of the inaugural Learning Well Programme, we hosted a student-panel discussion exploring the question: ‘Why are peers your best support and resource?’ Students shared rich, personal insights into the wide-ranging ways peer support can be advantageous for Imperial students – academically, emotionally and practically. Our six speakers were from a range of departments and faculties and were at different points in their undergraduate and postgraduate journey. Interestingly, their perspectives shared many common threads (more…)

Imperial Learning Well Resources – Co-created with students, for students

by Dr Sue Sing, Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship

“It’s not how smart you are. It’s not how hard you work. It’s about the strategy you use” (Student Participant, Learning Well Project Focus Group)

Who are the Learning Well resources aimed at?

Our Learning Well Resources have been created for all Imperial students – in any year group, any department, any faculty. They can enhance every student’s learning experiences, whether you want to refine and strengthen your approaches to learning, you feel like you’re struggling or you would simply like a bit of extra help.

Learning well is about more than good grades – it’s about how you can achieve in effective, efficient and sustainable ways. 

The concept of ‘learning well’ is relevant to every student at Imperial. (more…)

Welcome to the Learning Well Blog!

Welcome! This resource is inspired and informed by the Imperial Learning Well research we’ve been doing with Imperial students, for Imperial students, focusing on students’ learning experiences and how these relate to their wellbeing.

This space belongs to all of us and together we’re part of a community of practice. In other words, this is a space where we can learn from, and with, one another.

In our blog, you can expect to read evidence-informed posts which means that the ideas and strategies shared are rooted in empirical data. We’ll feature a range of content from a range of contributors (more…)