I've struggled with getting a good night's sleep for years. Insomnia, restlessness, night-owl syndrome, whatever you want to call it—I have it. As a college student, getting little to no sleep some nights is expected. Being a working college student, forget about it. Most nights during the semester, I stay up until 2 or 3 am and wake up at 7 or 8 am. During my last summer semester, I was getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep on average and downing Starbucks Double Shots like they were my own personal elixir of life. Now, this may sound like a typical college tale. You may be thinking, every college student goes through this type of thing, what do you have to be complaining about? Well, even if this was a common affliction for college students across the nation, which I would be extremely apt to believe, what any sleep-deprived person will tell you is that going multiple days with only a few hours of sleep and a meal here or there is beyond detrimental to your health. Not only does it weaken your immune system, slow your motor skills, and make you more susceptible to anxiety and depression, it also creates negative sleeping habits that are exceedingly difficult to break. In my case, years of over-caffeinating myself and forcing my body to remain awake into the early morning hours five to six days a week, 8 to 9 months out of the year has created a habit for my body. I've gotten to the point now where I can't fall asleep until 3 or 4 am, and when I wake up in the morning, typically around 9:30 as of late, I feel as though I haven't slept at all. This type of habit is not conducive to productivity or maintaining your own health. For this reason, I've learned, tested, and put into practice several methods for dealing with my inability to go to sleep.

1. Force Yourself to Wake Up Early

I know from personal experience that this can be extremely difficult. Getting myself up before 9 am is an extreme challenge, one which I usually fail at. However, on the days that I do manage to push myself out of bed and begin my day at a decent time, say 7:30 or so, I feel much more productive and in turn have a lot more energy throughout the day. Early rising also helps a great deal in tiring your body out during the day, leaving you to be able to sleep earlier in the night instead of feeling as if your day has just started at 1 am. It'll be really tough at first, but trust me you can do it.

2. Do Yoga Right Before You Lay Down

This may sound cheesy and not particularly interesting to any male readers I may have out there--however, yoga can mean a plethora of different things to different people. It doesn't mean you have to whip out some yoga pants, stretch out your mat on the floor, and end everything with namaste. Instead, it can simply mean laying on your bed and performing a few simple back and leg stretches that you can easily find online—I find mine via Pinterest. Stretching prepares both your body and mind for relaxation and for shutting down for a good night's rest. It's great for your muscles and will make you feel a lot more comfortable stretching out on your bed for the night.

3. Avoid Drinking Coffee After 9pm

I know, I know. I said the unspeakable for a college student. Avoiding coffee after 9 pm for me is like a punishment. During the semester you can pretty much always catch me going out for late night coffee on a weekday at around midnight or 1 am. For whatever reason, coffee really hits the spot at about the time I should be heading to bed and it allows me to finish whatever work I have left for the night without drifting into a three hour nap that I'll wake up from feeling extremely unrested and panicked. Some of you may say, "Well I actually do need caffeine at night because I don't have time during the day to work on my homework and other stuff that I need to get done." I say, same, but coffee just isn't the right source of that. It creates addictions and forms bad habits for your body. Instead, try drinking a cup of green or black tea, which both still have a decent amount of caffeine in them, but they're healthier options and the caffeine affects your body in a different way.

4. Turn Off the TV When You Know You're About to Go to Sleep

I am the absolute worst culprit of this, second only to my boyfriend. You, like him, might be the person who says, "I just really can't fall asleep unless I have the TV on. I need the noise." NO. You really don't. I have spoken to several doctors about my sleep troubles and all of them have told me that having the TV on when it's time for you to hit the hay will always either cause you to fall asleep slower or cause you to get a less restful night's sleep because your brain will pick up on the stimulation caused by the noise and light. If you need to listen something while trying to fall asleep, set a timer on your TV to shut off in 20-30 minutes. This will give you enough time to fall asleep without it disrupting your sleep cycle.

5. Try Melatonin Chewables

Okay. If you're a true insomniac like me, a million people, including physicians, have told you to try melatonin. For those of you who haven't sought out help for your insomnia, let me fill you in a little bit on what melatonin is. Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced by your body and is one of the primary agents that helps you sleep. Often times when you have insomnia, your body doesn't produce enough melatonin naturally and therefore it is recommended that you take supplements. You can find melatonin in a pill form, chewable form, or tea form in any drug store or pharmacy. Though you may not see results right away, the melatonin does need time to build up in your body before it can actually help you sleep. Try taking it every night for 4 weeks and see if it makes any difference for you. It's a great and safe alternative to sleeping pills and muscle relaxers.