Getting a college dorm room miles away from any problems you had during your first 18 years of life is arguably one of the best parts about living on campus. However, it's also a curse. The practicality of having a bed right next to your desk is a difficult obstacle to avoid. More often than not, you'll find yourself sprawled out on your (foam) mattress topper reading tomorrow's assignment only to have knocked out in the middle of it and woken up having retained next to nothing from the crumpled documents on the bedspread.

Another downside about doing homework in the one place meant for sleeping is that your brain gets mixed signals.

Imagine you're getting ready for bed, you've been at work all day, and all you want to do, more than anything in the world, is get a little shut-eye. You lie down and pull the covers over yourself and almost simultaneously you remember the 500 assignments that are piling up that you should do.

You might try to persuade yourself to do it later, but good luck getting your stress to stay put as you try to fall into a relaxing dream, which will probably be about deadlines now. Inevitably you're awoken by nightmares at 3:00 a.m. and waddle to your desk a practical three feet away to begin some assignments.

Having a dorm room is really cool compared to having lived with your family for your whole life! The freedom that you have reached moving out of the house has manifested itself in the chic jail cell sized space you call home. However, this does not mean that your dorm room is where you should be spending the majority of your college experience. I may not be able to speak on behalf of other universities but at Stony Brook, there are study spaces galore all throughout campus to match the learning conditions of any given student. As an added plus, they are probably much more air-conditioned than your dorm.

It may not have made sense for campus residences to put a fully functional desk in your room when you're really not supposed to study there, but it's a good space filler. Instead of using that desk for hardcore, end-of-the-world studying, use it for simpler things such as journalling, pleasure reading, drawing, or keeping snacks. You don't have to use that desk for studying, and if you want to keep your manifestation of freedom a place free of stress, you probably shouldn't study there at all.

By giving your brain room to distinguish between the library (or whatever study spot you may choose, it doesn't have to be the library) and your dorm room, it will find your study spot as a place to get things done, and your dorm as a place for rest and relaxation. The more compartmentalized these two locations become, the easier it will be for you to avoid nightmares in what should be a completely relaxed space.