If there were a handbook for college students — something like "How to Win at College" — I would splash "Get Enough Freaking Sleep" across page one. This handy pointer is almost always included in the list of things told to college students worldwide, but it gets diluted in the barrage of other advice doled out, suggestions like "get organized" and "make time for exercise" and "go to class." All of these are essential for excelling in college, but without a good night’s sleep, none are even remotely possible.

As a Division 1 college athlete at an academically rigorous institution, I have adapted to the grueling workouts in the pool, the weight room sessions that leave my arms and legs shaking, and then the full day of classes that usually leave my brain fried. But one thing I have definitely not adapted to is hauling my exhausted body out of bed at the crack of dawn every morning while whispering "nooooooooo" into my pillow and resisting the urge to fling my damn iPhone at the wall just to shut it up. You would think that after 15 years of 5.30 a.m. wake-ups, I would not dread the sound of my alarm; alas, that day has not come. As such, getting enough sleep so that I can actually function as a human being rather than a caffeinated zombie is something very close to my heart. In fact, it is so important to me that I usually organize my class schedule around my need to take a daily power nap.

Life often gets in the way of a good night’s sleep. There are classes to attend, exams to study for, and readings and homework to complete. There are parties and crawls and college nights that pop up regularly. And just when you get into bed, your phones starts buzzing madly, and you suddenly have 251 GroupMe messages to scroll through! With all this going on, it is very likely that sleep would be one of the first things to fall off our list of priorities.

This morning, our weight coach interrogated us about how much sleep we had gotten that night, and guilt-tripped many of us for sleeping less than six hours before a lift. His point was, not only does a constant sleep deficit prevent us from doing our best in the weight room, but it also leaves us more prone to muscle fatigue, illness, and injury. Sleep deprivation also tends to lead to higher stress levels, mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and poorer results in the classroom. The drastic consequences of not getting enough sleep are due to the fact that a solid seven hours of sleep for a young adult are essential for bodily functions like tissue repair, immune system function, and muscle growth, as well as keeping your mood stable. So, if you don’t want to become one of those grouchy zombie-students with dark circles under their eyes and quadruple-shot lattes in hand, then make sleep a priority right now!

But besides all the scientifically proven benefits of sleep, it is also an excellent form of procrastination, definitely more beneficial than binge-watching a day’s worth of Grey's Anatomy episodes. Sleep is also a way to cure boredom, dream about a whole host of things that will never happen, and run away from any problems you may have (yay!).

And if you simply cannot get a full seven or eight hours of sleep, then for god’s sake, find some time in your day to have a nap! Studies have shown that naps in themselves are pretty cool: they can aid in your ability to retain information, improve cognitive memory processing, increase alertness, and even boost creativity. Naps are also more efficient than coffee for getting over a midday slump.

So remember, when life knocks you down, just stay right there for about 30 minutes to an hour and take a well-deserved nap!