If you’ve been looking for a sign, this is it. Take that nap.

I know the struggle. You have a lot of homework to do, but you can hardly keep your eyes open. You just need a couple minutes of shut-eye, and then you can bounce back to grinding out homework. 

I am here to tell you to just take that nap. I promise that your homework will still be there afterward. You can’t be mentally and physically well if you’re sleep deprived, which is what a large percentage of college students are. 

A 2017 study found that up to 60 percent of college students are sleep deprived. That same study found that 7.7 percent meet the criteria for an insomnia disorder. 

If you’re anything like me, you’re up until 2 a.m. on an average night trying to balance homework, work and having some semblance of a social life. Then, you may have to get up at 6 a.m. to prepare for whatever the day has ahead. Four hours of sleep is nowhere near the recommended seven to nine hours. 

I’m an overachiever and a perfectionist. I have to do everything all the time, and I have to do it perfectly. I will absolutely sacrifice my mental and physical well-being to succeed. 

Newsflash: you aren’t going to be able to succeed for very long if you’re unwell — physically or mentally. 

I know this assignment or exam seems like the most important thing in the world, but it’s really not. If the pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that there are things in life that are a lot more important than one or two assignments. Your well-being is one of those things. 

Take a short nap or a long nap. However much you feel that you need to rest and recover. Put yourself first; put that exam second. Your mind and body are precious, and they deserve to be treated as such. 

Take that nap.