May News

The end of the semester can be a stressful time, with exams and planning for the future taking precedence above most other things. Unfortunately, one thing that often falls by the wayside at this hectic time is sleep. It may seem impossible to get a good night’s sleep when there are so many important things to do, but proper sleep helps maintain good general health, and can lessen the impact of stress on the body. During exam time, not getting enough sleep could be detrimental to performance- lack of sleep makes it difficult to concentrate and pay attention.

Wondering how you can improve the quality of your sleep?

 

• > Maintain a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends. Even though you might be tempted to stay up late and sleep in on weekends, this can derail your weekday sleep schedule-so don’t vary your make-up time on weekends by more than an hour.

 

• > Create an environment and routine that are conducive to sleep- do something relaxing before bed every night, such as reading a box or listening to soothing music. Make sure your room is dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool.
• > Sleep at night. Your body is programmed to sleep when it’s dark, and it uses that time to perform a lot of restorative functions that prepare you for the day ahead. There is even some evidence that memory is consolidated during sleep. So as tempting as it is to pull an all-nighter and then sleep during the day, you’ll feel better and perform better academically if you study by day and sleep at night!

 

For more tips on getting a good nights’ sleep, check out the Quick Links section for a list of online resources.

 

 

Get Connected at Student Health

 

Student Health has launched Patient | Connect a secure web portal through which Boston University students can access their electronic health record to:

 

• > update their local contact information,
• > send secure messages to a provider at Student Health Services,
• > contact the Aetna Student Health (Chickering) referral coordinator,
• > request a prescription refill, and
• > review your account activity (including reviewing and printing walkout statements).

 

Patient | Connect is intended to facilitate your access to Student Health Services. If you need additional assistance, please exit the portal and call Student Health at 617-353-3575.

 

As always for urgent medical problems please call 617-353-3575 and for urgent mental health needs please call 617-353-3569.

 

 

Become a fan of Be Well at BU!

 

Next time you’re on Facebook, check out the Be Well at BU page. You’ll find information about the latest events at Student Health Services, as well as videos and photos showing the many ways that students, staff, and faculty practice healthy habits on campus. Become a fan and invite your friends today!

 

 

 

 

 

Health Education Update

 

This month at Health Education, the Student Health Ambassadors will be focusing on sleep and stress. Please stop by Student Health Services and pick up a free sleep kit. It contains a variety of materials and information to help you sleep better- including earplugs!