Author: Nyasha Takawira

I used to pride myself on living the late nights, whether it be spent partying or just being awake with mates; the ‘uni way of life’. I wore the bags under my eyes with pride, my badges of certified student living. Not anymore!

University is ultimately a place of education, however I noticed that my crazy sleeping patterns were reducing my productivity immensely and caused sleep issues. I may be speaking for myself here; some people can manage to thrive through days on just 4 hours sleep. Not me. So I thought to make a guide on sleep as it’s surprising how such simple task can be so hard to achieve at times.

Ways to get to sleep

1. Tea/Hot Coco

I’ve found that a cup of tea in bed helps me get to sleep much quicker. Especially in such cold conditions, it could be helpful to have something warm in bed to help kick start your dozing. Normal teas like PG, Tetley but I do recommend Red Bush; that does the business.

2. Music or a bland documentary

Since secondary school, I have relied on music to get me to sleep. No matter where I am, if there is a way I can either play my music off my phone or plug my earphones in, I will do it. Create a play-list that has slow and relaxing songs. Another thing is sticking some David Attenborough on, his voice is the next best thing to a lullaby.

Here’s my bedtime playlist. If yours is any sadder and slower than mine, tell us via twitter or post it in the comments box!

 

Tips to wake up

1. Alarm Clock

This is an obvious one that works a treat if you have the most annoying song on as your alarm tone. On days that I know that I have to be up by a certain time, I set at the least 5 different alarms on my phones. Each of these alarms is set at half an hour intervals, with the last two being 15 minutes apart, for what I think, is maximum effect.

My most annoying song at the moment is ‘Gangnam Style’ and prior to that was ‘Call Me Maybe’. What’s yours? Get involved with our poll or tweet us!

2. Curtains

Keeping your curtains open when you go to bed ensures  (granted that your window positioning permits) that light enters your room in the morning. So when you do finally wake up, you don’t wake up to a dark room but the effect of bright lights will help shake the groggy death-like-feeling off quicker.

What to avoid

1. Naps

If you can, please avoid napping. These things are immensely deadly. I discovered that once I took that first nap in the middle of the day here at Uni, my life changed dramatically. My sleeping pattern had no direction and there’d be days that I’d stay up till 7/8 am. Though I was awake, my brain was too scattered to produce any good quality work. So my advice is to avoid naps like the plague if you can’t trust your body clock to operate properly.

2. Eating after 10pm

Okay this is a given. It’s actually a good habit to consider, though the student life may make this harder. No matter how much KFC, Iceland pizza or whatever your flatmates stick under your nose, resist temptation. Personally I’ve realised that when I eat after 10pm I just have unnecessary energy. Not good when you have a 9am lecture the next day. Medically its’s not a wise move either. If you want to lose weight or want a peaceful sleep, eating after 10 messes with your digestive system. This means your body is focused on processing the food rather than resting to sleep.

If you have any tips of methods of your own, please leave them in the comments!

 

We are lucky in this country to have a national health service that provides a vast range of treatments, most of them ‘free’ to UK citizens. However I found that when I first went to collect my usual prescription as a university student, I had to pay.  I’d never paid for a prescription before and I wasn’t too keen on making it a habit. So I began a little investigation.

It turns out that a lot of students are unaware of the costs of dentistry and healthcare with many avoiding dentists and GPs simply because they are unsure how to approach it (along with horror stories of huge dentist bills).

Registering for a GP as a student

If you are moving away from your hometown to go to university then you will most likely need to change your GP to a more local one to avoid having to travel home every single time that you get ill.

Lincoln has many NHS run GP’s. Most people just register at the University one however if you’re looking for a private one then it’s a good idea to speak to student support who can give you a list of trusted GPs.

Free Prescriptions as a student

I registered at the university GP and found out that there is a way for students to carry on collecting prescriptions without paying for them.

There is a particular form that I had to fill out called the HC2 form which is issued under the NHS Low Income Scheme.

A prescription can cost over £7.50 every single time and if you are someone that regularly needs it, then you can see the costs add up.

But the benefits of this certificate do not end at free NHS prescriptions. There are more goodies that come with this form.

*Please note that your application for your HC2 certificate is based upon your income and your student loan may be treated as income. In this case you can apply for an HC3 certificate which will give you a smaller discount.

Free/Cheap Student Dentistry

The certificate states that you can also receive “Free NHS Dental treatment”. I called up and visited  numerous dentists (too long to list here) such as All Smiles Dental Practise and Carholme Dental Practise and most of them do permit the HC2 form when signing up to be a patient.  The private ones that I visited such as Lincoln Smile Centre and Oasis Dental Centre still expect the student to pay to be a patient however they did offer some cheaper deals.

Glasses and Contact Lenses

If you need help with new glasses or contact lenses, help with the cost is provided through NHS optical vouchers.  The value of your voucher will depend on your prescription – the person who tests your sight will be able to tell you how much this is.

You can normally use your voucher at any optician, though not all opticians fit contact lenses. The certificate entitles you to the full value of an NHS optical voucher.

Other benefits of the HC2

The form also allows the holder to receive free NHS wigs and fabric supports.

It also helps cover costs of travel to receive NHS treatment.  If you need to travel:

• in England to receive NHS treatment under the care of a consultant, or through a referral by a doctor or dentist; or
• in Scotland to a hospital to receive NHS treatment; or
• in Wales to receive NHS treatment under the care of a consultant

you can get help with the cost of your journey. In England, if you are referred by a doctor or dentist to the same premises but on a different day you can claim for that travel cost.

Apply for an HC2 certificate now >>

Keep in mind that the certificate lasts for a year so you have to renew is as long as your course goes on for.

So there you have it. If you ever get in trouble with your health during your time at university then you need to make sure you get an HC2 form otherwise you could be in big trouble and end up footing a whopping bill.