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Oct 1, 2016 9:00:00 AM | online class Never Do Homework In Bed: 3 Reasons Why | achs.edu

Where you decide to do homework plays a role in how much work you get done. And what’s the worst place to try to be productive? Your bed.

Some students will even map out the specific times they’re going to work each day in their planner. That’s a smart move; I’m for it.

However, have you gone so far as to plan where you’re going to get your work done?

Because most people have the mindset that it doesn’t matter where you work, it’s a non-factor.

I’m here to tell you that where you decide to do homework plays a significant role in how much work you get done, especially as an online student. And what’s the worst place to try to be productive? Your bed. 

Here are three reasons why you’d be better off studying anywhere other than your bed : 

1. Studying in bed limits focus.

Think about all the reasons why you love your bed. The comfort of warm covers, soft pillows, and putting off responsibility by pressing “Snooze” are highly persuasive on their own, but even more so when compared to focusing on your homework. 

Because your bed will tempt you to stop working and sleep, it’s best you don’t put yourself in a position to fail from the start. If you don’t change scenery, you may easily allow the comfort of your bed to suck away your focus. Trust me, I’ve been a victim of this before I wised up. 

And if your bed doesn’t make you lose focus, the other things in your room probably will. Your television, smart phone, or laundry will pull for your attention and offer an avenue to procrastinate.

When you’re looking to focus, a chair and desk is the better choice. The wisest choice is a standing desk, but not everyone has one available. Then, after you’ve done your work, you can relax in your bed feeling accomplished. 

2. Studying in bed decreases productivity.

Even if you can manage to focus in your bed, it’s not a productive place to get work done.

First, the lack of space to spread out your research for a paper or study material for an exam is a concern. You’ll waste time and valuable energy going through papers to find what you’re looking for. At a long desk, you can better assemble and organize your materials.

Second, you have no opportunity to get the productivity boost from standing when you’re laying on your bed for hours working. I’m a big supporter of standing when I work because standing sends fresh blood and oxygen to the brain, which promotes optimal brain function. [1] Your body isn’t designed to sit all day.

Before you think you need to spend hundreds of dollars for a standing desk, try putting your laptop on your dresser, propped up on books or a shelf, or get creative by putting your desk on risers (just be sure it’s safe and sturdy!). You now have a “standing desk” without breaking the bank.

3. Studying in bed hurts sleep.

I’ve already discussed how working in a place your body associates with sleep can make you lethargic and unable to focus. But on the flip side, working in your bed makes going to sleep harder. Working in your bed is double trouble! 

Because you’ve trained your body to associate your bed as a place to study or get homework done, once you lay in bed to call it a night your mind will continue to think. Studying in bed earlier in the day can actually rob you of rest.

Your body needs adequate sleep to stay healthy , retain new information, handle stress, and perform at its best each day. I wish sleep deprivation on no one. 

So, to protect your focus, productivity, and sleep, now you know not to study in your bed (or even your bedroom, if possible). Since your study space is important, making an effort to find a quiet place where you’re comfortable—but not too comfortable—can be the secret to success.

And don’t forget to try standing to get the most for your mind and body!

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a guest blogger for American College of Healthcare Sciences, the Institution that publishes this blog. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

[1] Behrens, L. (1990). An upright way to improve thinking. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-10-07/features/9003250339_1_brain-power-standing-stimulation

Written By: Brian Robben

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Don’t Let Studying in Bed Sabotage Your Sleep

If you had the choice between spending the morning studying in bed or heading to the library – which would you choose? Yeah, we would choose the first option, too. Cozy time is the best time, right? Well, not always.

Unfortunately, trying to accomplish anything other than sleep in bed – like studying or working – can interfere with your sleep quality and more. In fact, there are many reasons why studying in bed vs. a desk can work against you, and we’re sharing five of them next. However, we know there are times when reality works against us – and the bed wins. So, we’re also including some pro-sleep tips for studying in bed when you just need some cozy study time.

And before you post-graduates click-away, everything we discuss here also applies to working – so stick around if you regularly work from bed.

Top 5 Reasons for NOT Studying in Bed.

If you are wondering why studying in bed is not ideal, get ready for some education! Although studying in bed may seem like a dream, it may be creating some avoidable problems. 

Sleep Quality

Do you ever find yourself getting sleepy while studying in bed? Since our bodies typically associate “bed” with “sleep”, it’s not surprising when this happens. However, if you regularly study in bed, you may be inadvertently retraining your mind to associate your bed with studying. So what happens when you crawl into bed to sleep? Your brain thinks it’s time to study! 

Sleep quality affects everything in our daily lives, and your body needs adequate sleep to stay healthy, retain new information (studying!), handle stress, and perform at its best each day. 

Although laying in bed is the ultimate in comfort, sitting in bed isn’t always as comfortable. Sitting in an uncomfortable position applies pressure to your back, which can lead to spine problems over time. It’s a sneaky disadvantage to studying in bed, but it’s important to consider for the long-term.

Even if you think you are comfortable sitting or laying on your side or stomach to study, doing so for too long can create stiffness in your neck and back. Also, beds are inherently uneven, so even if you think you are sitting up straight, it’s not the same kind of straight a chair provides.

Productivity

It’s hard enough to focus on school materials as it is, but studying in bed can actually really sabotage your productivity. There are several things working against you in this situation – not enough room to spread out and nowhere to take notes (if you still favor pen and paper). Not to mention, the poor sleep quality you’re probably also experiencing is a real productivity zapper.

There’s hygiene related to cleanliness and sleep hygiene , and we’ll talk about both. First is cleanliness. Not to gross you out, but did you know that we shed thousands of skin cells every night? Studying in bed during the day just adds to that mess! Not to mention any drinks or food you may spill during your horizontal studying.

What about sleep hygiene? These are the practices and habits that contribute to a good night’s sleep, and guess what one of them is NOT? Studying. As we mentioned before, studying in bed is subtly rewiring your brain to associate your mattress with activities other than sleep, which can make it difficult to sleep at night when you should be resting and recharging.

Everything we have mentioned so far circles back to mood. All of it can affect your mood: lack of sleep, lack of productivity, achy back, and dirty sheets. Our beds should be places of sanctuary, not stress. Studying in bed may bring stress into your sanctuary and sabotage not just your focus, but likely your sleep as well.

Pro-sleep Tips for Studying in Bed 

Ok, if you skipped right to this section, then you are probably never going to give up your bed studying habits – and that’s ok, you do you! Although we highly recommend only sleep and sex for the bed, reality is a rule bender sometimes. So, here are some tips for how to be comfortable studying in bed if a desk isn’t working or appealing.

Blue Light Blocking Lenses

There are clear lenses that protect against the high end of the blue light spectrum or yellow or amber lenses that block all blue light. Blue light, a type of light on the color spectrum that has higher energy, is emitted by cell phones, computers, and television screens. That higher energy light isn’t doing your eyes or your sleep any favors.

Invest in a Reading Pillow

That achy back we mentioned earlier? It’s posture related and happens from sitting in an uncomfortable position for too long, either hunched over your computer screen or propped on your elbow. A reading pillow can help you study more comfortably in bed by supplying the correct support for your back. We’re not saying it will prevent all the aches earned from studying in bed, but it can certainly help. 

Use a Lap Desk or Portable Study Table

Like the pillow, a lap desk or portable study table will encourage better posture while studying in bed by positioning your screen and books for better access. Plus, having a small desk to work on – even in bed – can help keep you organized, which is a productivity booster. Every little bit helps. If you’re really committed to studying in bed (or just have no other places to do homework), a lap desk and reading pillow are the ultimate combo to ensure your posture is on point.

Take Breaks

Our bodies weren’t made for sitting or sleeping all day. Daily movement keeps us healthy and strong. So if you’re hunkered down for a major study session, try the pomodoro technique to keep your mind active and your limbs refreshed. 

It’s simple – just take a break every 25 minutes and get out of bed, even if it’s just to walk to the bathroom. If you are still working after four breaks, start to stretch out your breaks a little longer with each subsequent 25 minute break. Your body and mind will thank you!

Set a Hard Stop

If you are studying in bed all day, it’s important to set a hard stop time if it stretches into the evening. Your chances of falling asleep later will be improved if you take an hour or more to disassociate your bed with studying. That means getting up and leaving the room. Take a walk outside, take a shower, make dinner, whatever you like – as long as it’s not near or in your bed.

When you return to bed for sleeping, do not bring your phone, tablet, or laptop with you. Your sleep deserves your undivided attention!

Ready for more tips for better sleep? Bookmark our blog to learn about emerging sleep trends, expert analysis, and more. Our website also has a wealth of information and resources about sleep and how to conquer it. 

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Homework, Sleep, and the Student Brain

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At some point, every parent wishes their high school aged student would go to bed earlier as well as find time to pursue their own passions -- or maybe even choose to relax. This thought reemerged as I reread Anna Quindlen's commencement speech, A Short Guide to a Happy Life. The central message of this address, never actually stated, was: "Get a life."

But what prevents students from "getting a life," especially between September and June? One answer is homework.

Favorable Working Conditions

As a history teacher at St. Andrew's Episcopal School and director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning , I want to be clear that I both give and support the idea of homework. But homework, whether good or bad, takes time and often cuts into each student's sleep, family dinner, or freedom to follow passions outside of school. For too many students, homework is too often about compliance and "not losing points" rather than about learning.

Most schools have a philosophy about homework that is challenged by each parent's experience doing homework "back in the day." Parents' common misconception is that the teachers and schools giving more homework are more challenging and therefore better teachers and schools. This is a false assumption. The amount of homework your son or daughter does each night should not be a source of pride for the quality of a school. In fact, I would suggest a different metric when evaluating your child's homework. Are you able to stay up with your son or daughter until he or she finishes those assignments? If the answer is no, then too much homework is being assigned, and you both need more of the sleep that, according to Daniel T. Willingham , is crucial to memory consolidation.

I have often joked with my students, while teaching the Progressive Movement and rise of unions between the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, that they should consider striking because of how schools violate child labor laws. If school is each student's "job," then students are working hours usually assigned to Washington, DC lawyers (combing the hours of the school day, school-sponsored activities, and homework). This would certainly be a risky strategy for changing how schools and teachers think about homework, but it certainly would gain attention. (If any of my students are reading this, don't try it!)

So how can we change things?

The Scientific Approach

In the study "What Great Homework Looks Like" from the journal Think Differently and Deeply , which connects research in how the brain learns to the instructional practice of teachers, we see moderate advantages of no more than two hours of homework for high school students. For younger students, the correlation is even smaller. Homework does teach other important, non-cognitive skills such as time management, sustained attention, and rule following, but let us not mask that as learning the content and skills that most assignments are supposed to teach.

Homework can be a powerful learning tool -- if designed and assigned correctly. I say "learning," because good homework should be an independent moment for each student or groups of students through virtual collaboration. It should be challenging and engaging enough to allow for deliberate practice of essential content and skills, but not so hard that parents are asked to recall what they learned in high school. All that usually leads to is family stress.

But even when good homework is assigned, it is the student's approach that is critical. A scientific approach to tackling their homework can actually lead to deepened learning in less time. The biggest contributor to the length of a student's homework is task switching. Too often, students jump between their work on an assignment and the lure of social media. But I have found it hard to convince students of the cost associated with such task switching. Imagine a student writing an essay for AP English class or completing math proofs for their honors geometry class. In the middle of the work, their phone announces a new text message. This is a moment of truth for the student. Should they address that text before or after they finish their assignment?

Delayed Gratification

When a student chooses to check their text, respond and then possibly take an extended dive into social media, they lose a percentage of the learning that has already happened. As a result, when they return to the AP essay or honors geometry proof, they need to retrace their learning in order to catch up to where they were. This jump, between homework and social media, is actually extending the time a student spends on an assignment. My colleagues and I coach our students to see social media as a reward for finishing an assignment. Delaying gratification is an important non-cognitive skill and one that research has shown enhances life outcomes (see the Stanford Marshmallow Test ).

At my school, the goal is to reduce the barriers for each student to meet his or her peak potential without lowering the bar. Good, purposeful homework should be part of any student's learning journey. But it takes teachers to design better homework (which can include no homework at all on some nights), parents to not see hours of homework as a measure of school quality, and students to reflect on their current homework strategies while applying new, research-backed ones. Together, we can all get more sleep -- and that, research shows, is very good for all of our brains and for each student's learning.

If You Absolutely Must Work From Your Bed, Posture Pros Say This Is a Must-Read

While any chiropractor, physical therapist, or posture specialist will tell you that working from bed is  not a good idea (in fact, they rank it as one of the worst possible places you can park yourself for hours on end), it's pretty hard to resist the allure of spending your day lounging on top of a plush pillow top. Plus, for anyone without a dedicated workspace, it may be the only option.

• Kelli Pearson, DC , Spokane, WA-based chiropractic physician and author of Eight Minutes to Ageless
• Tami Bulmash , Tami Bulmash is a posture pro who specializes in the Alexander Technique, a process that helps to retrain habitual patterns of movement and posture.

Before you take your next Zoom meeting snuggled up with your duvet, there are a few things pros want you to know about why you should maybe think twice about doing it.  “When you're working from the bed, it doesn't offer the same kind of support that a harder surface, like a wooden chair, would offer, so you sink into it,” says  Tami Bulmash , a posture pro. “The further you sink into the softer surface, the less feedback you have about how you're managing your body.” This feedback, she explains, gives you the tools you need to understand what your spine is doing, so you can tell when you start to slouch, tense up, or curve forward. Because of this, you’re more likely to feel aches and pains from spending time sitting on a mattress—meaning that the comfort it offers in the short term tends to be misleading.

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But if you, like me, are strictly #teambed (despite what literally every expert says), there are a few things you can do to make your go-to workspace slightly kinder on your body.

1. Firm up your mattress

When it comes to working from a mattress, the general rule is “the firmer, the better,” since softer surfaces offer less support. If you don’t want to swap out your pillow top for something more solid, Bulmash suggests putting a piece of plywood on top (which is uncomfortable, but effective). “If you can create a flatter, harder surface, then that would at least be giving your body more feedback and more support,” she explains.

2. Adjust your sitting position

While leaning up against your throw pillows may be comfortable, it's certainly not the best position for your body in the longterm. "If you can sit criss-cross applesauce, place a small pillow below your low back and snuggle up against the backboard," says Kelli Pearson, DC, a chiropractic physician. "When we sit, we should be able to keep a mild forward curve in the lowest part of the lumbar spine, and when we sit with our legs straight out in front of us in bed, that healthy curve is completely removed, putting the discs at great risk for being irritated."

Crossing your legs and giving your back some support will help mitigate the problem. If that's not an option, you can keep your legs straight, but place a small pillow under your knees to take some of the slack out of your hamstrings. You can also try lying on your stomach with your laptop out in front of you, which can offer your spine some relief.

3. Pile on the pillows

In addition to firming up what's  under your body (by way of your mattress), you'll also want to give yourself enough back support. Be sure to place some steady pillows—or even a partner-style pillow —behind your back so that you have something solid to lean on.

4. Get up and move around

It’s never a good idea to stay seated for hours on end, and if you’re working from your bed it’s extra important to get up and move around every 30 minutes. Aside from taking a walk around the block (or at the very least, the house), Bulmash also recommends spending 15 to 20 minutes a day lying flat on the floor with a book under your head to allow your spine to reset, and counteract some of the negative effects your bed working has had on your posture. You can also break to sit on a stool or coffee table (or any other surface that doesn’t have back support) to work your core strength.

5. Invest in a bed desk

The worst possible way to sit, according to Bulmash, is with your body in a C-shape rounded over your laptop. To combat this, try bringing a bed desk— like this one, which you can get on Amazon —into the mix, which will allow you to raise your computer to eye level and cross your legs underneath it so that your back is straight.

Need a little extra stretch after all those hours in bed? Follow along with the video below. 

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