Since beginning my time in college, I have come to the realization that I will always be tired. It won’t matter if I got 8+ hours of sleep that night or slept in till noon on Saturday. And it won’t matter if I’m having a great time laughing with friends or at a hype basketball game. I will always be tired. It’s part of a college student’s identity. However, with this burden of pushing through the tiredness, a certain skill must be perfected: professional napping.

Becoming a professional napper isn’t easy, but the motto is clear: You can make anything a bed if you try hard enough. Since I speak from personal experience, I have laid out the crucial steps in becoming a professional napper and learning how to push through the never-ending tiredness us college students have to endure.

1. You must be willing to close your eyes anywhere.

Pride goes out the window when becoming a professional napper. If you need to close your eyes to catch a few Z’s, you must be willing to do that in any place. That includes public areas like chapel, classrooms, coffee shops, and the library. Do away with any embarrassment you may feel and relieve your tiredness!

2. You must be ok with sleeping on anything.

Throw away that inner diva who can only fall asleep on soft sheets with feather'd pillows. If you are going to perfect your napping skills, you are going to have to be ok with resting on anything. This includes tables, chair arms, bleachers, and desks. As a college student, you are more often than not seated at some type of hard surface and learning how to nap on them is a necessity.

3. You must be able to get comfy anywhere.

Falling asleep only comes if you are comfortable and getting comfortable anywhere really is a skill. Sinking yourself into chairs, curling up your legs, leaning on your arms are all doable positions when trying to nap in random places. Professional nappers will often get into the habit of carrying a sweatshirt for the sole purpose of cuddling with it or using it as a pillow. However, BEWARE of getting into positions where one or more limbs may fall asleep. Some initial sleeping positions seem like a great setup for a good nap, but waking up to numb limbs is never fun.

4. You are able to fall asleep in any time frame.

Five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, whatever time you have can be used for a good nap! Have 20 minutes before your next class? Go find a secluded place on campus and rest those weary eyes.

5. Scheduling naps into your daily routine becomes normal.

I have class from 1:00-1:50 and from 2:00-2:50, I’ll nap! Building naps into your schedule isn’t wasting precious time in your day either because you know that time is essential for you to function normally for the rest of the night.

Keeping up with classes, extracurriculars, intramurals, and community service is very taxing for college students and along with all those, staying up late with our friends is just too much fun to skip. The tiredness maybe always there, but we find ways of pushing past it and that’s where professional napping comes in.

It’s important to remember: there’s always time to take a nap and you can make anything into a bed if you try hard enough.