College is an exciting time for students. You’ll tickle your intellectual curiosity and explore your subject of choice in depth. Oh, and the parties, how could we forget about them? Study is great, but what is life without a bit of fun?
Beds are the center of sleep.
The bed is where we rest, unwind, and escape from the day’s stresses. It’s important to know what beds are used in your college dorm when considering a mattress purchase.
Dormitory beds have specific dimensions that you need to be aware of before purchasing a mattress for it. Oftentimes, they will also come with an extra-long twin size sheet set so you can make your bed easily on move-in day or anytime thereafter if necessary, without having to go out and purchase them separately (although some schools do not provide these).
Before making any purchases for your room at school, make sure you consult with the front desk staff as they will have this information.
Sleep impacts quality of life in a variety of ways. The amount and quality of sleep that you get each night can affect your appearance, health, and mood. When you don’t get enough sleep, it is natural to experience exhaustion. Exhaustion will have an impact on your movement, coordination, and concentration.
When a lack of sleep shows up in your life it may seem like the beginning of the end but there are many ways to improve it. A good night’s sleep is important for everyone but even more so for students.
Because of this, we wanted to find out what size the beds in these rooms are so that you can plan accordingly!
In this article, we’ll see the most common bed sizes you’ll find in dorm rooms around the country. We’ll also give you a list of what bedding you’ll need, and why it’s important that it fits your new bed.
The Size of College Dorm Beds.
Schools have different bed sizes and it’s important to know the dimensions before going shopping for sheets, pillow cases, or a mattress pad.
Not so fun fact: College students spend about $2500 on furniture in their first year as freshmen (including desk chairs) and $1000 during each subsequent year.
The sizes of dorm bed ranges from a twin to full size. The most common bed is the twin XL. It measures around 39 inches by 80 inches. On some very rare occasions, you’ll find Full or Full XL beds.
One of my friends, let’s call him Steve, was moving into his dorm for his senior year of college. He REALLY wanted a Queen-sized bed.
The problem?
Almost all freshmen dorms have twin XL beds, so he had to buy a mattress extender which consisted basically of an extra-long twin XL mattress cover. When it arrived, it was much too big for the room and he spent way too much time fussing with how to make it fit on top of the bed. We even had to pry one corner of the makeshift mattress extender off the floor and prop it up against the wall so that it could stand upright!
Why is it so important to know the beds’ size? Bedding. You’ll have to bring your own bedding to dorm. Since you need it to match the bed’s size, knowing the size beforehand is crucial. Especially since twin and twin XL beds aren’t what you’ll find in your average house.
If you’re not sure what bed size your school has, I recommend contacting your residence advisor. They’ll gladly advise on what you’ll find in the dormitory. They’ll also tell you what is provided by the school.
Editor’s note: some dorms have their own bedding. But I understand why you’d want to get your own. You never know what other people have done to the sheets.
How to Buy a College Mattress
Mattresses are very important and not just for the college bed. They determine how comfortable you’ll be when studying, whether your mattress will give out on you after one year, and most importantly what size of sheets you need.
When buying a mattress for dorms it’s best to go with something inexpensive that is still durable enough so that you won’t have breakouts in your back from sleeping improperly.
There are different mattresses. The materials and architecture of the mattress will affect your sleep. For example, memory foam mattresses can be soft, medium, or hard. You can somewhat cheat your way through this by using a mattress topper, but it’s an extra expense on top of an already costly solution.
Buying the wrong mattress will affect your school performance negatively. Sleep deprivation deeply affects our cognitive abilities. Poor sleep also lowers your quality of life.
How do you feel when you don’t sleep well? Tired and moody. These effects make you unpleasant to be around. Plus, poor sleep worsens your memory and your creativity, two vital skills in school and life.
What Bedding Should You Bring to Dorm?
If you’re looking for the most comfortable bedding, then this is a combination of what we recommend:
- Extra-long fitted sheets – they are extra deep and will fit any size mattress
- Pillow cases that match your extra-long fitted sheet
- A comforter or duvet cover that matches your pillowcases. The comforters should be thick enough to keep you warm in an air-conditioned room. And the duvet covers can have decorative patterns on them
- Find sheets that are soft and don’t have a tight weave so they’re not itchy or scratchy
- Get an extra set of sheets for the bed – this is especially important if you plan on staying in college dorms long term. After a while, all of those washes will wear down your mattress pad and cause any odors to be stronger than ever before
- If you want even more privacy in your sleeping quarters, invest in blackout curtains (or double up some regular ones) which can block out light from windows as well as prevent nosy roommates from peeking through them when you study during the day
Note: Remember that there are other things to worry about when packing for college as well. For example, it’s important to bring items like towels, toiletries, etc. with you so that you don’t need to pay through the nose from buying them.
How to Sleep on a Small Bed
Sleeping on a small bed isn’t fun. Most people who sleep in a bed they don’t fit in end up waking up stiff. That happens because we move a lot during sleep. Having a bad night’s sleep is never fun.
If you have to sleep on a twin bed, there are some ways to make it more comfortable. Try out these tips for sleeping better in your tight quarters:
- Add an extra pillow or two so that you can prop yourself up higher
- Put pillows under the sheets if they’re too long and rub against your feet
- Use fewer pillows (or smaller ones), since these take a lot of space you could use for your body instead
- Lay down a yoga mat (if one is available) between the mattress and box spring for added cushion
- Curl up in a fetal position this isn’t always workable, especially if you are very tall
- Try to sleep diagonally since twin beds aren’t that wide, this won’t work if you are too tall
Try to follow these tips and see if they help! If they don’t, there is one last potential solution to the issue. You can try to extend your bed by placing a chair at the end and rest your feet on it. You’ll need an extra pillow.
The issue with that solution is that chairs are small. Since most of us move a lot while we sleep, you might end up waking up in the middle of the night with feet dangling off your bed. It’s uncomfortable.
Conclusions
Knowing the size of your college dorm’s beds is crucial to get the right type of bedding. Sleeping comfortably is underrated. Good sleep improves memory and mood.
Most dorms use the same bed size, twin XL. But since not all of them use it, contact the advisor and ask them about the beds used. Knowing the bed sizing is crucial to get the right type of bedding.
You learned how to make your bed more comfortable and what type of bedding to bring for the most comfortable sleep in a college dormitory. I encourage you to take the time to configure your dorm space for the best result.
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