How much sleep do you get before an exam ?

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hi,
so how much sleep do you usually get before an exam? and how well you do on it ?

Originally Posted by raepal

hi,
so how much sleep do you usually get before an exam? and how well you do on it ?

Depends on the class, but generally:

Humanities: 8+ hours, A
Science: 3-8 hours, varies

Originally Posted by raepal

hi,
so how much sleep do you usually get before an exam? and how well you do on it ?

I usually try to get anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep..rarely 4-5 if I really don't feel comfortable with the material. I tend to have trouble remembering things when I go to sleep and know them backwards & forward when I wake up so it definitely works for me.

12 hrs, A.

6-7hrs, my normal #. Study a little everyday, so that you don't have to cram.

0-8 hours. Just depends on how prepared I feel beforehand. It doesn't matter how much sleep you get if you don't know the material. Basically, you have to prioritize: which is going to do me better on the test, feeling rested or familiarity with the material?

Ideally you shouldn't have this problem if you plan out studying, although I admit that towards the end of the year I tend to get a little behind.

I consistently fail to get enough sleep before exams. I do quite well, anyhow.

I used to pull all-nighters, but that rarely helped. My last two years I started getting a good night sleep before exams (~8 hrs) and I did much better, although that was probably due to better study habits throughout the semester, allowing me to not have to cram as much as I had to early on in college.

Originally Posted by cheechootrain

12 hrs, A.

You rest in the sleeper car, right?

I probably get 7-8 hours in before a test. Then again, that's what I shoot for every night.

Typically 4-7.5 but I took a few exams on only an hour or two of rest and performed decently. Average: 6 or 7. I don't usually sleep over 7.5 hours during the week anyway.

999th post

Mmm, usually around 6 hours? I generally try to sleep 7-8 hours every night, but it's usually a little less pre-exams (especially when I get up at 5am to get to school by 6am and cram-a-lam a final couple hours before the exam). I'm a solid B medical student, haha. So, whatever that means to ya.

Originally Posted by Praefectus

You rest in the sleeper car, right?

I probably get 7-8 hours in before a test. Then again, that's what I shoot for every night.

I take a pill to knock me out. And when I wake up, it feels like I got hit by a train.

my method is to go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night instead of studying into the middle of the night and then going to bed. the cortisol spike upon waking definitely helps

I have never pulled an all-nighter and never will (at least for studying purposes). I would rather have that 6-8 hours of sleep and be fresh, than a few more hours of studying while half brain-dead.

I used to pull all nighters studying all the time, sometimes several days in a row if I have several exams really close together.
This semester I started studying a week in advance for everything so no all nighters yet.

Varies. Usually 3-7. I had one instance of an All-nighter, but other than that, no major problems. Usually if you plan your time correctly, you should be able to get the amount of sleep that you feel comfortable with.

I try to get 8+. Sleep>studying, for me at least. Or maybe I just love sleep too much.

One night of poor sleep will not have a significant effect on your performance. That being said, the more sleep you can get the better. However, if you are in a situation in which you don't know the material, you'd probably be better off staying awake to review it. You're not going to learn any new information in your sleep.

I've never gotten less than 6 hours of sleep before any school day. Usually it is 8-9. My philosophy is if I don't know 6 hours before I wake up, I'm not going to know it for the test. If that hurts my chances, so be it, but it hasn't yet.

I refuse to stay up past midnight. I always make sure I get my six to eight hours of sleep.

I never sleep more than about 6.5 hours. Exams don't change my routine much, if at all.

Originally Posted by AiyaTuc

I refuse to stay up past midnight. I always make sure I get my six to eight hours of sleep.

Uhm...Do you ever go out and have fun?

Originally Posted by TheKDizzle

I try to get 8+. Sleep>studying, for me at least. Or maybe I just love sleep too much.

This. I agree with this. It doesn't help that I can't drink caffeine, so for me sleeping is usually a must.

Originally Posted by Bangersandmash

Uhm...Do you ever go out and have fun?

School nights*

All bets are off on weekends.

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Eight hours, and I do fine. I also know that my judgment (as well as pretty much everybody else's) goes downhill when I haven't slept enough. Best to take guesses on material I don't know as well when my brain is actually working.

6-7 hrs consistently (regardless of whether or not there is an exam). I tend to be a crammer, so I really do the integration of material the night before (and occasionally while taking the exam itself). I find that works out better if I've had a decent night's sleep since I am sometimes learning some of the material while being tested on it. It's worked out pretty well for me so far....

6-8 hours, but that's because I refuse to stay up studying for a class. I would rather feel refreshed than tired for a test, even if I do poorer on it. What will staying up an extra four hours get me on a test? Any more points from knowledge will be cancelled out by misreading questions because of being tired.

Studying before tests helps cut down on the cramming.

Ive never been a late night stay up all night studier. Typically I sleep 6-7 hours test or no test. A


Note - this could change in med shcool

I remember in jr year I had back to back research papers due, one in a motor learning class and one in technical writing. I had to pull two consecutive all nighties and did accomplish the 26 pages it was a struggle and I could not have done it without caffeine pills. I actually had to present the technical writing paper in class so that was even harder. I was so phucked after those two days that I wasn't even tired.. I went to the gym after lol. That was definitely the most beast mode I've ever been.

Originally Posted by cuculici1

One night of poor sleep will not have a significant effect on your performance.

I think a recent study showed that after 24 hours of sleep deprivation, the mind is essentially legally drunk. I am not going to look it up, but I really think sleep should come ahead of a few more hours of studying.

I'm surprised no one has said this, but there is research that shows the brain needs sleep to store things in memory.

Which is why some people can go to bed feeling like the do not know some of the material they need to know for the test the next day, but when they wakeup have no problem remembering it or performing well on the test. I am one of these people and have learned to just trust I will know it the next morning if I have studied it, but am still having problems remembering it the night before (if I'm cramming it in there for some reason)

Originally Posted by DAPI

I'm surprised no one has said this, but there is research that shows the brain needs sleep to store things in memory.

Which is why some people can go to bed feeling like the do not know some of the material they need to know for the test the next day, but when they wakeup have no problem remembering it or performing well on the test. I am one of these people and have learned to just trust I will know it the next morning if I have studied it, but am still having problems remembering it the night before (if I'm cramming it in there for some reason)

Yeah, this is actually the basis of my study habits. I study in small bits starting at least several days in advance, always get my beauty sleep, and don't study much more on the night before the exam.

Originally Posted by DAPI

I'm surprised no one has said this, but there is research that shows the brain needs sleep to store things in memory.

Which is why some people can go to bed feeling like the do not know some of the material they need to know for the test the next day, but when they wakeup have no problem remembering it or performing well on the test. I am one of these people and have learned to just trust I will know it the next morning if I have studied it, but am still having problems remembering it the night before (if I'm cramming it in there for some reason)

That's the hard part.

The number of hours of sleep is relatively unimportant - the number of sleep cycles you go through during a time period are what matter.

Originally Posted by Venom5

The number of hours of sleep is relatively unimportant - the number of sleep cycles you go through during a time period are what matter.

Isn't that pretty tightly related to how many hours of sleep you get...?

Originally Posted by Venom5

The number of hours of sleep is relatively unimportant - the number of sleep cycles you go through during a time period are what matter.

This. And yes it is dependent on the number of hours you're "sleeping" but also on the slight variations in each cycle.

OP: I usually tried to sleep (start trying to sleep*) either 4 or 7 hours before I woke up for the day of the exam.

1 or 2 before my exam last week, but i ha,d a cold

Originally Posted by TheKDizzle

Isn't that pretty tightly related to how many hours of sleep you get...?

Everyone's sleep cycle differs. So 6 hours of sleep may give you 7 full cycles, but me 8 full cycles.

More hours = more partial cycles but may not = more full cycles

Originally Posted by cbrons

1 or 2 before my exam last week, but i ha,d a cold

cough syrup?

Last semester I usually got roughly 3 hrs of sleep if not any at all. This semester I get about 5 hrs or sleep, although it depends on the difficulty of the subject.

Originally Posted by wjs010

I remember in jr year I had back to back research papers due, one in a motor learning class and one in technical writing. I had to pull two consecutive all nighties and did accomplish the 26 pages it was a struggle and I could not have done it without caffeine pills. I actually had to present the technical writing paper in class so that was even harder. I was so phucked after those two days that I wasn't even tired.. I went to the gym after lol. That was definitely the most beast mode I've ever been.

I once stayed up for 2 days when I had 4 test in the same week last year, after it was all over I didn't go to work lol

I am never rested before an exam. I work the nightshift, 7p-7a, and head to my classes right after work. I know its not ideal, but I don't have any other option. At least, for now, its working, and has been for about a year of 4.0 post bac work.

I like to think I make up for it by studying a little every day, and carrying condensed pages of notes that I reread on breaks. I also sleep through most of my weekend. It worked better for Physics and Chemistry, where I could move on as soon as I learned how to solve a certain problem type. Biology though, particularly second semester's introduction to plants... ... having a really difficult time keeping all that nonsense in my brain, and I'm positive more sleep would help with my retention.

Oh well, can't win 'em all.

4-7 hours. Sometimes more, depending on how confident I feel over the material.

Knowing the materials is more important than sleeping. But you will do better if you studied well and sleep well the night before.

Definitely sleep at least 8 hours before an exam. That's how you do your best.

If you have to cram the night before a test because you haven't studied at all, your grade will depend a lot on luck.