Anyone know how to power nap 2 hours per nap and excel in their course work?

[Raihan Mirza]

Fall semester is going to start for me. I took a really heavy course load. I wont be getting much sleep when college starts. I plan on getting about 4-5 hours of sleep. I also heard about power napping used by people who work night shifts. People take naps at various parts of the day lasting about 1-2 hours and end up increasing their efficiency and alertness. Does anyone know how to do this?

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[TopSecret]

Fall semester is going to start for me. I took a really heavy course load. I wont be getting much sleep when college starts. I plan on getting about 4-5 hours of sleep. I also heard about power napping used by people who work night shifts. People take naps at various parts of the day lasting about 1-2 hours and end up increasing their efficiency and alertness. Does anyone know how to do this?

4-5 hours of sleep is a recipe for disaster. It will take you a lot longer to learn anything with such sleep deprivation.

 

[Brent8927]

4-5 hours of sleep is a recipe for disaster. It will take you a lot longer to learn anything with such sleep deprivation.

👍👍 I agree. 4-5 hours of sleep is one thing in residency, but it can only hurt you in undergrad--unless you're one of the few people who really can fully function on 4-5 hours of sleep, which I've seen. If that's the case, then go for the heavy course load.

If your ultimate goal is medical school, which I assume it is if you are posting here, I'd recommend dropping a course or two if that's what it takes to get an average of 8 hours of sleep per night. Getting adequate sleep will go a long way in helping you thrive in undergrad. And that's what it takes to get into and thrive in medical school. At least that's my opinion.

As far as power-napping goes, I think you just take a nap. I don't really think there's any technique to it, but it I'm wrong I'm sure I'll be corrected.

Regardless, studies have shown meditation is usually more effective than power-napping, but you have to learn to do it. That doesn't mean it's more effective for everyone, but if you're really determined to take a heavy course load then perhaps it's something worth looking into.

Good luck!

 

[Poliscidoc]

A few things..

1. How are you only getting 4-5 hours of sleep? I have a 23 credit course load, volunteering and shadowing and I am getting a good 7-9 hours of sleep every night. (Unless I go out with friends or party)

2. As for power naps, I take them between classes if I have a break between classes. I just go to the library and study for 30-45 min and take a 30-45 min nap. Wake up from the Alarm clock on my phone and then go to class.

3. Lastly from the post you sound like the stereotypical pre-med that does nothing but study and study some more. The only advice I can give is dont be that guy, have fun in college and dont beat yourself up. Now if your not this guy then dont pay this any attention

 

[red10]

sleep through class

 

[TopSecret]

sleep through class

Might as well sleep in your own bed.

 

[Omni]

A few things..

1. How are you only getting 4-5 hours of sleep? I have a 23 credit course load, volunteering and shadowing and I am getting a good 7-9 hours of sleep every night. (Unless I go out with friends or party)

2. As for power naps, I take them between classes if I have a break between classes. I just go to the library and study for 30-45 min and take a 30-45 min nap. Wake up from the Alarm clock on my phone and then go to class.

3. Lastly from the post you sound like the stereotypical pre-med that does nothing but study and study some more. The only advice I can give is dont be that guy, have fun in college and dont beat yourself up. Now if your not this guy then dont pay this any attention

Between classes? But I thought that's what math class was for. Calc I-III, DFQ, Linear Alg., and others of the sort!

 

[movax]

I switched to polyphasic sleep for about six months...no more sleeping at night. Just a 20 minute nap every 4-5 hours or so.

It will kick your ass during the transition, but you will become the most productive mofo alive once you've adjusted. It was the only way I could survive school + activities + MCAT studying as well (instead of wasting that night sleeping...use it studying!)

 

[red10]

Might as well sleep in your own bed.

its hard to learn via osmosis if you sleep in your own bed instead of the classroom. but either way if the OP thinks they can get by with power naps alone they're going to end up sleeping in class anyway

 

[Compass]

A few things..

1. How are you only getting 4-5 hours of sleep? I have a 23 credit course load, volunteering and shadowing and I am getting a good 7-9 hours of sleep every night. (Unless I go out with friends or party)

And I thought I was traveling through time! You sure you're studying/volunteering/shadowing?

2. As for power naps, I take them between classes if I have a break between classes. I just go to the library and study for 30-45 min and take a 30-45 min nap. Wake up from the Alarm clock on my phone and then go to class.

It's only cool if you can nap in the back of the ambulance for 5 minutes when the lights and sirens are going and the ambulance is hopping up and down!

3. Lastly from the post you sound like the stereotypical pre-med that does nothing but study and study some more. The only advice I can give is dont be that guy, have fun in college and dont beat yourself up. Now if your not this guy then dont pay this any attention

I would like your Time-Turner, please.

 

[chicubsfan]

I switched to polyphasic sleep for about six months...no more sleeping at night. Just a 20 minute nap every 4-5 hours or so.

It will kick your ass during the transition, but you will become the most productive mofo alive once you've adjusted. It was the only way I could survive school + activities + MCAT studying as well (instead of wasting that night sleeping...use it studying!)

are you serious? 😱

OP - get enough sleep, 7-8 hours - i swear you'll be more productive. just use your time more wisely when you're awake. cut out tv during the week. stay in one night per weekend to study. but don't sacrifice sleep - you'll be sorry.

 

[fatwes]

smoke crack

 

[adele87]

I switched to polyphasic sleep for about six months...no more sleeping at night. Just a 20 minute nap every 4-5 hours or so.

Did that really work? How long was the transition? I know someone who tried that for about a month and he was like the living dead ... had to stop in order to get his life back.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

good time management and you can at least 7hrs every night, it's undergrad not surgical residency

 

[TopSecret]

its hard to learn via osmosis if you sleep in your own bed instead of the classroom. but either way if the OP thinks they can get by with power naps alone they're going to end up sleeping in class anyway

There is a high likelihood of producing false memories when you try to learn this way. I discourage it.

 

[locus000]

I like to take a 30 mins power nap, after the nap I am energized and focus. if my nap is over 45 min or if i start dreaming I will be a wreck afterward, i will be so out of it there is no point of studying afterward

 

[casillas]

to the op, you cannot be that busy as an undergrad that you will not be able to sleep more than 5 hours. I do not see this ending well. I think instead of tips on power naps you need tips on time management. because honestly, if you use your time well and prioritize, you will be able to get 8 hours of sleep easily.

 

[boaz]

I usually get ~6 hr per night which really isn't enough-I need more like 7.5. *Officially* I'm supposed to take a power nap of ~15 min early afternoon but it hardly ever happens; there's always something in the way...

The moral of the story is that it is very difficult to stick to a power napping schedule if you're not truly in charge of your schedule.

 

[texaslily]

Get 8 hours of sleep a night. Please don't do that to yourself, your life will be hell, your social life and grades will be doomed and all you need is a little time management.

To prove that it can be done, I took a 23 hour courseload one semester, including 3 science courses with 2 labs and still managed all A's that semester with 6-8 hours of sleep every night (although I won't pretend my social life was at its peak that semester...)

The key is the efficiency of your studying, not the number of hours you study. I would suggest you start here.
For me, my greatest time saving strategy is studying exclusively from the lecture notes, none of that typing up notes from the book crap. it saves me hours and stuff from the lecture is all that is on the test anyway.

Good luck

 

[Poliscidoc]

I would suggest study groups and or tutors. And like everyone has said time management is the key.

Study Groups- Make sure its an actual study group, not a bunch of people with questions and no answers.

Tutor- At my school at least the first 30 hours of tutoring is free, it might be different at yours but I would look into it.

Hope this helps

 

[redrower]

I think it would benefit everyone thats being generous enough to provide advice if the OP would grace us with this daunting schedule. maybe then, we could help him with time management and show him that in fact getting sleep is manageable. however, if in fact he does have a seriously hellish schedule, which i SERIOUSLY doubt, i would investing in a lot of coffee...

give us a taste of this schedule and im sure well be able to give you more meaningful advice 🙂

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

If you're not getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night when your life is not out of your control (ie. not clinical years of med school or residency), you are doing something very wrong. Especially in college. Workload has nothing to do with it.

 

[lostking243]

haha, so I was just thinking about how I am taking 20 hours this fall and will not have enough time to study/sleep/etc, when I came across this thread.

well I took a ton of hours and was an RA last year and basically slept 3 hours a night by drinking a ton of caffeine and doing enough nicotine to kill a small cow. side effects? hallucinations, deja-vu, whenever I slept I had a massive crash on any alertness, whenever I ate I again crashed and wanted to sleep, and oh yeah: memory loss....so this year I am definitely not doing it again. my grades and life in general would have been so much better if I had simply slept a bit more.

But once in this routine it is so hard to break. you are tired and thus need more time to study, so you don't have time so sleep and then study more efficiently. you won't get the time to catch up on a super busy schedule, such as heavy course load + RA, etc.

but i think you can get by on 6 hours a night and still be alert. just do some caffeine in moderate amounts through out the day