big problem: fall asleep studying, please help

[docmemi]

hi there,
ive had a big problem for several years now. i fall asleep everytime i try to study and read. now, i can stay awake from 7 am to 4 am doing active stuff, but as soon as i try to read and study it makes me fall asleep. as you can imagine thats not good news for a medical student.
the interesting thing is that when i study for finals or for histopath or for anatomy, i dont fall asleep. i only fall asleep studying the lecture notes or reading the book.
anyone have a similar problem? please give me some advice so i dont fail out of med school? please.
thanks,
dm

 

[tupac_don]

hi there,
ive had a big problem for several years now. i fall asleep everytime i try to study and read. now, i can stay awake from 7 am to 4 am doing active stuff, but as soon as i try to read and study it makes me fall asleep. as you can imagine thats not good news for a medical student.
the interesting thing is that when i study for finals or for histopath or for anatomy, i dont fall asleep. i only fall asleep studying the lecture notes or reading the book.
anyone have a similar problem? please give me some advice so i dont fail out of med school? please.
thanks,
dm

That's not that unusual. I was like that too. It seemed like I always felt tired when I needed to study. But I overcame it, by forcing myself to study and drinking cofee. Seriously, after classes take a 2hr nap. Drink 2-3 cups of coffee, you will be wired and ready to go. You will study like a champ.

 

[omarsaleh66]

hi there,
ive had a big problem for several years now. i fall asleep everytime i try to study and read. now, i can stay awake from 7 am to 4 am doing active stuff, but as soon as i try to read and study it makes me fall asleep. as you can imagine thats not good news for a medical student.
the interesting thing is that when i study for finals or for histopath or for anatomy, i dont fall asleep. i only fall asleep studying the lecture notes or reading the book.
anyone have a similar problem? please give me some advice so i dont fail out of med school? please.
thanks,
dm

I had that problem in 1st yaer. It's important to have a routine. For example, wake up in the morning (6AM), study till 6PM or whatever and take the night off to watch tv, or go out or whatever. I dont ever take naps, cuz a 1-2 hr nap turns into a 5 hr nap everytime i try to take a nap. As long as u get 6-7 hrs a sleep a night, u should be straight. u dont need naps. and whenever u get tired , drink coffee. like the previous poster said.

gluck
Omar

 

[AF_PedsBoy]

I had the same trouble falling asleep while studying. I figured out when I'm most awake (~8 PM-2 AM) and drank plenty of coffee. More importantly, I stopped just reading the text, but I also started charting my notes. If you do it, you have to be able how everything relates to each other (...where do I put this on my freaking chart...) and you have ready to review notes when the test rolls around. Also you eventually start to recognize minutiae, because you think, "Wait, why the f**k am I writing this down. This is useless!" And because it's a lot more active, mentally, I fall asleep less. Be sure to also take a ten minute break every two hours and let your brain relax - we used to play a few rounds of Spades as a break and then go back to studying.

 

[thackl]

Some of us have the opposite problem. If I study too close to bed time, it takes me for ever to fall asleep.

 

[carrigallen]

When do you sleep, and for how long?

It sounds as though you may not be getting enough sleep, or you are studying during the bimodal part of your sleep pattern. (usually ~3 pm). Your circadian rhythm is set to have the most full and satisfactory sleep experience between 11 pm and 8 am. Of course people hardly ever achieve this.

To keep awake while studying, I like to take notes on what I am reading, doing things to actively keep the brain going helps keep me awake. Try prompting yourself on what you just read, looking things up in books, etc.

 

[docmemi]

thanks for your advice everyone.

ill try doing the note thing. but what happens is that i say, damn im tired, and i stop writing notes and go sleep! hahah. this is terrible.

 

[quideam]

Definetely take notes while you're reading/studying; and if you need it, no reason not to take a 2 hour nap. We get out of class at 1, and I usually nap until around 3, then get to studying by 4, and can keep it up until 1.

If that still doesn't work, try studying somewhere cold... you won't be comfortable enough to fall asleep 😉.

Quid

 

[docmemi]

Definetely take notes while you're reading/studying; and if you need it, no reason not to take a 2 hour nap. We get out of class at 1, and I usually nap until around 3, then get to studying by 4, and can keep it up until 1.

If that still doesn't work, try studying somewhere cold... you won't be comfortable enough to fall asleep 😉.

Quid

it turns out that when my time is running out, i.e., test coming up, i start getting scared and worrying and i dont fall asleep. maybe i get tired because i know i subconsciously know i have enought time to study it later, aka last minute.
i found that i am able to study if i sit in my car. i guess its too uncomfortable to sleep.
i dont know whats going on though. its been like this for a while. i need to fix it though because i could so much more studying done if i didnt fall asleep until last minute comes up.
any more advice? ill really try writing notes as i read. thanks for all of your help!

 

[LuckyMD2b]

hi there,
ive had a big problem for several years now. i fall asleep everytime i try to study and read. now, i can stay awake from 7 am to 4 am doing active stuff, but as soon as i try to read and study it makes me fall asleep. as you can imagine thats not good news for a medical student.
the interesting thing is that when i study for finals or for histopath or for anatomy, i dont fall asleep. i only fall asleep studying the lecture notes or reading the book.
anyone have a similar problem? please give me some advice so i dont fail out of med school? please.
thanks,
dm

"anyone have similar problems?"

If you're having trouble staying awake from 7am to 4am the next day, multiple times a week.

I think everyone in the world has that same problem -- and it's not a problem it's basic physiology. You may be a med student, but you are human too; and we all need to get a healthy amount of sleep.

I totally empathize with you, and get upset at myself too somtimes for not being able to stay up to study. But realize that if you are falling asleep it's because you're tired and haven't slept enough.

For me, I can be much more efficient if I'm well-rested, and not wrestling to maintain consciousness every other sentence.

Good luck finding a balance. I'm a 2nd year w/ USMLE's coming up and I don't know what I'm gonna do.

 

[docmemi]

"anyone have similar problems?"



Good luck finding a balance. I'm a 2nd year w/ USMLE's coming up and I don't know what I'm gonna do.

im sure you have heard this before, but a lady at my school who has been working there for 30 years said the best thing to do, for MS2 preping for usmle, is to have a schedule for everyday. and everyday allot some time to do something you like as exercise, tv, etc.

now ill be studying in the drivers seat of my car...

 

[dcpark74]

it turns out that when my time is running out, i.e., test coming up, i start getting scared and worrying and i dont fall asleep. maybe i get tired because i know i subconsciously know i have enought time to study it later, aka last minute.
i found that i am able to study if i sit in my car. i guess its too uncomfortable to sleep.
i dont know whats going on though. its been like this for a while. i need to fix it though because i could so much more studying done if i didnt fall asleep until last minute comes up.
any more advice? ill really try writing notes as i read. thanks for all of your help!

are you sad/depressed lately? just wondering...also, have you checked any symptoms you may have that may indicate hypothyroidism...weight gain, intolerance to cold, etc. is this a seasonal thing?

i'm being serious...not being an a$$.

i hope you get more energy to study. 🙂

 

[gioia]

Does anyone get tired when they try to exercise? Everytime I commit to exercise because I feel out of shape, it makes me more sleepy than when I am living on adrenaline - even after a few weeks of it.

I thought exercise gives one energy.

 

[45408]

I stopped studying at home, because I just give up after a little while and wander to the Internet or my bed.

I study in the library or cafeteria, pop a No-Doz or drink some Mountain Dew, listen to some music or study with a partner. This keeps me awake.

 

[Bad Mojo]

If I start dozing off, I stop and do some push-ups. It will wake you back up. If it doesn't work, at least you'll have really big arms. People will either be impressed by your great grades and study habits or by your really big arms.

 

[Southpawz]

If you live in a cold place, take a walk in a t-shirt. That'll wake you up good for a while! 😀

 

[Man In The Box]

Gioia-
Intense exercise makes you tired because you are stressing your body! In my experience it is counterproductive to work-out if you're not going to match your sleep and nutrition to your training. Maybe you should try walking around the hospital during off time instead of doing anything intense like running or lifting weights. How many hours of sleep do you get each night (be honest 🙂

 

[basupran]

Does anyone get tired when they try to exercise? Everytime I commit to exercise because I feel out of shape, it makes me more sleepy than when I am living on adrenaline - even after a few weeks of it.

I thought exercise gives one energy.

You say that you get tired when trying to exercise. Lack of motivation. Try to get a workout partner, or try to do something harder. Push yourself to failure, and then go some more. For example, go heavy, and set a certain # of reps and make sure you do them. For me, I get tired if I do not challenge myself, ie go balls to the wall. Good luck, and don't worry about getting big...you will not unless you make serious, conscious changes in your life(assuming you are female).

 

[gioia]

Gioia-
Intense exercise makes you tired because you are stressing your body! In my experience it is counterproductive to work-out if you're not going to match your sleep and nutrition to your training. Maybe you should try walking around the hospital during off time instead of doing anything intense like running or lifting weights. How many hours of sleep do you get each night (be honest 🙂

3-5 hours of sleep. Sometimes before exams I pull all-nighters because our exams are 8 am. But your right, I try to run and I get exhausted. Before the snow came, I rode my bike which was perfect.

But how can walking prevent my gluts, extensors, flexors, and their associated adipose from spreading to ungodly proportions? I am not fat by my peers standards but I am not lean anymore. So I am tired but I am hungry and feel like I need to exercise.

I actually crave PB&J, not tofu and I love cheese now more than ever. The really healthy thing I do is drink a ton of water and vit. supplements. But the excersize vs fatigue thing has me in a quandry.

I appreciate your opinion.

 

[Man In The Box]

That's a good strategy if you're a 20 something guy who eats plenty and sleep a reasonable amount. If you're a girl who hardly eats and is lacking sleep it's a recipe for failure. I bet she fits the latter description better than she fits the former! 😎

 

[gioia]

You say that you get tired when trying to exercise. Lack of motivation. Try to get a workout partner, or try to do something harder. Push yourself to failure, and then go some more. For example, go heavy, and set a certain # of reps and make sure you do them. For me, I get tired if I do not challenge myself, ie go balls to the wall. Good luck, and don't worry about getting big...you will not unless you make serious, conscious changes in your life(assuming you are female).

Well, it is true that I have lack of motivation when I think that cross country skiing will take me three hours and that, in three hours, I could get a whole load of work done (or post on SDN 😳 ) .

But thanks, that is actually food for thought. I didn't consider lack of motivation as a premise. 🙂 And I haven't drastically changed my diet: I'm still organo, I just linger longer near the sweet things- so maybe I won't wake up in a mumu this weekend....

 

[Man In The Box]

What you really need is more sleep. Can't you get at least 6 hrs? Do you have trouble falling asleep or just finding the time to sleep period? With that said, I'll bet that by eating clean and doing some moderate exercise (like walking) you could minimize the damage. Drinking black coffee might help speed up the metabolism too although that may not be the healthiest suggestion!

 

[gioia]

What you really need is more sleep. Can't you get at least 6 hrs? Do you have trouble falling asleep or just finding the time to sleep period? With that said, I'll bet that by eating clean and doing some moderate exercise (like walking) you could minimize the damage. Drinking black coffee might help speed up the metabolism too although that may not be the healthiest suggestion!

Well, it is hard to sleep, but there is also a mtn. of work to do. Between classes, reviewing those classes, scholarship app's, research and family there just isn't much time left. I guess I didn't think such few hours of sleep even bugged me. Maybe they do. That's stinky.

I think I will drink my coffee black, though. 🙂

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[BenYossarian]

If I start dozing off, I stop and do some push-ups. It will wake you back up. If it doesn't work, at least you'll have really big arms. People will either be impressed by your great grades and study habits or by your really big arms.

so THATS why your arms are so big. I must say, I am impressed.