Going to bed at 7-8 PM waking up at 3-4 AM

[Mister T]

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I know this is a little weird, but I was wondering if anyone has ever done something like this before.

My May 1st MCAT is at 8 AM, and since I am not a morning person but a night owl , I have decided to shift my schedule from waking up at 9-10 AM down to 3 AM gradually. I've noticed that if I try to emulate 8 AM MCAT testing times, my attention span, focus, and "seriousness" is down, but around 12-3 PM I feel good, really good if I wake up at my "preferred" time which is 9-10 AM.

So over the past week I have brought my sleep schedule back (through a combination of exercising in the morning, blue light therapy in the morning for 45 minutes or so, and taking a very small dose .05 mg of melatonin time release at night) to around 4 AM naturally. In other words I get sleepy around 8 AM and I wake up at 4 AM, but I plan on shifting it a bit earlier to 7 PM and waking up at 3 AM.

I noticed that by doing this, I wake up naturally, feel well rested, and because I have 5 hours or so before the exam, I can do a lot of "warm up," watching some tv, playing video games, erading some articles, and doing some practice problems before the exam at 8 AM.

It seems to be pretty effective so far.

Anyone else?

 

[Ranger222]

Yeah I did this, but started three weeks before the test waking up at 6am (my test was at 8am this morning but my testing center was 5 minutes from where I live). This morning before the test I ate a huge breakfast, and nice cup of coffee, and finished it off with a 5 hour energy. I was wired at the start of the test and more than 13 hourse later I am still wired. I highly recommend getting use to the time of day when you will take your test. However, if your test is in May, why are you starting so early?

 

[J ROD]

why not just get an afternoon test? 🙄

 

[Mister T]

why not just get an afternoon test? 🙄

They don't offer it for any of the april or may dates that I was interested in. The May 1st date works perfectly in my schedule actually because I'll get my score back a month later, and I can determine whether or not I will have to take the June 17th one.

I plan on just studying after the May 1st one anyways just in case (especially after investing 3-4 months on this? I'm not just going to drop all that knowledge over a month nuh uh no way).

Fortunately, the June 17th one is an afternoon one.

 

[IndianVercetti]

Mister T, I applaud you for at least trying to take a natural means to fix your sleep pattern. Don't rely on supplements and sleep aids like melatonin though. If you exercise, study hard, and get a regular sleep pattern, you won't need any drugs. I promise you that.

 

[Marcus Brody]

It's not a terrible idea but you could burn out pretty easily.

 

[phungus]

I was having a hard time with sleep. (I took the Jan 29, 8am test.) For at least three weeks before my test day, I tried everything I could to sleep early and wake up feeling refreshed (red wine, hard liquor, half a sleeping pill, etc. [not all in one night]) I ended up drinking some chamomile tea on the night before my test and it worked. Also, I was pretty tired from work that day, so that also helped me fall asleep earlier than normal.

From my experience, because I had spent so much time studying for this exam (nearly 6 months) that came test week, I barely touched an MCAT book. I just couldn't study any more and I needed to relax for the test. I chose the 8am test time because I wanted to wake up, focus, and take the test with no time for distractions. That's how I am and I'm wondering if doing practice problems the morning of your test day would be the best "warm up." Just wanted to let you know because after I took the test, my head hurt for the remainder of the day. It wasn't a huge headache, but a little pain in the back of my head. My advice for any MCAT taker is have your mind relaxed, refreshed, and prepared for the lengthy exam. Good luck!

Oh and just in case this information would be of any use: I had some coffee and a good breakfast, nothing too heavy. During my breaks, I had a little snack and before the BS section, I drank half a bottle of that 5 hour energy drink. I was a bit tired by the end of the exam, but I was able to focus through it all. If anything, I had a bad itch on the back of my ankle and that bugged me more than anything during the test. Be comfy.

 

[J ROD]

They don't offer it for any of the april or may dates that I was interested in. The May 1st date works perfectly in my schedule actually because I'll get my score back a month later, and I can determine whether or not I will have to take the June 17th one.

I plan on just studying after the May 1st one anyways just in case (especially after investing 3-4 months on this? I'm not just going to drop all that knowledge over a month nuh uh no way).

Fortunately, the June 17th one is an afternoon one.

just take the 6/17 then.....😕

 

[Mister T]

just take the 6/17 then.....😕

nah, because i don't want to extend my studying up to 6 months and even 7 if need be. 3-4 months is the most optimal amount of time for this exam, as anything beyond that will just be pointless imo.

That's cutting almost into 3/4ths of a year for an exam that is 50% hard work/preparation and 50% luck/intelligence/randomness. Not worth the time imo.

And it also starts getting late into the application cycle if I screw up the June 17th one, then see when my score comes out July 17th or so, and then freak out and decide whether or not to take the July 21 or August 1 one or hwatever (which is too late in teh application cycle).

How come you're on probationary status btw? Lol, did you offend the MODs on SDN or something?

 

[vanillabreen]

I know this is a little weird, but I was wondering if anyone has ever done something like this before.

My May 1st MCAT is at 8 AM, and since I am not a morning person but a night owl , I have decided to shift my schedule from waking up at 9-10 AM down to 3 AM gradually. I've noticed that if I try to emulate 8 AM MCAT testing times, my attention span, focus, and "seriousness" is down, but around 12-3 PM I feel good, really good if I wake up at my "preferred" time which is 9-10 AM.

So over the past week I have brought my sleep schedule back (through a combination of exercising in the morning, blue light therapy in the morning for 45 minutes or so, and taking a very small dose .05 mg of melatonin time release at night) to around 4 AM naturally. In other words I get sleepy around 8 AM and I wake up at 4 AM, but I plan on shifting it a bit earlier to 7 PM and waking up at 3 AM.

I noticed that by doing this, I wake up naturally, feel well rested, and because I have 5 hours or so before the exam, I can do a lot of "warm up," watching some tv, playing video games, erading some articles, and doing some practice problems before the exam at 8 AM.

It seems to be pretty effective so far.

Anyone else?

I think you're over thinking the test. Don't let it become you. Then again, this is coming from the person who only studied for 3.5 weeks! 😱

 

[J ROD]

nah, because i don't want to extend my studying up to 6 months and even 7 if need be. 3-4 months is the most optimal amount of time for this exam, as anything beyond that will just be pointless imo.

That's cutting almost into 3/4ths of a year for an exam that is 50% hard work/preparation and 50% luck/intelligence/randomness. Not worth the time imo.

And it also starts getting late into the application cycle if I screw up the June 17th one, then see when my score comes out July 17th or so, and then freak out and decide whether or not to take the July 21 or August 1 one or hwatever (which is too late in teh application cycle).

How come you're on probationary status btw? Lol, did you offend the MODs on SDN or something?

Well, I agree the noone should study more than 3-4 months....however, I would have just waited for an afternoon in Jun and then retake in July...it would not put you behind...if the afternoon is that important.

Honestly, if you can get jacked up enough to take it and be awake at 7AM in the morning, then what are you going to do when you have to be at the hospital at 5-6AM. Just do it....that simple...time is irrelevant.

Mod with a powertrip....the post is still up even....

 

[Mister T]

Well, I agree the noone should study more than 3-4 months....however, I would have just waited for an afternoon in Jun and then retake in July...it would not put you behind...if the afternoon is that important.

Honestly, if you can get jacked up enough to take it and be awake at 7AM in the morning, then what are you going to do when you have to be at the hospital at 5-6AM. Just do it....that simple...time is irrelevant.

Mod with a powertrip....the post is still up even....

Yeah, I thought about doing the June one then July in case, but I already thought about that as my Plan C --- ultimate bail out plan in case the 2nd one screws up too.

And don't worry about the mods with power trips, SDN is well known for its increasingly politically correct and authoritarian system, it comes with the territory