Hours of sleep?

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There is no reason to be sleep deprived in MS1-2, except possibly during the last couple days leading up to an exam. If you're sleep deprived every night, you're (or they're) doing something wrong. Sleep now, because you won't always get a chance in MS3.
 
pincheeric said:
There is no reason to be sleep deprived in MS1-2, except possibly during the last couple days leading up to an exam. If you're sleep deprived every night, you're (or they're) doing something wrong. Sleep now, because you won't always get a chance in MS3.
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Word. I was ok (not great) at time management and always had time for 7 hours sleep. Well except for the times I chose to stay up a little later to watch a little extra TV. 8-9 hours on non-exam weekends. Well unless I was out late downtown. With proper time management, you can ALWAYS make enough time for yourself for plenty of sleep MS1-2. Then you can choose to give yourself that sleep, or more free time.

Some of your classmates are going to kill themselves in the beginning of MS1 because its what they think they need to do to succeed. Once they get a couple exams under their belt and realize that their current habits aren't sustainable, they'll cut back. Or keep going and go insane. I've seen both happen.
 
I am that classmate that gets no sleep and is on the insane pathway. Everything is coming at me so fast!!!!!!!!!!!🙁
 
Agreed. If you're sleep deprived M1 or M2, it's by choice. Which is perfectly okay. This is going to be the last time you can go out drinking or stay up late watching movies or playing video games for a long time.
Of course, you're going to be doing it a LOT less than high school undergrad, but it's still an option, an option that won't be around when third year rolls around.
 
During my first two years of medical school, I got anywhere from 7-9hrs (sometimes more, rarely less) mostly because I studied outside of the classroom. Aside from mandatory small groups and labs, I didn't attend lectures all that much. As lazy as it sounds, 9am was too early. Now, I wish I could go in at 9am. Most of 3rd year is all about being sleep deprived and learning to deal with your 4-6hrs of sleep. 4th year gets better depending on which rotation you're on.
 
M1 here...probably averaging 6-7 per night. The fact that I'm in class from 8-5 every damn day cuts down on studying time significantly.
 
Non-test block weeks = 9 - 10 hours per night (I'm am big on getting a lot of sleep whenever possible). Week before exams = 7 - 9 depending on how behind I am... A few days before and during test block = 3 or 4 hours a night plus a 2 hour nap after exams (that nap is the BEST!!! I usually sleep miserably before an exam due to fear, but that post-exam nap is solid).

I home-school and watch most lectures at double-speed, which really reduces my time spent studying. I also have found that when the pressure is off I cannot study if I am sleepy. I just fall asleep. When the pressure hits (week and a half before exams) I can focus for 12 - 14 hours a day just fine. I am also someone who believes that people who say they regularly study 12 hours a day are liars... but what do I know?
 
MS1,2: During the week ~5 hrs/day of sleep (maybe 3 at night and a 2 hour nap during the day). Weekends ~8hr/night. I actually get a bit more sleep right before tests sometimes (5-7hrs) because we sometimes have a day or two off (no class). I'm pretty sure that nearly all of my classmates get more sleep than that except right before exams.
 
7 hours on weekdays, 8 hours on weekends. Lots of time to study as well. It's all about efficiency.
 
UnderdogMD said:
How many hours of sleep did you/do you get on average during MS1-2. A lot of people in my class seem to be sleep deprived.
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I actually got as much sleep as I needed. I slept when I needed to sleep and was awake when I needed to be awake. I have always been something of an insomniac (average about 3-4 hours/night all my life) and adapted up or down as needed. The one thing that I didn't do was tell myself that if I didn't get X number of hours of sleep, I would be "deprived" the next day. I learned to "power nap" as a child and that works well for me. I also learned how to study and read when I was post call in residency.
 
Sleep
I certainly got more sleep first year than before med school when I was working 48hr/week at the hospital and going to school. In reality med school has kinda spoiled me.

Studying
As there are a few M1's here who are killing themselves studying, here's my two cents on med school studying performance anxiety:

Don't sit down and say: "OMG, if I don't know everything about the brachial plexus tonight, them I'm a complete failure." and then stay up all night learning it.
Instead, I recomend reviewing lecture notes/powerpoint slides every night. The stuff from that day, stuff from a previous week, and then repeat the new stuff again. Then go to sleep. If there's something that isn't making sense the first time, it's OK. You'll see it again and again and again. Significantly less stress.
Everything important in medicine is learned by repitition.

Stop killing yourself. You can go hogwild with the sleep deprivation thing when real people's lives are at stake, not when a few percentage points are depending upon you.
 
TheRealMD said:
7 hours on weekdays, 8 hours on weekends. Lots of time to study as well. It's all about efficiency.
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Yep... if you can't study everything while awake for 16 hours, you're out of your league I think.
 
I sleep 7-8 a night. If I'm behind the week before a test I might bump it down to 6. I also nap if I'm sleepy (<-- shocking behavior for a M2). I make it a priority to stay ahead of the game early in a test block so I don't ever end up overwhelmed. Right now I'm facing having to evacuate during the week before an exam and I know that I can still comfortably get thru all the material and sleep every night. If you can't afford to sleep you need to re-evaluate how you are studying and make it more efficient.
 
8 hours is best. I try to do 8 at night, but sometimes I'm really tired after class and can't focus to study. In which case, I break sleeping into intervals. 5-6 at night and 2-3 after class. That way, I'm more fresh for BOTH class and studying.
 
6-7 a night...usually closer to 6. I have been doing this for several years now though, so it is nothing new.

Although I must admit, when I can spare 20-40 minutes for a mid day snooze to break up the studying, I take advantage of it. Sharpens my mind for another couple hours of good studying.

I spend a fair amount of time with my wife and kids as well...but still have enough time for school.
 
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