how can you knock yourself out the night before the exam

[dknykid1980]

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just wondering...how/or what is a good way to knock yourself out the night before a exam when you get the jitters? someone on this forum said that the night before the USMLE they tried Ambien and it was pretty good. I just dont feel like using a RX like that.

another suggestion that was made to me was drinking Benadryl the night before. is there any validity to that? is it dangerous? etc? i mean its an OTC med for allergies so I cant really imagine it being to dangerous, plus someone said that in hospitals thats what they give patients sometimes to knock them out???

awwwwwwww...the things one does to get throw med school =)

thanks for any feedback.

 

[edfig99]

i dunno...I mean, (and I am not giving medical advice here) benadryl IS an OTC antihistamine and does make people drowsy, but it can linger in your system well beyond when your alarm clock goes off, and you don't want anything to be interfering with your thoughts the next morning....you need those neurons to fire as fast as you can.

try to stick to your usual routine, even up until the night before an exam... try to keep up with the material as the course goes an d you will never have to stay up too late to begin with. avoid caffeine the night before, and stay away from the computer and tv (they rev up the brain)....you'll still be jittery, sure, but you'll drift off and eventually fall asleep... the adrenaline during the exam will keep you awake in case you get less hours than you normally need.

 

[ckent]

Don't worry about it if you aren't able to get a good nights rest before an exam. Studies have shown that being a few hours sleep deprived for one night shouldn't effect your test results. Especially if it's a multiple choice test. Just make sure that you get plenty of sleep the night before the day before of the exam (eg don't set your alarm the day before the test) and you should be fine. And on the night before the exam, just make sure that you stop studying no matter how much more you think that you need to study around 9 pm and then just go relax. Your yield of studying will actually be higher if you stop early and relax instead of pulling an all nighter.

 

[Qafas]

I agree with CKent...don't pull all-nighters. I don't think they help much. First of all, pace yourself in the days leading up to the exam. If you are well prepared by then, you won't worry too much about the exam. The night before the exam, hit the sack early and, if you must, wake up early the next morning to do a last review. That way you will have gotten a good rest and are likely to benefit from the review.
Finally, remember that you are in med school to learn. While grades do matter, don't get so caught up in them that you forget to learn and have fun.

with regards

 

[Winged Scapula]

Agree with the above posters.

It is true that Benadryl is often used for its soporific effects but while it may make you fall asleep it won't necessarily keep you asleep (same for Ambien) - there is a recognized "hangover" effect in some people as well. I'd stay away from anything which is outside your normal routine.

Have a good dinner, exercise late in the afternoon (nighttime exercise can keep you awake), keep the room coolish and try to relax. Easier said that done but all in all, missing a few hours of sleep won't significantly affect your performance.

Best of luck...

 

[Dr. Xavier]

Smoke some indo, and sip some jin and juice.

 

[Skip Intro]

Originally posted by dknykid1980
just wondering...how/or what is a good way to knock yourself out the night before a exam when you get the jitters? someone on this forum said that the night before the USMLE they tried Ambien and it was pretty good. I just dont feel like using a RX like that.

another suggestion that was made to me was drinking Benadryl the night before. is there any validity to that? is it dangerous? etc? i mean its an OTC med for allergies so I cant really imagine it being to dangerous, plus someone said that in hospitals thats what they give patients sometimes to knock them out???

awwwwwwww...the things one does to get throw med school =)

thanks for any feedback.

Kid-

Don't experiment with drugs on your own, even OTC ones. Bad habit to get started in Med School. Besides, I woke up every hour on the hour the night before Step I, and I still scored 230+.

Also, it's abundantly clear that you're bit of the nervous type. Maybe you should talk to a psychiatrist at your school, Howard University. Perhaps a good psychiatrist can get you on a legitimate pharmacotherapy as well as offer some talk therapy as to why you're not sleeping. Insomnia and early awakening can be a sign of depression, you know. In your case, it may be an anxiety-depression combination.

(Also, it's "through" not "throw".)

-Skip

 

[gator2886]

I felt the best thing for this was get in a very early routine a couple of weeks before the boards, ie go to bed at 9p, get up at 6a. Exercise every day and then the day before the exam...workout really hard. Like do it twice or something. Don't do a whole bunch of weights just do extra cardio. That way you wont pull any muscles. Hope this helps

 

[Street Philosopher]

my quick fix, non-judgmental advice is to take benadryl, but try it first a few days before to make sure you don't have any undesired side effects. i used it once to sleep and i had a good night sleep and woke up the next day feeling extremely refreshed.

 

[uclacrewdude]

Read the textbook. That always puts me down for the night.

 

[gwyn779]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
my quick fix, non-judgmental advice is to take benadryl, but try it first a few days before to make sure you don't have any undesired side effects. i used it once to sleep and i had a good night sleep and woke up the next day feeling extremely refreshed.

I have allergies that I don't take prescription meds for, so I would take just 1 benadryl the night before a test. Then I would take 1 sudafed in the morning as a decongestant and also to couteract any possible left-over drowsiness. Really, I got to sleep sooner and then slept better because I could breathe. The sudafed obviously also helped with that whole breathing better thing. But definitely don't try anything like this for the 1st time the night before the test.