How much sleep did u get?!

[metalrex]

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Hi folks,
Everyone asks bout erudite study timeframes, books n all d nitty gritty details,,,but I was wondering how much sleep u guys were gettin while u were studyin? I am averaging around 5 hrs daily n everyone around me thinks I'll burn out...imagine studyin all that U can and then losing out to the exam due to shortage of few quality zzzzzzzzzz'zzz! Just curious

Forgive me if u think this is too trivial of a detail but no detail is flimsy enough for the big beast .

Thanks!

 

[jmayer]

5 hours seems a little low. I would recommend around 7 hours so you can really process the information and be fresh to learn new material the next day. I'm not a fan of waking up tired and then caffeinating myself.

7 hours of sleep + 1 hr lunch break + 1 hr dinner + ~2 hr personal time, still leaves you with 12-14 hours of studying time which is more than enough.

do you end up napping during the day? if so, I suppose then its fine

 

[kryptik]

7hrs night sleep + 4hrs breaks

 

[FeedTheHippo]

6-8 hours of sleep.. 2 hours of break the entire day.. max should be 3.. At the end of the night, I'd come home and just lay infront of the tv for a cpl hours to relax..

12 hours a day of studying is what you wanna aim for i think

 

[illixir]

This is something I personally am very bad at. I had to wake up 4 days a week at 8 am during class and only got 6 or even 5 hrs then but during prep time I don't feel the urgency in waking up so I've been sleeping probably around 8-9 hours a night on average and at least 8 everyday. I'm trying to come out with 10-12 hrs put in each day but I usually end up with around 9 or so.

 

[FeedTheHippo]

This is something I personally am very bad at. I had to wake up 4 days a week at 8 am during class and only got 6 or even 5 hrs then but during prep time I don't feel the urgency in waking up so I've been sleeping probably around 8-9 hours a night on average and at least 8 everyday. I'm trying to come out with 10-12 hrs put in each day but I usually end up with around 9 or so.

If your starting your study day at 10 or 11.. What you gotta do is, force yourself to wake up a one morning at 7. Get to where ever your going to study by 8 am. And hit it really hard.. By 11am, stop for a minute.. And realize how much more you accomplished than someone that is strolling in now, at 11am (which was you!) haha.. This will motivate you to start getting up earlier, and give you that urgency you lack. 9 hours a day is not a good number.. Maybe 1 or 2 days a week. You gotta stay at 12, and if you fall short an hour or 2, its still 10 hours, which is pretty solid.

Good luck

 

[hartbot]

Along a similar line of things nobody has really discussed...

I plan on studying at home where my family lives. Do most ppl study at home or go to a public library?

 

[kryptik]

Along a similar line of things nobody has really discussed...

I plan on studying at home where my family lives. Do most ppl study at home or go to a public library?

I try to switch it up, mornings at home then lunch, go to library, then come home for dinner then study a little bit more

 

[wheresmyshoe]

Along a similar line of things nobody has really discussed...

I plan on studying at home where my family lives. Do most ppl study at home or go to a public library?

i studied at home where my family lives, too. it was especially helpful to me during the last 2 weeks of my preparation cus during those stressful weeks, i wanted ppl nearby...& that kept me sane. 😛 i still ate dinner as a family...just as usual. the familiarity really helped with the whole process.

as for hours of sleep...there was not a day where i slept less than 7 hours. =) i usually had around 8-9 hours of sleep during dedicated study time. i just did not like waking up & feeling tired when studying.. i didn't drink a single cup of coffee (not even tea..or any caffeinated drinks) during the whole boards studying process...not even during my exam about a week ago. 😀 i have drank 2 cups of coffee throughout med school so far. we'll see how long that will last during rotations....=P

 

[RaraBovis]

For how much time at a stretch can y'all study, with good concentration? (don't mean just being physically seated at the study table).

 

[1nycdoc8]

For how much time at a stretch can y'all study, with good concentration? (don't mean just being physically seated at the study table).

Rara, everyone's different. I think you should just go and sit down and figure how long YOU can study for and work off that.

 

[wheresmyshoe]

For how much time at a stretch can y'all study, with good concentration? (don't mean just being physically seated at the study table).

i started out with studying an hour with good concentration at the beginning of my studies...giving myself breaks here and there. later on, my stamina just built upon itself...and i found myself being able to study for about 3-4 hours with good concentration. but then again, that depends on if you are sleep deprived or not. my advice would be to never study when you are sleepy. when you are sleepy, then sleep/nap. it's that simple.

 

[metalrex]

i studied at home where my family lives, too. it was especially helpful to me during the last 2 weeks of my preparation cus during those stressful weeks, i wanted ppl nearby...& that kept me sane. 😛 i still ate dinner as a family...just as usual. the familiarity really helped with the whole process.

as for hours of sleep...there was not a day where i slept less than 7 hours. =) i usually had around 8-9 hours of sleep during dedicated study time. i just did not like waking up & feeling tired when studying.. i didn't drink a single cup of coffee (not even tea..or any caffeinated drinks) during the whole boards studying process...not even during my exam about a week ago. 😀 i have drank 2 cups of coffee throughout med school so far. we'll see how long that will last during rotations....=P

Great to note u took care of yr 'mind-body-soul' and kept it intact during the process👍...mine is almost fallin apart 😳

 

[doctorbaker]

I think it's definitely do-able to get 8 hours of sleep a night. I average between 7-9 during the school year, even before tests. To me, that is the most important thing - you need to be able to function if you're spending the rest of the day studying.

Try to take at least 30 minutes out of your day for yourself - whether that is to work out, relax, etc... you still need "you" time; otherwise you'll go insane.

 

[Nellyakgo]

You might all say its ridiculous but I need min.9 hrs sleep to feel OK/normal/non irritable etc. If I get 9hrs on a regular basis for a steady while then I can go down to perhaps 8 but 9 is better. If I miss an hour or 2 then for several days I need to go up to 10,11, 12 hrs of sleep. Yes, it's a drag because my work day is shortened.

I won't even write how many hours I manage to study becuase its pathetic for now.

My problem is focus/concentration. How do you avoid the traps of the internet, your e-mail, your facebook and simply all the tasks you could be doing at home?

 

[mq123]

You might all say its ridiculous but I need min.9 hrs sleep to feel OK/normal/non irritable etc. If I get 9hrs on a regular basis for a steady while then I can go down to perhaps 8 but 9 is better. If I miss an hour or 2 then for several days I need to go up to 10,11, 12 hrs of sleep. Yes, it's a drag because my work day is shortened.

I won't even write how many hours I manage to study becuase its pathetic for now.

My problem is focus/concentration. How do you avoid the traps of the internet, your e-mail, your facebook and simply all the tasks you could be doing at home?

I study at the library and don't take my laptop with me. That way, every time I have the urge to use the computer, I need to physically get up and walk out to where the computer lab is... I end up not wanting to do that too much because it seems like I'm constantly walking in and out of the room...

I do, however, need 'breaks' every hour or so. These usually involve taking a 5-minute walk around the area, getting something to drink, etc. It prevents me from dozing off too often...

 

[metalrex]

You might all say its ridiculous but I need min.9 hrs sleep to feel OK/normal/non irritable etc. If I get 9hrs on a regular basis for a steady while then I can go down to perhaps 8 but 9 is better. If I miss an hour or 2 then for several days I need to go up to 10,11, 12 hrs of sleep. Yes, it's a drag because my work day is shortened.

I won't even write how many hours I manage to study becuase its pathetic for now.

My problem is focus/concentration. How do you avoid the traps of the internet, your e-mail, your facebook and simply all the tasks you could be doing at home?

I agree with you, home is replete with distracting agents...or be it anywhere.What i find useful is to try keeping yr laptop closed at all times-except when u need to do UW or some questions or USMLE related stuff-I disconnect my 3G modem itself, so that all i can do is review texts n past tests! As far as facebooking is concerned, take a sabbatical and put it up on yr status--resist the urge to respond, you may also wanna set an auto responder on yr email.Do whatever u must, the whole idea is to isolate yrself for 2 months.

I dream of the day when i will be holding my stellar score in hand and partying with frndz n family....the euphoria,,,that brings me back to focus!

Good luck👍

 

[African]

I have what i call the 100 minute rule. i divide my day into 100 minute blocks, i do this about 3days a week when i have to go to class, i hate classes, i make sure i attend the minimum number of lectures anyway, unless it is a practical session. I start studying at 9am and i am done at 20.40(08.40pm) i use the rest of the evening to go to the gym, prepare food, talk to family and friends. The 100 minute rule is basically every 1.5hours of studying, take a 10minute break, that is 100minutes a session repeat this for three times and you have 4.5hours of pure study time and 30minutes worth of breaks, now take a 100minute lunch break(i know it is a lot, but i love breaks, material sinks in better when i take enough breaks), and come back and do three more sessions, so by the end of the day you have 9hours of pure study time, quality breaks, and enough time to go to the gym and prepare good food. remember i study all year long so your situation might be different if you have less time. I sleep about 8hours a day, i sleep a lot more during the summer, avg of 8-10. I can never imagine studying 20hours a day, i am fine with my schedule specially as someone who has always been in the top 2% of class. Remember it is about how much you understand, commit into memory and RETAIN that counts, not the shear number of books you read or questions answered. Another rule of mine: always go to bed before midnight.