MCAT Anxiety and Sleep

[Vasiley Zaitsev]

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hello fellow MCAT'ers...test in about 3 weeks...

here's the deal. I go to bed around 10, wanting to get up @ 7. I go to sleep rather soon, but wake up every 2-3 hours in between, working out MCAT problems as I wake up!! Does anyone else have this?

Also, every 2-3 hours, I'm dying of thirst..I get up, and go drink alot of water. Wake up again, and dying of thirst! 😕 Can anyone explain why?

owcc16

 

[Optimistic]

I also think it is the anxiety. I go to bed at 11.30 and I put alarm on for 6.15 but I keep snoozing off and usually get up around 7.15. I dont get thirsty but I get weird dreams where Iam killing somebody or somebody is killing me and all other weird stuff...Bad signs I know <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

 

[SarahL]

Gee, sorry to hear about this. I do the same thing when I'm worried about something and it leaves me completely exhausted.

Exercise always helps. Doing something completely unrelated to the MCAT, too. Going to a movie isn't good enough for me -- I need to have my mind fully engaged in something else, like going to the wine country north of San Francisco for the day with a group of friends and forbidding myself to talk about whatever I'm worried about. Good luck!

 

[LizardKing]

I became an insomniac for two weeks leading up to last April's test. I used to wake up periodically at night and do MCAT problems. I never got a normal sleep rhythm before the test. The night before the MCAT, I didn't sleep. I did fine on the test, but I think I could've done better.

No matter what, resist the urge to do problems in the middle of the night. Whatever it takes--melatonin, massages, 5-HTP, warm milk, hypnosis--have an emergency plan in case you cannot get to sleep in the nights prior to the test. Even still, you might not be able to sleep. I tried just about everything the night before, but I was too anxiety-ridden to get any sleep. So, don't be surprised if you simply can't sleep despite heroic efforts. The adrenaline of being at the test will wake you up, and it will carry you through most of the way.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I had that same problem around interview time/acceptance time. In fact, after I found out I had been accepted, I could not sleep AT ALL. I would lie awake at night and worry if I could do all the work, how hard it would be, etc. Thankfully, I got over that, but it was very stressful at the time! I'm sure it'll happen again the week before school starts :wink: .

 

[LizardKing]

Don't worry, this anxiety is perfectly normal and most MCAT takers are going through the same thing. I can't believe how much hell this whole process is! Because I'm having a worse time waiting for all these schools! Bring me back the MCAT!

 

[Dr. L]

Some MCAT sleep pointers that worked out well for me--start going to bed early and waking up early so that it isn't a shock to the system immediately before the test, try to take practice tests or study early in the morning so you get your brain adjusted to the morning hours, and I took one tylenol pm the night before the exam so I slept soundly.

A Kaplan suggestion was also to read part of the Wall Street Journal the morning before the test so that they exam isn't the first thing you've read all day.

Good luck!

 

[buglady]

OH man, you need sleep and lots of it!

Last year when I took the mcat, I was so run down and was definitely not getting enough sleep. My scores suffered because of this, I think, or at least it had some affect on them.

This year, I'm doing more stuff to relax myself. Yoga, run, listening to good music, etc. I don't want to be a tweaker on test day! When I started feeling sick last week, I went and saw the doc and he actually prescribed me a low dose sleeping aid. I really didn't want to take it, it kind of freaked me out. But, it actually worked. I fell asleep much faster and I don't wake up groggy. I'm not taking it right now, but it definitely help establish my sleep pattern. Try melatonin if you don't want to take prescription medicine!

ALso, B-complex vitamins, gingko, and all that fun herb stuff might help you a bit.

Whatever you do, don't waste your energy on worrying about the test...it'll do more harm than good!

Good luck! 😀

 

[cipher]

Make sure you do whatever you can to be rested on the day of the MCAT. I couldn't sleep for 2 days leading up to the test and my score suffered because of it. I almost cancelled my score at lunch but I decided to tough it out instead.
Get into a regular sleeping schedule a couple of weeks before the test and do your best to maintain that schedule. Others on this thread have mentioned using sleeping aids, sleeping aids, and different ways to help you sleep. Try these things out and see what works best for. Good luck!

 

[Herr Doktor]

I can only echo what has been said so far. Get into the routine. I tried to get up by 6:15, cause I know it takes my mind at least an hour to wake to full functionality. That meant in bed by 10:30, because 8 hours are necessary. What did it for me was running. I would go running in the evening, and in fact still do since I took the MCAT last year. It has helped my whole biological clock become tuned to regularity. I come home, shower and unwind. No more studies at night, just a good book that is not MCAT related at all and the sleep comes and stays all night. This way I was well rested and really cut down on my anxiety the day of the test.

To be honest though, I was still nervous. We all are. Best thing is to realize that and accept it and not fight it. Things seem to go more smoothly then.