method for getting a good night's rest

[swamprat]

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I'm taking the MCAT in september, about the 3rd weak of classes @ 8 AM. Naturally my anxiety level will increase and it will be hard if not impossible to fall asleep at a decent hour the night before. So what I was thinking was prepping myself with sleep deprivation for 3-4 days before the test. So for example, lets say I go to bed at 1AM, my alarm will be set up 5 or 6 and ill continue on this cycle until hopefully the night before I'm tired enough where my mind won't be racing and I can fall asleep by 10-11PM. Good idea? Any other methods that may have worked?

 

[amar21]

could work

just dont take a sleeping pill before the exam, you may not wake up 😴

i took a over-the-counter melatonin pill last week before doing a practice exam, i wokeup late the next day and even 2hours later my mind was extremely slow

 

[GoldShadow]

Sleep deprivation is not a good idea; your body feels the effects of it for days afterward.

Just start going to bed very early and waking up very early, so it will be easier for you to fall asleep early on test day. Do enough exercise to make you tired; avoid caffeine, sugar and alcohol.

If you've been doing practice tests and practice material, just think of this as another part of that routine.

Surely, you've been through a couple stressful experiences by now (including other tests), so just do your best to mentally keep your anxiety level in check.

 

[nityking]

haha.. I was wondering if it was only me having this problem. I guess not but yo, sign up for the afternoon administration as you'll have plenty of time to get fresh till noon. I've hard time waking up early in the morning to do any kinda studying, which they say is the best time to study. I like my sleep too much and as a result, signed up for 2pm one cuz then I can still sleep from 12/1 till 9/10 as usual. And then still have plenty of time to get ready, eat and review my kaplan quicksheets/flash cards to wrap it up.

 

[cornpops21]

I wouldn't recommend that. If you're running on 4 hours of sleep for a consecutive number of days, then on the night you do get decent sleep, you might tune out your alarm clock and end up sleeping longer than you planned. It's happened to me before.

A better method is to set a good sleep schedule 1-2 weeks before your test date.

 

[requeim]

yeah. i agree with the op. you have to put your body in the rhythm of getting up early and such. that's the only natural way to do what you want.

 

[thatscorrect7]

yeah start getting up at the time youre going to wake up for the test like 3 weeks before the test date
i actually take melatonin i dont think i have a problem with it..
just expose yourself to a little bit of light then youll be pretty much fully awake

 

[MonsterAddict]

Get some Ambien, take it a couple times to see how your body reacts. If all is good, the problem solved. Worked for me

 

[dhbighit]

I know EXACTLY how you feel right now. I have always had the hardest time going to bed early/waking up early. However, I figured out something that worked for me. Like someone said earlier its important to get on a schedule, I know that seems difficult, but so is studying a bunch for the mcat, it just takes self-discipline. I started going to bed around 11 a couple months before the mcat and waking up at 8 then about a month before the mcat I started trying to go to bed around 10-10:30 and waking up at 7:00. MOST IMPORTANTLY, the day before the test I did a lot of activity outside in the sun. I said a good prayer before I went to sleep, did my best to relax, and then my alarm sounded waking me up at 6:30, best sleep ive ever gotten. As for how I did on the test, well, we will see in a couple days.

Also, I practiced waking up and taking practice tests at the EXACT time my exam was scheduled, which I think helped me. Good luck man, you will figure it out and be fine, just relax...... or try to anyway

 

[dhbighit]

1 more thing..... This was my second time taking it, the first time I took it at noon, and although im not sure I did better, I felt a lot better about it. Even though I would consider myself NOT a morning person at all, I feel like once I trained myself, I was able to focus a lot more this time because it was in the morning. So I would suggest taking it in the morning, but do whatever makes YOU feel the most confident, thats whats important.

 

[scaredoflife]

Pssh sleep methods, don't sleep thats the best way. You are awake and ready to go so no worries about being focused for the test haha.

 

[requeim]

ambien monsteraddict? lol

benadryl also works

 

[J ROD]

I took a benadryl about 2PM the day before the MCAT (8AM admin).

It made me sleepy and relaxed my anxiety level. Plus, I actually got some sleep the night before. Around 5hrs.

As a pharm student, I will say that you need to take it several times to see how you metabolize the drug. It hits me pretty hard and lasts awhile so I took it early in the day. When I woke up, I was refreshed as could be.

I just wish I would have taken the No Doz in the morning to be awake for the PS section, lol!!

 

[Travisgee]

If I'm stressed, need to focus, or need to sleep, then I run. I would suggest an exercise routine over sleeping pills.

 

[side effect]

I had an unbelievably hard time getting to sleep 2 nights ago before my MCAT (took the 8/7). I went to bed at 930 and read something really boring knowing that I'd wouldn't fall asleep right away. Even after reading almost an entire book, I was still not tired and very anxious, and I ended up not falling asleep until about 4:30am when my alarm was set for 6:00. And I didn't even sleep that whole time. So I took the MCAT on about an hour of sleep. I had also played about 3 hours of tennis earlier that day, in the middle of the day and I was exhausted afterwards.

My suggestion: xanax, valium, or other comparable benzodiazepine.

 

[swamprat]

I had an unbelievably hard time getting to sleep 2 nights ago before my MCAT (took the 8/7). I went to bed at 930 and read something really boring knowing that I'd wouldn't fall asleep right away. Even after reading almost an entire book, I was still not tired and very anxious, and I ended up not falling asleep until about 4:30am when my alarm was set for 6:00. And I didn't even sleep that whole time. So I took the MCAT on about an hour of sleep. I had also played about 3 hours of tennis earlier that day, in the middle of the day and I was exhausted afterwards.

My suggestion: xanax, valium, or other comparable benzodiazepine.

 

[requeim]

you do that these are controlled substances..

 

[GoldShadow]

I usually load up on coke right before a test.

I prefer inject-er, I mean, drinking it. You know, because it's a drink.

 

[salsanchiplvr]

Honestly, I would stay away from any sort of medication. Train your body like any other "athlete" would do (the natural and healthier way) and you'll be fine 🙂

Being anxious and having a flood of information filtrating your brain at every minute winding up to the day of the exam is unavoidable, so the best thing to do is know that it is going to happen, and don't let it overwhelm you. The best thing I suggest for this is don't allow yourself to be alone with your thoughts the whole day! Ok this sounds funny, but it's true. Have just enough alone time to stay focused, but make sure to make phone calls, or just hang out with your good friends that will help you keep you relaxed, while their still understanding that you can't just kill the stress with a couple of beers 😉

As for me, the day of the test I did some light reviewing, I did about an hour of swimming to release some stress, came home and got ready to take off; (since my testing center was about an hour from my house, I decided to stay at a nearby hotel with my best friend). IT'S THE BEST DECISION I COULD HAVE MADE!! Not only did I not have to worry about traffic or possibly oversleeping (I was only 5 mins away) but staying with my best friend kept me relaxed...I didn't have time to overthink or psych myself out since I was too busy chatting away with her and cracking jokes, all the while she comforted me and boosted my confidence about my abilities...I had a bit of trouble falling alseep (as I predicted) but it was nothing like I had experienced on prior night-before-the-test nights. Plus, since I wasn't in the comforts of my own home, i wasn't tempted to stay up and watch my usual TV programming, so I ACTUALLY got to bed at 10:30 (compared to my usual bedtime of 2am!)

Another thing that can help is to mentally prepare the week of the exam for the possible thoughts and anxieties you might have the night before...doing this I actually had the "I woke up late/i blanked out/did horrible" nightmare about two days prior to the test...I was happy to have gotten it out of the way! lol

For anthing in life, knowing what to expect (or running through the possibilities ahead of time) is always more comforting, thus avoiding any major surprises. This is why everyone says to do practice tests, and try to take them as serious as you would the day of the exam. So a couple weeks prior, focus on practicing all other factors revolving the test: sleeping times, thought processes, meals, even maybe getting used to watching a specific show every night or talking with the same person that you know will instill positive and relaxing thoughts...

Hope all this helped (I know, it's long...sorry) and best of luck!!!

 

[thewendster]

I took the 7/18 MCAT. I had been worried about getting enough sleep because I tend to get really restless before major tests. Back in high school I remember lying in bed staring at the ceiling until 2 or 3 in the morning the morning of my SAT. Anyways, I developed a plan for myself that worked. Here is the breakdown of what I did to get 8 full hours of good sleep:

1 week before MCAT: I usually wake up at 7:30am but since I was taking an 8am test I shifted my schedule to waking up at 6:00am

3 days before MCAT: I experimented with herbal melatonin, found at my local health food store. I woke up after a night of deep sleep and was not groggy at all so I decided it was safe to use for the test. Also, I had been drinking green tea during my months of studying. I cut all caffeine at this point.

Day before the MCAT: no more studying. I laid out everything I would need for the day of the MCAT: salmon jerky, healthfood gatoraid type drink, powerbars, email confirmation for test, ID, my outfit, etc. Then I did a 10 mile leisurely bike ride with my sister down at the beach.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chanfields/2677537349/

She made a nice brunch for me to eat. After that I got a massage and facial. At 6 I went to eat a nice long dinner with my boyfriend. By 8pm I was feeling drowsy. I took a melatonin, spent 30 minutes in my apartment's jacuzzi, did 30 minutes of medatative yoga and by 9:30pm I was out in a deep restful sleep. I slept until 5:45am and when I woke up I was totally refreshed. I felt really good taking my MCAT too. Several sleepy-looking MCAT people around me were chugging red bulls and coffee. During the breaks they would complain about being jittery and unfocused. Random side note: one girl at my test had THOUGHT that she had registered for that day but actually her payment had not gone through. She left in a fit of tears because there was no room for her to take a test. So check out your **** ahead of time. Confirm your testing day, center, spelling of name, etc before the day of the test!

 

[ladyoflies]

3 days before MCAT: I experimented with herbal melatonin, found at my local health food store. I woke up after a night of deep sleep and was not groggy at all so I decided it was safe to use for the test. Also, I had been drinking green tea during my months of studying. I cut all caffeine at this point.

It's about three/four days before my mcat, do you think I should try out the melatonin or not risk it messing me up for studying the rest of this week? So far, I've been setting my alarm for 6am. I wake up but decide that it's not worth getting up so I sleep until 8 or 8:30ish. I'm sure if it's actual MCAT day, the nerves would keep me up?

 

[nevinleiby]

It's about three/four days before my mcat, do you think I should try out the melatonin or not risk it messing me up for studying the rest of this week? So far, I've been setting my alarm for 6am. I wake up but decide that it's not worth getting up so I sleep until 8 or 8:30ish. I'm sure if it's actual MCAT day, the nerves would keep me up?

yeah...I went to bed at pretty much my normal time (10:30) then I woke up at 4:40 the day of my test in the middle of a dream about my sister trying to talk about the mcat...for the next 1.5 hrs when I should have been sleeping all I could think about was "1) do not talk about the mcat 2) do not talk about the mcat 3) do not talk about the mcat"

frick, frick, frick...

 

[Nikki2002]

I would start an exercise routine. maybe start a routine of hitting the campus gym in the evening? perhaps try swimming--that always wears me out.

 

[Success0808]

Try simply sleep by tylenol.