Sleep, and performance

[acamus]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am a premed student. To preface without too much importance to my main question my oGPA is 3.76; and I grasp all of the information in all of my classes without too much difficulty of dexterity of comprehension or recall. I am encountering a problem, and I need to know how important my difficulty really is! Over the past 4 months or so I have had consecutive nights of sleep on the order of 5 hours. After the third day, my cognitive faculties (of course) start to diminish. I need to know how much is ok?!

I am seriously worried, about being in the (hopefully) position of being in a resident position and washing out after 6 more additional years of undergrad and med school years. My intellectual ability to grasp and then to use an idea or function has so far, been in my estimate about average with my premed peers, and my doctors that I have shadowed with are at times impressed with my ability to know whats going on.

With the lack of sleep question, after the third day of -5 hrs sleep or going into a 24+ without sleep if put in a hard situation is it normal to seriously question yourself with details like: have I already done that?, was my math really right on that without a calculator?, or forgetting a phone number and not being about to recall it after a little dedicated thought? How much is ok?

I need honest advice, so far when I ask doctors I know in person they say "well just keep working hard, Im sure you'll be ok"

Any and all Input would be appreciated of the utmost.

 

[ndafife]

I honestly cannot tell if you are serious (and 90% insane) or if this is a troll-attempt.

If you get less sleep than you are used to and feel tired, obviously youre going to be a little slow.

 

[AspiringERMD]

I don't think this is a troll attempt. It's a legitimate worry to wonder if other people have had trouble with patients when extremely sleep deprived and to ask how they dealt with it. I've stayed up for 48 consecutive hours exactly once and I started to have mild auditory and visual hallucinations. Not the mental state you'd want to be in when treating people. Though I'm hoping residents don't stay up that long!

 

[acamus]

well im hoping the first response was not significant! This is a serious thread though. Please, any physicians out there? How do you mitigate performance and sleep loss in your experience?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

well im hoping the first response was not significant! This is a serious thread though. Please, any physicians out there? How do you mitigate performance and sleep loss in your experience?

I dont think its the question... I think it is how you are asking the question... I have known a gunner or two in my day and simply by your writing you have "gunner" and/or troll written all over you.

Ease up on the linguistics, humble yourself, and you might receive more proper responses. Just my take...

As for your question, there are lots of different specialties with drastically different lifestyles. You sack up and get through residency and then you go in whatever field you would like to practice in the rest of your life. The amount of rest and relaxation time is inversely proportional to the amount of money you want to make. Same can be said of pretty much any career.

 

[Kochanie]

I once stayed up a night during winter break and then decided to do all my homework, it actually took me 3-4 times longer to do the work, so get as much sleep as you need. I actually thrive on 5-6 hours, but others don't.

 

[Monika12]

-