Sleep or study

[Aerus]

So you have an exam tomorrow, and it's the final. You haven't studied very well for it, but if you continue to study you are going end up with less than 5 hours of sleep. Would you rather sleep or continue studying? I'd rather sleep. IDK how the H*ll my friends do all nighters.

Depends on the situation:

1) I know absolutely NOTHING. I would pull an all nighter. It's better to be tired as hell and know SOMETHING than to feel good and know NOTHING. Contrary to what people believe, those 5-6 hours WILL make a difference. Even without cramming, I put about 5-6 hours into a typical class per quarter anyways LOL.

2) I know SOMETHING about the material. Sleep. I like to feel good about life and I can think better when I'm well rested.

With that said, I've never pulled an all nighter in my life.

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[Psai]

You had all semester to study, why are you waiting until the night before to do those 5 hours?

 

[listener23]

Study!!! You can sleep the summer before med school starts

 

[pepocho]

.

 

[mehc012]

You had all semester to study, why are you waiting until the night before to do those 5 hours?

The question here is not 'why did you put yourself in this situation'. It's 'what do you do now?'

 

[Boolean]

The question here is not 'why did you put yourself in this situation'. It's 'what do you do now?'

Honestly though, I'm sure you can turn it into a learning experience. Assuming you do pass, you've learned not to do that again because it likely made you feel terrible afterwards (physically, emotionally, etc). If you didn't pass, even more inspiration.

 

[EngineerPreMD]

I think this is my biggest issue with sleep: driving. If I only had to walk, that would be okay. But the thought of being in a one ton death machine at 70mph endangering the lives of those around me really dissuades me from pulling all-nighters.

Agreed. If I had to drive I would definitely not be doing this. In fact, I usually ride my bike everywhere since I live pretty far off campus, but I won't even do that if I didn't sleep the night before. Far too dangerous to be out on the road, especially in a car, if you haven't slept. It would really be selfish to do this honestly.

 

[Psai]

The question here is not 'why did you put yourself in this situation'. It's 'what do you do now?'

That's true. I guess it depends on what the class is. If it's some English or History class, I'd rather sleep but if it's physics then I would pump out the few hours and sleep after the test is over.

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

Study. I can do okay with 3 hours of sleep, and then crash after the exam. Plus there's a lot you can learn in even just 1 hour. So for me, 1 hour of focused studying >>> 1 hour of sleep, as long as I get 3 hours minimum. But I see my choice is in the minority here!

100% this for me also.

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

I've pulled more all nighters than I'd like to admit through the last few years of college. it mostly ends up in over studying due to anxiety of digging myself out of a GPA hole lol, but in the cases where I had three exams or something and couldn't study prior, they work wonders. I've learned tons of material in one night, even acing biochem exams after an all nighter. makes you hate your life afterwards, but grades > sleep right now for me if I have to make the choice.

 

[nOchemallday]

Thus, I only pull full all-nighters. But then, once I pass the 'sleepy' phase of the night, I get a new surge of energy and do not get tired again until the next afternoon.

Has something to do with your circadian rhythym. If you ever stay up for multiple days you'll notice that the rhythym adapts to not sleeping and the sense of "tiredness" disappears altogether.

 

[mehc012]

Has something to do with your circadian rhythym. If you ever stay up for multiple days you'll notice that the rhythym adapts to not sleeping and the sense of "tiredness" disappears altogether.

Yup. As I said, I can usually do up to 3 in a week, but I do get loopy by the end.
All-nighter 1: stop being able to stay warm. One period of 'holy crap I am tired' in the early afternoon.
All-nighter 2: become nauseated. Tired all day, but not sleepy, so I can't really nap.
By the third in a week (not necessarily consecutive) I am just stupid...but I can still take tests. Carry on a conversation? Nope. Pull an A? Yup. Funny how that works.

 

[Served]

The hell with caffeine! How can you even fall asleep knowing the fact that you don't know anything for the final exam?

If I'm going to get the same exact failing grade on the exam, I would rather fail with the knowledge that I tried my best. If I went to sleep instead of studying, I would never be able to forgive myself.

And quite frankly, all-nighters saved my arse quite a few times in the past. Of course, I do whatever I can to avoid it, but when **** hits the fan, you just gotta do it.