so who didn't sleep before the MCAT?

[javandane]

yeah, MCAT question, but posting in this forum because i think more of you who've actually taken the thing are reading here. . . .

anyway, the first thing i tend to lose when i'm anxious is sleep, and something tells me i may have a little anxiety the night before the exam.

what did everyone do to ensure adequate sleep the night before?

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[Kazema]

I did sleep, but only for 2 or 3 hours. I just made sure to get plenty of sleep leading up to the test, so the one night didn't really affect me. I was afraid of taking any sleeping aids because I'd never used them before and didn't know if they'd have any side effects.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I slept late the night before the night before.

 

[BubbleBobble]

yeah, MCAT question, but posting in this forum because i think more of you who've actually taken the thing are reading here. . . .

anyway, the first thing i tend to lose when i'm anxious is sleep, and something tells me i may have a little anxiety the night before the exam.

what did everyone do to ensure adequate sleep the night before?

Your practice tests should attempt to mimic test conditions as much as possible - so get lots of sleep before each practice test and you'll be okay for the real thing.

 

[Shades McCool]

I slept for about 4 hours and then from then on I was sleeping 5 minutes at a time for another 4.

 

[basupran]

I made the mistake of studying the night before the test. All I could think of was formulas and messing up therefore I could not sleep much. Got maybe 3-4 hours in.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Have some sort of "white-noise" in the background, like the droning of a fan, or something. Lulled me right to sleep.

 

[Jalby]

2 hours sleep, and I felt like I had to take a **** throughout the entire verbal section.

 

[stinkycheese]

I slept for only a few hours and kept dreaming about organic mechanisms. It was a very odd experience because I could actually see the molecules colliding and rearranging. Weird. At one point during the night before, I woke up startled, thinking that I had slept through the beginning of the test. It was a long, strange night. Luckily, adrenaline makes up for the fatigue, and it works out fine.

 

[adamj61]

I slept well, except there was a huge thunderstorm, that kind of pissed me off. Two days before I took an ambien and when to bed at like 7 or 8. The sleep stratagy is key for those of us who go to bed around 2 or 3 every night.

 

[thackl]

My baby boy woke me a bunch on wed and thur nights. Friday, the excitement lead to only 1.5hrs of sleep, though I was relaxed. I only scored 2pts lower than expected and to be honest, a fluke on what was ALWAYS my best section cost me about 3-4pts. So, the sleep probably didn't make much difference.

 

[superab2003]

I probably got about 3 hours of sleep the night before the exam. I wasn't stressed, but I just couldn't quiet my mind. I would say that the adrenaline definitely makes up for it. Just don't let yourself freak out if you find that you can't sleep. Just stay relaxed while laying in bed, it's the next best thing to actually sleeping.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I got 8 hours of sleep. I started taking a sleeping aid (Tylenol PM) a week before the MCAT to make sure that it wouldn't have any effect on me during the day. It worked just fine.

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

I got 8 hours of sleep. I started taking a sleeping aid (Tylenol PM) a week before the MCAT to make sure that it wouldn't have any effect on me during the day. It worked just fine.

so drugs are recommended?

 

[bkmonkey]

start getting to bed earlier and earlier in the weeks before the test. it's hard to do, but it really really helps. and cut the caffeine. do something relaxling like go out to dinner and a movie the night before the test. at that point there's not a whole lot else you can do but stress yourself out

 

[Medikit]

so drugs are recommended?

I was recommended Beta Blockers by a fellow biochem major. I didn't use them because I wanted my testing situation to be as much like my practice test situations as possible.

No problems sleeping. My dad who is a dentist and had to go through taking the DAT many years ago was there for me. I'm so blessed.

I watched the Last Samurai and then tried to go to bed at 10 and finally got to sleep around midnight.

 

[mollybo]

Beta-blockers have side effects. For god's sake get a script for Ambien or see how you react to Benadryl instead of taking chances.

Beta-blockers make me TIRED, and I got to stay on them for two years before my tachycardia was fixed with an ablation. I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole now.

 

[DrThom]

Sleep? Did I ever....so much so I almost missed the test. My alarm clock has a "weekend cancel" option that I forgot to turn off when I set it. Therefore, at 6:30 AM, my roommate wakes up and says "Hey, don't you have a test or something today" and I proceed to flip out (It was an hour drive to my test center). Quick glance through my MCAT review book (skipped the capacitors chapter thinking "they never ask about capacitors"...low and behold the first passage was about capacitors) and quick shower and the rest is history. Moral of the story....COVER ALL YOUR BASES when you go to sleep the night before.

 

[Medikit]

Therefore, at 6:30 AM, my roommate wakes up and says "Hey, don't you have a test or something today" and I proceed to flip out (It was an hour drive to my test center).

Best roommate ever

 

[CanIMakeIt]

I went to bed about 10PM and kept on tossing and turning but could not go to sleep till about 1 AM (thats the last time I remember looking at alarm clock) and then woke up at about 5:30 AM...... so was not a good night sleep.

So I guess getting into routine is very important for the good night sleep. Will remember that for next big tests (if successful this cycle)

 

[DualSuperLead]

I didn't sleep a second the night before, even though I took an OTC sleep aid. Maybe I should have tried ambien. I think it may have cost me a little on the biology section, though the adrenaline carried me most the way.

 

[rapshi]

slept the three nights before the night before. the night before was a 4 hour tossing experience.

 

[ms2209]

I got maybe 4 hours of sleep total, because for the first few hours, as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I kept thinking of topics that I vaguely knew and kept leaping out of bed to review bits and pieces from them (I know, bad idea, but I was a nervous wreck!). That morning, when I got ready to go take the exam, it felt like I was going on a 10 day retreat or something. The back pack I was carrying weighed about 40 pounds and so I trudged over there, hunched over, with people giving me odd stares (except for the other miserable souls whose destinations were the same as mine).

 

[flighterdoc]

yeah, MCAT question, but posting in this forum because i think more of you who've actually taken the thing are reading here. . . .

anyway, the first thing i tend to lose when i'm anxious is sleep, and something tells me i may have a little anxiety the night before the exam.

what did everyone do to ensure adequate sleep the night before?

Two words: Ambien; Provigil

Try them first, make certain that they don't have bad effects on you.

I took the Ambien about 8:30, fell asleep at 9, woke up refreshed at 6 the next morning.

Better living through chemistry

 

[ms2209]

Sleep? Did I ever....so much so I almost missed the test. My alarm clock has a "weekend cancel" option that I forgot to turn off when I set it. Therefore, at 6:30 AM, my roommate wakes up and says "Hey, don't you have a test or something today" and I proceed to flip out (It was an hour drive to my test center). Quick glance through my MCAT review book (skipped the capacitors chapter thinking "they never ask about capacitors"...low and behold the first passage was about capacitors) and quick shower and the rest is history. Moral of the story....COVER ALL YOUR BASES when you go to sleep the night before.

OMG! LOL! That was my BIGGEST fear, that I would oversleep (even though I barely slept the whole night!)...that's why I set my alarm but also told friends and family to call me to make sure that I'd get up.

 

[Alexander99]

The night before the MCAT, I distinctly remember getting some really nice sleep. Went to bed about 10PM, woke up around 6AM. It was exceptionally hot that night and I turned on the AC. It's all about a comfortable temperature if you want to sleep well.

Just don't think about the test. I think what helped is I stopped studying for it about 3 days before the test (I'd review stuff for maybe an hour a day but just to keep my brain going.) If you hardcore study the day before the test, I could see why you'd psych yourself out.

 

[dxw]

Didn't sleep at all. The anxiety killed me. I was yawning in the shower, on my way to the test center, etc. It was horrible. I was totally scared that I'd be tired throughout the whole test. Luckily by the time I got my room assignment I felt awake and stopped yawning.

 

[Koppertone]

I had a lot of trouble sleeping the night before even after I had changed my sleep cycle over the previous two weeks. I was just too nervous and slept for about 2.5 hours. Luckily I had studied pretty hard for the previous two months and so didn't really have much going through my head the night before and did fine on the test. But after planning on going to bed early I was pretty worried about how my mark was going to turn out.

 

[lola]

i slept between 3 and 4 hours before the mcat, after having a nice long swim, good dinner, etc... for some reason i just couldn't fall asleep! my heart wasn't beating fast, formulas weren't flashing through my mind -- i just couldn't get to sleep! finally i took a large shot of vodka. the lack of sleep definitely hurt me during the test. i almost completely crashed during the biological sciences section.

 

[BubbleWand1]

the best way to get as much sleep as possible is to be ready for the test and to stop studying thursday night...if you do this, come friday night, you wont be nervous because you will be so prepared and so ready and it wil seem like just another practice test...on the other hand, if you stop studying friday evening, you're still nervous, adrenaline is rushing and believe me, you will be dreaming of capacitors and hormones all night

 

[paco]

Made the mistake of booking a hotel a block or two away from the test center the night before (at least it was cheap on hotels.com). Should have tested out the beds before this. Ended up tossing and turning all night. I think it really hurt during the bio when I was spent from the previous 6 hours...

 

[TheFlash]

yeah, MCAT question, but posting in this forum because i think more of you who've actually taken the thing are reading here. . . .

anyway, the first thing i tend to lose when i'm anxious is sleep, and something tells me i may have a little anxiety the night before the exam.

what did everyone do to ensure adequate sleep the night before?

I'm also one of those excitement/anxiety-ridden bed tossers the night before an important event. I popped a Unisom before the MCAT and it was still hard for me to sleep. I ended up getting a good six hours, though, so it worked out in the end.

Getting a full night's sleep two nights before the test is the real key to success. Sleep is pro-rated.

 

[paco]

The saddest thing is that normally when i get very nervous or anxious, I tend to get sleepy!

 

[IndyZX]

i think i was out by 11 and up by 615. thats a little over 7hrs and i usually get about 8.5hrs. the big thing was adjusting my sleep schdule from going to bed at 3am and waking up right before noon.

anyway, you're going to be on so much adrenaline, it wont matter.

 

[sonb780]

i slept like 2 hrs, then woke up b.c of the noise from a party at the frat next door, then couldnt go to sleep the rest of the night; Its not that I was anxious or worried about the tests; granted it is very important but I normally dont get anxious. The worst part was trying to get back to sleep; i tried every trick in the book (i even tried reading the unabridged version of heart of darkness!). Nothing worked and to this day i question whether my score would have been any higher had i had a full night of rest. But i cant dwell on it too much. I heard drinking beer or wine or something the night before can put you to ease if you are tense...

 

[paco]

I hear you sonb780. Maybe with some sleep you could have made those 2 extra points that will eventually keep you out of so-and-so school... I feel your pain.

...trying to read the unabridged Heart of Darkness -- that's absolutely hilarious. Makes me wonder if the version I read was abridged or not. If so, I wouldn't want to inflict the unabridged on my worst enemy... Does that trick normally work for you?

 

[BaLeavaMD]

I was really nervous, so I didn't sleep much. I tossed and turned the entire night. To top it off, I got "sick as a dog" the day before the test, so by Verbal and Bio, I was just marking answers. It's good that I even broke 20!! Hopefully, I'll be more calm in August!!

 

[ms2209]

i tried every trick in the book (i even tried reading the unabridged version of heart of darkness!)

LMFAO! I HATED that book SO MUCH...one of my friends and I always talk about books we're reading and have read, and the one that always comes up on our most hated list is that one! I had to read it in high school, and then we watched a part of the movie in class (which was absolutely ridiculous).

But as an aside, even though I didn't get much sleep at all the night before the MCAT, I did feel "pumped" during the exam and didn't really feel tired - I was so nervous, how could I be? But right after the exam (we got out of there at around 6 pm!), I was seriously conked out, I could not function at all. That's when I really started feeling the fatigue from the previous night, compounded with the fatigue from taking the exam.