studying without burning out??

[amic1283]

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Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas of how to get through a 12-hour day of studying without becoming tired and inefficient. I don't like to drink coffee, so I was wondering about any thing else anyone uses, ie some sort of herbal energy supplement, ANYTHING that you think works!

 

[lankysudanese]

Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas of how to get through a 12-hour day of studying without becoming tired and inefficient. I don't like to drink coffee, so I was wondering about any thing else anyone uses, ie some sort of herbal energy supplement, ANYTHING that you think works!

8hrs of peaceful sleep + 4hrs of rigorous activity (running/raquetball/basketball)...

lots of stuff can make you more awake, but definitely not more alert/attentive or efficient.

 

[alpha06]

8hrs of peaceful sleep + 4hrs of rigorous activity (running/raquetball/basketball)...

lots of stuff can make you more awake, but definitely not more alert/attentive or efficient.

Is 8 hrs excessive? I hear varying numbers on the required sleep time. I remember my anatomy professor said, "You only need 3hrs of sleep, the rest is just luxury."

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Me personally, I like to get 6hrs of peaceful sleep. 😴

As for studying for 12hrs w/o getting burnt-out. What about a red bull, mountain dew, or a monster energy drink? If you don't like those I'd recommend exercise as well in the morning with a decent breakfast to jump start your day. 12hrs will go by fast.

 

[PenguinHead]

The amount of sleep each person needs varies. You want to sleep enough so that you can focus and don't become sleepy throughout the day. Most people fit somewhere between 6-9 hrs. You could survive w/ 3 hours a night, but you would be inefficient.

As far as not getting burned out with 12 hours of studying, maybe try an early breakfast and workout, 4 hours of study, 1 hr lunch break, 4 hours of study, an hour for dinner and a walk or some relaxation, then 4 more hours of study. Not telling you something that you don't already know, but the key is to minimize distractions (i.e. SDN).

I love the cappucinos (vanilla personally)that come in the bottle. Any way you can safely get caffeine always helps.

 

[Blesbok]

Is 8 hrs excessive? I hear varying numbers on the required sleep time. I remember my anatomy professor said, "You only need 3hrs of sleep, the rest is just luxury."

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Me personally, I like to get 6hrs of peaceful sleep. 😴

As for studying for 12hrs w/o getting burnt-out. What about a red bull, mountain dew, or a monster energy drink? If you don't like those I'd recommend exercise as well in the morning with a decent breakfast to jump start your day. 12hrs will go by fast.

If I don't get 8 hours, I don't feel that I retain as much information. If I sleep less and study more, but then don't retain the information, there is just no point.

As far as the original question, breakup your book studying with questions. I only do 4 hours of book study every morning then 6-8 hours of questions and an hour of bugs and drugs. The only time I get burned out is when I review all my notes.

 

[bkflaneur]

Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas of how to get through a 12-hour day of studying without becoming tired and inefficient.

Don't do 12 hour days. Maybe you can do it efficiently. I can't.

 

[78222]

Good question. I'm on week two of 8-12 hour days (not including breaktime). I am definitely starting to feel a little burnout. I usually drink a lot of coffee, diet coke, and take breaks for sdn every few hours.

 

[hj0517]

Agree with all of the above, however, if you are on a long schedule hitting the coffee hard early to maintain 12h days is pointless. The receptor downregulation occurs in the first 7-10days after which your "hit" is just you feeling better from you withdrawal being treated.

I looked it up specifically because I hit a stage when coffee/caffeine did nothing whilst writing my undergrad thesis, so if you want coffee to be part of your plans I guess keep away from it until you reach the last 7 days of study and use it then to keep you going.

As for the best way to maintain 12h days - I think sleep is of most importance followed by exercise. Hope that helped!

 

[PenguinHead]

So how long does it take for those receptors to be upregulated when not drinking caffeine?

 

[hj0517]

I'm not so sure about exactly how long it takes - my baseline enquiry started with this paper -

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=8081318&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google

- eventually getting onto some cross references that mentioned aspects of adenosine receptor up/down regulation.

Caffeine is important for me because I am in my clinical rotations and so I don't have as much time to revise for the step, so anything to keep me awake for that bit longer is very useful! 🙂

 

[hasha100]

I just started my Step I studying and my schedule consists of studying for about 12 hours per day. I wake up early (7:45 am) and go to the gym for about an hour to an hour and a half. Then come back and do questions for about 3 hours, until lunch time. I eat lunch and then study for about 8 hours with 10 minute breaks every 2 hours. I then eat dinner and review for about 2-3 hours. Without breaks I'll end up studying about 12 hours per day. Let's see how long I can go with this schedule.

 

[daveyjwin]

I've found that naps are a good thing, not something to be avoided. Get 6-7 hours of sleep, study for a couple hours, then eat, then study till you are sleepy, then nap for 45 minutes, then study till lunch, then study till you are tired, then study till dinner, then study till you are tired, then take a break and relax for the rest of the evening. This'll get you about 8-9 horus of sleep in a day, 8-12 hours of studying, and a little relax time so you don't burn out. Plus, then you don't feel like you have to stay awake and study.

 

[emlopez2]

I've found that naps are a good thing, not something to be avoided. Get 6-7 hours of sleep, study for a couple hours, then eat, then study till you are sleepy, then nap for 45 minutes, then study till lunch, then study till you are tired, then study till dinner, then study till you are tired, then take a break and relax for the rest of the evening. This'll get you about 8-9 horus of sleep in a day, 8-12 hours of studying, and a little relax time so you don't burn out. Plus, then you don't feel like you have to stay awake and study.

This definately was beneficial for me during the school year. I could go 100% from 8am-1pm and get a ton of work done. Take lunch from 1-2 and then nap til 3pm. From there I could study for another solid 4hrs again at 100% capacity(felt like a new day). The only thing id be concerned with this strategy for board studying is your sleep cycle begins to kick in the afternoon, which will kill you once you are taking the step I exam. I plan on cutting out naps at least 2 weeks prior to the exam to avoid this.