Those that have taken MCAT. How Much Sleep the Night Before?

[thomasfx10]

I will be taken the MCAT next month, and one of my worries is that I will not get a good nights sleep. I will not study a thing the day before (As many people have posted) ...

I am curious on how many hours people got the night before, and do you think that it influenced your score.

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[MermaidMD]

I will be taken the MCAT next month, and one of my worries is that I will not get a good nights sleep. I will not study a thing the day before (As many people have posted) ...

I am curious on how many hours people got the night before, and do you think that it influenced your score.

I ended up having to take the test about 2 hours from home, so I stayed in a hotel the night before. I did not consciously feel anxious the day/night before and yet I regret to inform you, I got ZERO hours of sleep. As in I literally never slept. At all. Whatsoever.

It was awful, I can't lie. However, I did lie in bed with the lights out and my eyes closed most of the time (didn't turn on the TV or pull out notes or anything) and I found that because of the adrenaline once I started the test, I didn't feel tired at all while I was taking it, but crashed pretty hard that afternoon.

One thing I did think of afterward was that it might have been bad news if I had taken the 1pm test--would have been that many more hours since the last time I'd slept when I started.

 

[thomasfx10]

Thanks for sharing. My exam is at 1:00 PM, so I will be praying for at least 4 hours ... I think I can get by with that and a 5 Hour Energy shot just before the exam.

 

[SLC]

I laid awake in bed for most of the night before as well. Same thing before my interviews, and most of my finals too. It's the adrenaline.

I found that a small dose of caffeine (like a 12 oz coke or Mt. Dew) helps with focus and alertness. And that some hard candy (jolly ranchers or similar) in your locker can help during the test. You use a lot of energy when thinking that hard, and your brain needs a lot of glucose to function. One of my professors (who's also a human performance expert) gave my the tip to take some source of sugar with me. Just don't overdo it, cause it can make you crash. I went and took a piece of candy or two between sections.

Best of luck.

 

[cnfz]

Personally, I need about 7 hours to function optimally. Too much or too little and I'm tired. So I had a regular sleep schedule two weeks from the test date. Really just depends on you.

 

[BHaus9]

~3.5 hours. I could have gotten another hour easily, but from my past test-taking experiences I thought one more hour of "wake-up time" would be more beneficial than an extra hour of sleep... and i believe i chose wisely. i pounded the Gatorade and snickers marathon bars, and then jammed out to the radio in my car as i watched dawn break from the test center parking lot. by the time my starting slot rolled around, i was pretty ramped up, and fatigue never became an issue.

 

[ridethecliche]

The amount of sleep needed really varies by person and is something that you should know about yourself by now...

 

[rjs2131]

Personally I started waking up at the same time I would for the exam (8 AM this past saturday, so I woke up at 630 AM during the week) the week before to get used to it. Also, the night before I had a banana an hour or so before bed, supposedly it's a muscle relaxant and makes you drowsy...worked for me! I don't usually get too anxious before tests though so I guess it all depends on how you are personally?

 

[thomasfx10]

... hard candy (jolly ranchers or similar) in your locker can help during the test. You use a lot of energy when thinking that hard, and your brain needs a lot of glucose to function. One of my professors (who's also a human performance expert) gave my the tip to take some source of sugar with me. Just don't overdo it, cause it can make you crash. I went and took a piece of candy or two between sections.

Great info! Thanks for sharing. I love Jolly Ranchers ... need to feed the brain. I will make sure I stock my locker with some candy.

 

[thomasfx10]

The amount of sleep needed really varies by person and is something that you should know about yourself by now...

What? Did I ask this?

I have looked at some of your past posts and notice most of them are negative.

If you feel like being a troll, then head back under your bridge.

 

[ridethecliche]

What? Did I ask this?

I have looked at some of your past posts and notice most of them are negative.

If you feel like being a troll, then head back under your bridge.

Stop asking banal questions.

How good someone feels after x hours of sleep is dependent on that person. What do you want to achieve out of asking this question?

If 30 people chime in and say that they pulled an all nighter studying and got a 40, will you do the same?

You seem to be getting responses on what to eat during the break, which is helpful. Asking how much people slept the night before is not...

Looking at my post history, I find two posts that are 'negative'. Unsurprisingly, they are both in response to trite things that you've asked.

 

[thomasfx10]

Who are you to decide what is trite? You seem to be the only having an issue with my post.

If you do not like a post, then move on. I am sure other OPs would appreciate not hearing your negative comments.

 

[ridethecliche]

If you want reading material perchance.

Mayo: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/how-many-hours-of-sleep-are-enough/AN01487

Also, research shows lack of sleep negatively impairs executive function. Who knew...

1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21477910

2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19336360

3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20120620

 

[Etorphine]

sounds like it's about time to go refill my ambien prescription.

 

[tmg1325]

Stop asking banal questions.

How good someone feels after x hours of sleep is dependent on that person. What do you want to achieve out of asking this question?

If 30 people chime in and say that they pulled an all nighter studying and got a 40, will you do the same?

You seem to be getting responses on what to eat during the break, which is helpful. Asking how much people slept the night before is not...

Looking at my post history, I find two posts that are 'negative'. Unsurprisingly, they are both in response to trite things that you've asked.

What he most likely wants to achieve is a sense of solidarity and reassurance that even if he doesn't sleep well, he's not screwed. This test is a grueling process, and unless you're friends with a bunch of premeds, you spend a lot of time worrying about it on your own or boring your non-science friends to tears by talking about it endlessly. Going on forums like this to see what other people are going through and found helpful helps with the stress.

And I studied until about 12, hung out with friends until 1:30, then tried to go to sleep. I know I was still up at 3:30, but that was the last time I actually looked at my phone to check the time until I woke up at 7 the next day, although I know I was up a while after that. Don't stress the no sleep thing too hard- do your best, but adrenaline can get you through a lot. I didn't really feel any kind of mental fatigue during the test.

 

[ridethecliche]

Ah, that makes more sense. I suppose I misinterpreted. My apologies.

Having pulled a few too many all nighters as an undergrad, I can attest that you can function fine for a couple of hours early in the morning. The rest of the day, however, is an utter blur/pain/omgwhycantigotobed feeling.

So, don't pull an all nighter, you will make more stupid mistakes. However, if you end up getting 4-5 hours of sleep and you get a good breakfast and some coffee in you, you'll be good to go till after the test.

 

[LRinehart]

Would anyone recommend against taking something to sleep the night before? Usually melatonin does the trick for me, sometimes I have to take tylenol PM or ambien. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this?

 

[ridethecliche]

Would anyone recommend against taking something to sleep the night before? Usually melatonin does the trick for me, sometimes I have to take tylenol PM or ambien. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this?

I think that one has to realize that humans are creatures of habit and if you do something different, then just the feeling of something potentially going wrong is enough to actually make it so.

So the night before is not the time to experiment.

 

[Etorphine]

yea I agree with ridethecliche. Just don't do anything you don't normally do/haven't done recently.

Although, for those of you that are prescribed, Zaleplon and Ambien might have short enough half lives to work, especially the former. I've been thinking about it, and I think a full night of 8+ hour sleep would be the less of two evils compared to 3-4 hours of sleep. I've done this before tests a few times, and as long as you drink coffee when you wake up it's not too bad.

 

[ridethecliche]

yea I agree with ridethecliche. Just don't do anything you don't normally do/haven't done recently.

Although, for those of you that are prescribed, Zaleplon and Ambien might have short enough half lives to work, especially the former. I've been thinking about it, and I think a full night of 8+ hour sleep would be the less of two evils compared to 3-4 hours of sleep. I've done this before tests a few times, and as long as you drink coffee when you wake up it's not too bad.

And I wouldn't drink coffee if you don't usually do it. Having too much caffeine in your system (for you) can make you jittery and your mind race. If you're used to soda or red bull or whatever, then drink that. Otherwise make sure to try the food/stuff you're going to do on test day before hand.

Seriously, don't eat random food from a restaurant the night before. Food poisoning on test day would SUCK.

 

[Y88]

Imo, the best approach, if you have the luxury of doing so, is to get the same amount of sleep at the same time for the weeks leading up to the test. I slept at the same time and woke up at the same time so come test day it wasn't too different.

 

[0919mmk]

Yeah, agreed with above. The week before my MCAT (8am MCAT), I started going to sleep at 10pm and waking up at 530. So I was getting about 7.5 hours of sleep and waking up feeling good nice and early. Get as much sleep as you can before the MCAT - you want to be at your best on the day. I wouldn't waste time studying excessively the week before either - at that point, you wont be able to pack much more in to your brain. Get in to a comfortable rhythm, and be rested for the day.

 

[Lil Mick]

Between finals, driving to another state, and having the flu, I had maybe an hour of sleep. I did well enough, but I don't recommend it. If you're not going to get sleep the night before, reschedule it, even if it means applying later in the cycle...