Sleep and Finals: They Can Be Friends

The most important week of the semester is coming up, and for many that means overdosing on caffeine, snacking on nutrition-less food, and staying awake until ungodly hours of the morning. One could argue that they know plenty of people who have practiced this routine and did fine. However, in today’s competitive society, employers don’t want fine, they want fantastic. To make those kind of grades, there is a secret weapon to use during finals week, and it’s called sleep.

Besides actually studying, sleep is the most important factor that will determine your finals performance. Studies show that insufficient sleep reduces our brain efficiency to 50- 70%. Think of those numbers as test scores and you’re sure to cringe. Here are some other important facts about sleep that everyone should know:

• By sleeping right after learning something new, your ability to retain that information increases.
• After two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, one will have the same performance level as someone who hasn’t slept in 48 hours, or someone with an alcohol level of .5.
• Some parts of your brain are just as active and busy when you are asleep as when you are awake. Too much work for you brain can cause a burnout.
• You can’t truly “make up” on sleep, so any time you don’t get enough is detrimental to your health.

Photo from flickr.com by D. Sharon Pruitt

If sleep deprivation is so bad, then why do we do this to ourselves? Easy, it’s a lack of time. That is why it is so important to start studying now for the final stretch. You will perform significantly better and hopefully get that grade you were aiming for.

Here are a few more sleep tips to remember:

• Never study in your bed. If you do, you can train your brain into thinking that it’s a work station instead of a place for rest, which can impede your ability to fall asleep at night.
• Have a notebook and pen next to your bed just in case you remember something important and don’t want to forget it. Writing it down will soothe your mind and let you get your sleep.
• Avoid caffeine an hour or so before bed. If you try to sleep with the stimulant still in your system, then you’re in for a rough night.

Sources:

http://www.thepenn.org/l-s/importance-of-sleep-increase-during-finals-week-1.2214046#.T4CZMRybI6s

http://www.pointparkglobe.com/news/specialist-encourages-sleep-before-finals-1.2725746#.T4CZORybI6s

http://www.dailyiowanmedia.com/live/2011/12/14/experts-sleep-during-finals-week/

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97955&page=2#.T4CxDBybI6s

http://www.forumfortnightly.com/2011/12/06/finals-and-sleep-deprivation-best-friends-forever/