With the end of the semester drawing near, students across campus are beginning to study for final exams. For many, this involves spending large amounts of time at the library reviewing course material, and not very much time at home sleeping. This may be a normal occurrence for seasoned students, but it is not a good habit to foster.
Even brief sleep deprivation disrupts learning and memory,\ said UW-Madison psychology professor Craig Berridge. ""A critical aspect for retaining information [while studying] is to get sleep each night.""
While a lack of sleep can prevent students from absorbing all of the information they have studied, it can also hurt their test performance in other respects. According to the University Health Services website, your attention span will shorten during the days following an all-nighter, preventing you from focusing on study materials or an exam. A lack of sleep also leads to irritability and frustration.
So how can students maximize the benefits of studying while preventing those dark rings under the eyes? The amount of sleep necessary for full awareness the next day varies from person to person but, Berridge said, ""A good [guideline] is a minimum of six hours or so."" According to the National Sleep Foundation, some studies have placed the average amount needed at more than 9 hours per night.
According to UHS, there are several things that students can do beyond setting aside time at night to recuperate. First, take breaks every 40 minutes during your study sessions to get up and walk around. Getting your blood circulating can increase the amount of oxygen available to your brain, which will help increase the effectiveness of your studying. Secondly, allow your brain to wind down from studying for at least an hour before bed. Finally, keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet to maximize the amount of time your body spends in the most helpful stages of sleep.
While the final exam period is always a stressful one, staying awake all night to study before exams can make the experience much worse. Instead, lie down, relax, and get a good night's sleep! \