Everybody has been at there, where you’re up all night cramming for the test you forgot about the next day, then nearly falling asleep during the test you were studying for. I actually felt one day like I was doing worse on a test because of my fatigue, and it raised the question; was I better off sleeping?
TIME Magazine did a study involving 535 students in Los Angeles schools where students recorded the amount of sleep they got for 14 days in each of 9th, 10th and 12th grades. The results of the test showed that students who stayed up late studying instead of sleeping had more problems in class, and scored lower on tests, quizzes and homework.
The randomized study showed that the lack of sleep in students directly correlated with academic problems the next day. The more sleep you got, the less problems there were. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t study. The students who stayed up actually studying scored higher than the students that just stayed up for their own reasons. The problem is time management. Students should finish their work before bed so that they don’t need to stay up and cut from their sleep schedule to study. That is the best way to do well in school.
Now, how much sleep does a student need?
Everybody is a little different, but around 6-8 hours is just usually the perfect amount of sleep. Naps are a good thing throughout the day too. Campus Grotto notes that a 30 minute power-nap works better than any form of caffeine you were going to intake instead. It improves alertness, boost mood, and increase productivity. As long as naps are kept to under an hour, they can be a really productive break to your day.
So, the bottom line is getting a good night’s sleep is important and the right time management for sleeping and studying can be the perfect combination for success in college.
I thoroughly enjoyed your blog and the topic you choose. I understand that kids do better when they go to bed early. However, the reason why kids stay up is to cram information not know otherwise. Had they gone to sleep, they have nothing to begin with. Yes, if you know the material, I think sleeping is the best option. However cramming is necessary. All depends on the person at the end of the day.
Hello, I really appreciate this piece of blog. I think it mentioned a part that lack of sleep can actually turn your hard work into nothing useful. A survey I did last year indicated that sleep deprivation can cause anxiety, stress, depression, and fall in grades. A regular life time and allocative efficiency time management are the key features to have a healthy life and good sleep. Just like what the blog say in the end: “right time management for sleeping and studying can be the perfect combination for success in college life.”
I hated the early start to the high school day. I am glad that I can finally have a schedule in college which none of my classes start until the afternoon. According to a study
from The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, “Later school start times may both increase the sleep of adolescents and decrease their risk of motor vehicle crashes.” Those of us that drove to school all remember how tired we were behind the wheel. I never had an accident on the way to school, but my reflexes and attention span were defiantly reduced.
I was considering writing a blog post about this topic since it extremely relevant to our everyday college lives. Your post was really informative and interesting. I feel that most people believe that staying up and cramming is the best possible solution because the more hours of studying you do, the better you will probably do. But for me, that strategy never worked since I always craved a good nights sleep. I liked how your post included a few tips for students to help them better manage their time so they can get some rest.