Is 8 hours of sleep unrealistic?

SexyFloridaGirl · Jun 14, 2013

Honestly, you sleep when you can, whether it is in the morning, noon, or 8:30 at night. It's better than dozing in your car on the middle of driving down a freeway at 80mph. Your brain needs to sleep just as much, if not more so, than your body. Naps usually help me, if they are 2-3 hours long, but again, those are when I have the time. I work as a CNA in a hospital and am just doing my pre-reqs and am already scared about what it will be like when I am in nursing school.

amberdawn85 · Jun 14, 2013

I haven't had 8 hours of sleep in 3 years, I'm lucky to get 5 hours with the babies and its not 5 hours straight!

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · Jun 14, 2013

I almost always get 8 hours of sleep per day.. I'm known to sacrifice a little study time for a little nap time.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2013

I won't say I get 8 hours because I'm a chronic insomniac, but I get all the sleep I want to. Here's a key: if you have to choose between studying and sleep, or anything else and sleep, always pick sleep. Seriously. It does you no good to cram for a test and be half awake the next morning and unable to reason through the questions. A big part of nursing school is getting you to think critically, which is what is going to make you a good nurse (and will also get you to pass boards!). You just cannot think critically when you're so tired from studying that you fall asleep in class, and just knowing the facts you crammed down your throat the night before will not help you get the questions right. Your awake brain will.

Also, do you learn better when you're sleeping or when you're awake? If you're not fully awake and engaged in class, you're probably going to have to work harder to learn the material than you otherwise would, which means extra studying. You can actually study less if you get adequate sleep, so time spent sleeping is never wasted.

slash1 · Jun 14, 2013

I still sleep 8hrs a day and sometimes power nap 10 mins in afternoon. Even while I was studying for nclex. I made sure I slept 8 or 7hrs.

mintygirl · Jun 14, 2013

Nursing school shouldn't have to be that crazy hard, but the school's make it that way. There was a time when the places of instruction strove to teach you things to help you pass, rather than grind you down by being in the 1%. Sleep is important and the fact that the schools of instruction doesn't see this when they set the workload is ridiculous because its a well known that you are a danger to yourself and others with a lack of sleep.

8 hours is the recommended for adults but some only require 6. You can't "build up" on sleep by sleeping in on the weekend and then running on fumes throughout the week, it just doesn't work that way.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 14, 2013

I don't believe in pulling all nighters. Sleep is just as important than studying, and I usually get 8 hours a night, six if I'm working back to back shifts. Sleep is a little piece of heaven, if you believe in that sort of thing.

MissH1967, ASN, RN · Jun 14, 2013

Once I finished taking the NCLEX, all I wanted to do was climb in bed and sleep for days and days and days.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jun 14, 2013

I can run almost indefinitely on about 6-7 hours of sleep per night. I can do well occasionally with

In school though, that becomes a real challenge. On those days where I end up getting

I view lack of sleep like an injury. You become sleep-injured when you don't sleep enough. If you sleep too much, you become sleep overloaded and you don't perform well that way either. You can't bank sleep... and when you don't get enough and become "injured" you have to sleep a bit more over the next few days to repair the injury. Just as with any injury, you can't heal overnight. It takes time to recover.

hunnybunches · Jun 15, 2013

I still sleep 8hrs a day and sometimes power nap 10 mins in afternoon. Even while I was studying for nclex. I made sure I slept 8 or 7hrs.

Same here and I am one busy bee. I sleep about 7- 8 hours a night with a 2 hour nap during the day most days. Yes I work, yes I have kids (notice the plural form?:)), yes I am in nursing school. Of course there have been days where I have gotten less sleep but never (so far) because I was up studying all night, mostly because I went out and got in at 3 am. :rolleyes:

Out of curiosity and I am definitely not trying to ruffle any feathers here, what is so challenging about getting a decent amount of sleep while in nursing school?? Is it the school, the work, your life??

amberdawn85 · Jun 15, 2013

I'm not in actual nursing school yet but I can tell you for me it's balancing kids and school. My baby wakes up at 5:30, I've tried so hard to change this to a later time and nothing works! I can't study or anything once she's up, I've tried, I can't concentrate! My 2 year old wakes up at 6:30, nap times is 10:30 until 1:00 for the baby and 11:00-1:00 for my toddler. I normally take a quick shower and do homework for that time. Husbands get off at 4, but most of the time he has to work late because his department is short staffed or incidents happen. He normally gets home about dinner time, kids go to bed between 7-8( I also have an 8 year old) I then clean up the house from dinner. I get back to do homework at 8:30 until 10/11 or so. I go to bed around 11 to 5:30 or so. 6 1/2 hours would be nice but the baby wakes up to eat about 2. A PERFECT night for me I can get 6 hours. That's hoping none of the kids wake me up or my husband doesn't wake me getting out of bed at 4:45. I am a very supportive husband but he's working overtime currently because his department is short on officers so he doesn't have a choice, plus the extra money helps with me not working I'm doing online classes so that why they take so long at home. I think when I'm in nursing school it will calm down because I will be in class, using daycare.