Staying awake to study?

njmomstudent · Jun 15, 2010

Personally, I suggest going to sleep when you are tired and waking early to study. Chances are you aren't retaining as much after you are tired anyway because you need proper sleep for brain function. I was in vet school for a year which is about as intensive as you can get as far as school programs (I didn't finish for financial reasons). I fell asleep studying and I woke up studying. I took my notes everywhere... into the bathroom... You name it. I LIVED it. I studied while eating. When I wasn't reading and re-reading, I was thinking about my notes and going over things in my head. That was when I would come up with things I didn't know and needed to review. I never drank coffee or anything to keep me awake.

newbebop, ADN, BSN, MSN · Jun 15, 2010

I am never an advocate for staying up later than your body can tolerate to study. The value of waking up rested will be better for your studying and memory retention than a few extra hours of stimulant induced studying. I have better luck calling it a night earlier and setting the alarm for an hour or even 2 earlier in the am.

itsmejuli · Jun 15, 2010

My brain does not retain information after 9pm; mostly it shuts down at 8pm.

If I'm tired I stop studying and set my alarm clock to get up a couple of hours earlier than normal. This strategy works for me :)

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jun 15, 2010

Eat right and exercise is what I do. Im a natural night owl and stay up to 2-4 on most nights during school and wake up at 7 and am good to go for the day. some people are just not wired for that. I am adamantly against caffiene and refuse to drink it. It makes working night shift with my nurses even more fun as they never understand how I have so much energy without drinking coffee or soda. You have to find what works for you.

Sand_Dollar, BSN · Jun 15, 2010

I learned long ago not to bother working when I'm sleepy, my work is garbage. Like previously suggested, I would go to bed at the normal time (I'm a 10pm bedtime person too) and wake up early. At least that way you get time to wake up and grab a coffee or whatever while your studying. And I find, in my house at least, it's uninterrupted time... everyone is still asleep and it's wonderfully quiet!

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2010

I had an extremely hectic schedule this last semester, and I pulled the all nighters. I felt like there was no time to study so I did what I had to do. I'm young so I stay up til 5 or 6am regularly on the weekends... so pulling all nighters are not hard for me. I'd drink a cup or two of coffee and take an hour nap for some rest. I don't recommend this method of studying but I really didn't have a choice. But for me, I will do anything for the grades. Just do what works for you!

caliotter3 · Jun 15, 2010

I also found that the best way to deal with studying is to set the alarm for a few hours earlier than usual. That late night studying is not effective after a certain point and the time is better spent charging the batteries.

TCASII, ADN · Jun 16, 2010

I know that Dexedrine worked wonders for pilots during the Gulf War.

Seriously, better sleep habits and avoidance of certain exogenous chemicals (caffeine) might help. Some people just need more sleep and there isn't anything you can do about that.

Faith213 · Jun 16, 2010

I agree with the previous posters about waking up early the next morning. I could stay up all night but I know I won't remember anything I studied the night before if I do. One of our instructors my first semester in the nursing program lectured on sleep and rest. She mentioned the fact that studies have suggested that an adequate amount of REM sleep is necessary to "imprint" the information we accumulate throughout the day into our memories. Here's a link to the a study about the topic: PLoS Biology: Brain Activity during Slow-Wave Sleep Points to Mechanism for Memory. She stressed the importance of sleep and it's correlation with test scores among nursing students. While some people may not be convinced, it makes me feel a little less guilty about getting my eight hours of sleep during nursing school.

However, in an accelerated program, I understand that your time is limited and you have to do what is necessary to excel. Good luck to you!

Birry · Jun 16, 2010

I guess I can't be much help... I've worked 12 hr nights for about 9 years, so I'm used to not sleeping much and switching from a daywalker/nightowl schedule. If you can do it, little naps might help. Sometimes 45 minutes of sleep can feel like several hours.

Otherwise, pulling an all-nighter once or twice a week doesn't seem to hurt me. I tend to do my best work in the wee hours, when everyone else is asleep and not making any noise or providing any distractions. A few hours of sleep before school and a few hours of sleep when I get home leaves a big block of time for taking care of business undisturbed.

You can try just conditioning yourself to stay up. If you've got lots of work to do, maybe a brisk walk before the sleepies set in might help (if you feel safe doing that in the evening). Sometimes I'll go pick up some sort of snack that's not normally in the house and munch on that. It's weird, but the novelty helps to keep me going.

But yeah, you gotta listen to your body. If you can't function on little sleep, than trimming your sleeping time isn't much of an option.