As students nationwide face their final examinations to wrap up the academic year, stress levels soar, healthy eating habits plummet, and the importance of sleep may fade from focus amidst the study frenzy. The added pressure and anxiety of exams often lead students to burn the midnight oil, sacrificing precious sleep for extra study time. However, prioritising sleep may hold the key to unlocking exam success.
Why is sleep crucial for exam performance?
High quality sleep is vital for peak performance, especially before a test. Quality sleep is linked to improved exam performance, recollection, mood, and health.
Cognitive faculties including reasoning, problem-solving, and attention can be negatively impacted by sleep deprivation. During tests, students use these exact skills to assess problems and create precise responses. Students who don’t get enough sleep lose out on REM sleep, which is essential for cognitive function and is what’s most needed for exam preparation. Put simple, students risk doing worse if they don’t get enough sleep before an exam.
What is the recommended amount of sleep for students?
For adults to feel fully refreshed, they require a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Teens need eight or ten hours, on average. Before an exam, teens should try to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night and concentrate on getting enough sleep for at least a week. Adopting sound sleep habits prior to exams may have a significant impact on exam performance, if not the most.
Our natural sleep schedule is controlled by our internal body clock, or circadian rhythms. Our bodies go through a circadian shift during adolescence, where they naturally tire later. Sadly, this adolescent circadian shift happens at a time when school starts even earlier. Students struggle with getting up far earlier than their bodies desire to, starting in high school and continuing through college. Shifting sleep patterns can harm mood, attention, and increase feelings of despair, despite adequate sleep. To ensure that you wake up each morning feeling refreshed and prepared for the day, especially during exam season, stick to a regular sleep schedule.
Creating a study schedule that includes exercise and enough sleep can help you achieve the best possible results on your exams. You should never stay up late studying since you will not get any better results than if you sleep through revision.
Inadequate sleep impacts mood, memory, and logical reasoning, crucial for exam success. It becomes more difficult to focus and retain new information when you don’t get enough sleep.
How to get a better night’s sleep when preparing for exams
Students have a lot on their minds when it comes to studying for exams, but getting enough sleep is associated with doing well in exams. Better sleep is associated with better mood, health, memory, and exam performance.
These are the best sleep-enhancing suggestions for you during this hectic period.
Regular exercise
Daily exercise has a significant positive impact on sleep quality, so for an energy boost, head outside as soon as you wake up and jog or walk briskly. You can feel more awake, aware, and prepared for the day by taking a morning walk since it exposes the body to natural light, which helps to inhibit the creation of melatonin. If you enjoy listening to podcasts, you could consider taking an instructional pod to listen to as you run or walk. Just avoid working out just before bed as this increases body temperature and stress chemicals like cortisol.
Regular sleep schedule
Stick to a consistent sleep routine for better school and exam performance. Aim to sleep and wake up at consistent times daily, even on weekends. It is not possible to make up lost sleep from one or more nights by sleeping in later. (This is crucial for more reasons than just studying for exams; there is now a tonne of studies showing that sleeping less during the week and making up for it on the weekends is ineffective!) Consistency has a greater influence than total sleep quantity, quality, or unrest. Furthermore, consistency should not just be maintained for a few days but preferably for weeks or even longer.
Balanced diet
What you eat can impact your sleep patterns. Prioritising a balanced diet is crucial as it enhances the overall quality of your sleep. Avoid caffeine, energy drinks, and too much sugar! Caffeine and similar substances can cause headaches, increase anxiety, and hinder sleep. Late caffeine intake can lead to prolonged wakefulness, hindering sleep onset.
Napping
Some people find that taking a nap immediately after learning something new helps help them remember it. Napping benefits vary, but for some, a 20-30 minute nap before 3 p.m. is ideal.
Take regular breaks
Despite the fact that it might seem counterintuitive, taking a break has several advantages. Your brain will eventually run out of space to store knowledge, so shift your attention for a little while.
Minimise screen time
Avoid using electronics right before bed. When you have notifications and social media accessible on devices like laptops, tablets, and cell phones, your body will generate waking hormones to keep you awake.
Bedroom environment
To encourage a better night’s sleep, your bedroom should be as quiet, cool, and dark as possible. Your body will naturally cool down in a chilly bedroom to reach the necessary core temperature for sound sleep. Additionally, investing in a suitable mattress, pillows, and bedding can significantly enhance your sleep quality, ensuring you wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.
Sleep well for optimum exam performance
Sleep is essential for optimal performance, memory retention, and mental health—all of which are critical during exams, according to research that keeps coming back. Improved memory, happiness, health, and exam performance are all correlated with getting enough sleep. For more sleep tips and advice, check out our other blogs.