It’s the time of the year when no one seems to have any balance among academics, social life, and sleep. Chances are that if you’re reading this column, you’re on a study break or you’re done with finals.
Many students have passed out in their newly opened textbook or passed out with the newly empty case of Keystone by their side. Either way, the sleep and the morning after passing out from academics or frivolity cannot feel that good.
In a week’s time, last-minute studiers are probably logging as many study hours as habitual studiers log in a month — sans sleep, of course. While one can argue that it gets the job done, I took this column as an opportunity to interview Eric Dyken, the director of the U. Iowa Sleep Disorders Center to see how much sleepless cramming for exams can help a student.
His answer?
“There is a diminishing return between how much new information you are learning and how inefficient you are when you are learning the new information because you have not slept enough to absorb the information,” he said.
Our body needs sleep to survive, Dyken said. Researchers have conducted studies on animals, depriving them of sleep for 16 to 20 days. The animals all died. The world record for staying awake was 13 days, by a little boy. When researchers studied him, they had him shoot baskets, but after he did so, he fell asleep. Thus, regardless of whether you want to, your body will fall asleep.
That doesn’t say a lot about endless hours of late-night cramming.
In addition, Dyken said, the Bush administration received accusations of torture for forcing captured prisoners to stay awake for three days during interrogation. Yet college students sometimes do the same thing to prepare for that last exam.
While I am not here to reopen the torture (or “enhanced interrogation,” if you like) debate, it goes to show you that sleep deprivation via studying for finals seems to be a bad way to prepare. If you could avoid the torture of finals week by studying instead of attending Mug Night once a month, why not?
The point is not to bust your butt too much this week. The closer you get to finals means a diminishing margin of return, as Dyken said.
Realizing this knowledge may have found you late, for the rest of the week, create a study schedule. Give yourself a fixed amount of time to prepare for your exams, and then stop and rest. If you only have four more hours to study for organic chemistry, why not maximize your efficiency for that time? Isn’t four hours of concentrated studying much better than four days of half-hearted and sleep-deprived efforts to learn the material?
And for those of you who have already completed finals: Next semester, create a comprehensive schedule of deadlines, and study. While I cannot guarantee every Thursday night will be homework-free, if you plan and get your work done in advance, you will find more and more spare time to do what you want — not what you have to.
After all, the drinks specials are so much better as a reward for work well-done than as an escape from falling asleep in your final and bombing it.
While I cannot say I have not prepared like crazy for a final, I have never pulled an all-nighter to prepare for any class or final. And I credit that to planning my work and my fun well in advance.
This week is no different. Being a senior and having taken classes without finals if possible (another benefit of prior research and planning), you will not see me inlibrary past 6 p.m. With a calendar, some willpower, and a taste for certain bar specials, you can, too.