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For most of you collegiettes, it’s the last week of class before your dreaded finals hit. A common habit among students is to sacrifice hours of beauty sleep in preparation for exams—but is it worth it? What if cramming and pulling all-nighters will actually hinder your performance?
Well you’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: sleep is essential for successful learning and, consequently, acing those finals. If a parent or best friend has ever pestered you about losing sleep to cram for a test, they’re definitely on to something. A study performed by the University of Chicago last year showed that sleep enhances memory retention, and forms stable memory of the material studied before bed.
On the opposite spectrum, sleep deprivation had a detrimental effect on memory. Research from the University of Lübeck, Germany, also published compelling evidence that sleep promotes long-term consolidation of declarative and procedural memories.
Of course, getting a full night’s rest without glancing at your textbook won’t get you an “A” on your final either. So if you’re serious about doing your best next week, you should:
1.) Plan out what material you’re going to study each day on a written schedule
2. Allot yourself at least seven hours of sleep each night
That way, what you’ve studied will be stored as long-term memory and you won’t stress yourself out trying to cover everything in one night. Good luck on your exams collegiettes!
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