Anyone who has studied learning at all should have come across this law before. It comes straight from your high school physiology textbook. Sleep is were your body stores everything you have learned over the day. I had one professor who taught us, and yes this was on the test, that if you pull one all-nighter your brain is working at half capacity. Not only that but it doesn’t come back until you have been getting enough sleep for at least a week.
With this in mind think about what people do in college. I can’t tell you how many times someone told me pulling all-nighters was a rite of passage in college. Having said that this one was a particular struggle for me. I’m an insomniac so sleep has never come easy. But once I figured out how to sleep better it almost cut my study time in half.
How important is this one step you ask? Let me tell you a story. They’re was this student who was struggling with her classes. She did everything else I had taught but still wasn’t making her goal of an A. She came to me mad and wanting to kick my butt. She used other words but you get the idea. I asked only one questions to figure out what was wrong.
“How much sleep did you get the past week?”
“About 10 hours!”
Now, think about this. In the last 7 days she got less than 2 hours of sleep a night. There is no way she could be retaining everything. Her problems was not in how she was studying. Her sleep patterns were self-sabotaging. She was so tired she probably could not think well enough. This literally happens all the time. I have come to the conclusion that the real reason everyone’s mental capacity’s seem to worsen as they get older is lack of sleep and not practicing learning. Some more recent studies have been reaching the same conclusions. Maybe in 20 years they will have caught up.
But what can you do, today that will help you get better sleep? Whole books have been written on this but I will share a few with you. First, go to bed before 10 pm. For a lot of you I know that sounds impossible but after about 10 your body’s metabolism kicks back in to high gear. This is so your body can repair itself as you sleep. If your awake thought it just gives you energy.
This one always goes over like a lead balloon. (Ignore the Myth Busters findings. It’s an expression.) Get off the screens at least 2 hours before going to bed. This means no cell phones, no computer, no tv. Yeah this can be hard. You will have papers, research you want to do and entertainment (Game of Thrones anyone?). Having said that it is worth it. Study in the morning or save your book learning for at night. This was the key to me getting good sleep.
The last tip I will give you is to get enough sun. About 20 minutes will do for most people. You may need a little bit more if you are darker. I find I need about 30. This one helps regulate your hormones by helping with your melatonin levels. It’s amazing how much this little change can help. This does not help you get to sleep faster but will help your sleep be better once you are asleep.