Sleep

During a good night’s sleep, your body and mental functions regenerate and information is stored in long-term memory. Lack of quality sleep negatively affects your concentration, memory and mood. If you study all day, but intermittently for a few hours at night, only a small part of the knowledge is stored in long-term memory.

Up to 60% of university students suffer from low sleep quality. Low sleep quality is directly related to poorer academic performance.

There is no ideal sleep time, everyone needs a different amount of sleep to feel rested. But 90% of adults sleep 6-9 hours.

While long-term sleep deprivation is linked to poorer academic performance, there is no significant relationship between one bad night and exam performance! Even if you sleep badly one night before an exam, it doesn’t mean you will definitely fail. However, if you subject yourself to sleep deprivation over a long period of time, it will have a negative effect on your physical and mental health.

Calculate your sleeping deficit.

Tips

  • Establish a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time, no matter if you feel tired. Set your alarm for bedtime too. On iPhones, for example, you can set it in the „health“ app.
  • Avoid afternoon naps. Don’t nap after 3 p.m. It’s hard to fall asleep at night after an afternoon nap. If you’re tired, lie down for 10 minutes, but try not to fall asleep.
  • Use the bed only for sleep and sex. Your body will fixate on the fact that it can rest when you’re in bed and tune in.
  • Don’t stay in bed if you can’t sleep for long. If you don’t fall asleep after 30 minutes, move to a couch or chair and do a quiet activity (e.g., reading, listening to music). When you feel tired, go back to bed.
  • Write your thoughts down on paper. If you can’t sleep because you have (anxious) thoughts swirling around in your head, write them down on paper and then put it away. Writing it down helps you to grasp the thoughts better and takes the worry out of forgetting something tomorrow.
  • Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol (at least in the exam period). These substances rob you of the deep stages of sleep during which the brain stores information and regenerates its ability to concentrate.
  • Turn on the blue light filter on your phone (e.g. as „eye comfort“ on Android).

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