Sleep Your Way to Better Exam Grades

As the first half of the school year winds to a close for college and high school students around the country, they still have one more thing to worry about before they can go home for the holidays — exams.  Sleep is critical to learning and memory, and whether you’re getting ready for a big test at school or a big presentation at work, sleep should be an integral part of your preparation.  Here are some SleepBetter tips to help you sleep your way to success:

Learn, sleep, then review: Sleep plays a huge role in memory.  Look over your material in the evening right before bed, then get a full night’s sleep (around eight hours).  When you wake, review the material.

Don’t stay up all night: Pulling an all-nighter may seem like what’s needed to learn material for an exam, but in most cases it’s counterproductive.  You won’t learn a huge amount overnight, and you’ll be exhausted for the test.  Even if you actually know more because you studied all night, you’re much more likely to make careless errors on the test.

Sleep to be ready: No matter what, make sure you get plenty of sleep on the night before your exam.  Students should get as close to eight or nine hours as possible.  Walking into school bleary-eyed is a recipe for disaster.

Don’t drink gallons of coffee: Caffeine can help if you’re short on sleep, but don’t overuse caffeinated drinks like coffee, soda and energy drinks.  Caffeine stays in your system for 6-8 hours, and can keep you from getting that good night’s sleep you need the night before the big test.

Buy new bedding: Bad bedding, whether it’s the wrong type, not firm enough, or just old, can impact your grades for the entire semester because you’re just not sleeping well.  Besides, based on our scientific study of college bedding, many college students are sleeping on some nasty pillows.