Sacrificing Sleep for Cramming?

There is nothing new about a college student staying up late to cram for an exam. It could be by desperately searching through our notes, feeling confused on why we highlighted certain topics, or in front of a computer screen, in the dark, trying to find online tutorials that will save our lives. Whatever the case may be, the test is tomorrow, and we think: "four double espressos and seven hours of study time. I can do this!"

Sure, that logic seems airtight, but recent studies have shown that pulling all-nighters regularly can have a serious effect on your grades. Generally, students who get less sleep tend to have lower GPAs than average. You might think: "Hey! You are not making much sense Mr.Writer. How could more studying mean worse grades?". To answer that question, we must look at how the brain works and how it actually retains information.

Your brain, the original personal organizer.

All-night cram sessions generally do not work because our brains put the information in short-term storage when studying. No matter how much caffeine you ingest or how many hours of late night study you dedicate, you may not even remember half the things you studied when it gets to exam time.

Because you are using short-term memory to store new information, actually learning something new and retaining it for later takes time. Basically, the brain's information storage process works can be explained in three steps: encoding, storage and retrieval. So when you are learning something new (processing the information), the brain encodes the information, stores it for later use, or erases it if you do not need to use it again. Experts state that sleep is not only important to this process, it's critical. While you are dreaming of unicorns and rainbows (I know I am), your brain acts as your own secretary, organizing and consolidating all the information of the day. How very helpful! So that calculus formula you learned today, it goes in the "math" and "business schools" folder.

Last minute studying also has shown to increase anxiety and even lower your immune system. So you have a higher chance of getting sick, which causes you to perform much worse on the exam. They key is to allow your brain to relax before the exam, even if you have it scheduled for the afternoon, don't study in the morning. Just let your mind access that information on it's own, when you need it.

What can you do then to study at maximum efficiency? You probably already know the answer, but i'll say it anyway; study a few days before the test. Sure, many of you feel you work better under pressure. Well, that's good, you will have plenty of pressure when you are a famous heart surgeon. But, until then, you have to pass those exams.

Alex Muro, Collegehelpcenter.org, Go to college