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| Breaking the Midnight Habit |
Beat the Midnight Oil: Taking Back Your Time and Your GPA
We've all been there-1 AM, library eerily silent, caffeine long gone and the page in your textbook appearing in an incomprehensible foreign tongue. "I'll just do one more chapter," or " I focus so much better with all the distractions gone," you tell yourself.
The unfortunate fact is:
the allure of nighttime productivity is a trap. Although you may believe you're getting more accomplished, your brain's productivity is being fueled by empty tanks and your memory, well-being and GPA are paying the price of staying up late.
You're actually fighting against your biology. We'll begin to break down why midnight is not a time to pull all-nighters and take back your own rhythm.
The Midnight Trap: And Why It Doesn't Pay Off
1. The Memory Consolidation Deficit
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| The "Brain Dump" (Combating Anxiety) |
You are doing more than simply scanning facts into your head; you are trying to put them into memory. According to scientific research, "memory consolidation", the process of moving information from temporary short-term memory into more permanent long-term storage, occurs during the course of deep, refreshing sleep. When you stay up too late, you deny your brain the most crucial element of studying. You are, in effect, saving a file on your computer and unplugging it before it has finished saving.
2. The Circadian Collision
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| The "Circadian Collision" (Blue Light Awareness) |
You have a circadian rhythm- a biological clock that revolves around day and night. When you pull an all-nighter, and particularly if you are looking at the blue-tinted screen of a laptop, you deceive your brain into believing that it is actually daytime. This will cause your cortisol (stress) hormone levels to rise and will simultaneously prevent melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleeping) from being released. As a result, once you can no longer bear to stay up, it will take longer to fall asleep, and you will fall into a pattern of sleep deprivation. This exhaustion can result in headaches from stress, screen use, and dehydration, making your next study session even less bearable.
3. The "Productivity Paradox"
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| The "Productivity Paradox" (The Morning Pivot) |
We tell ourselves that we prefer studying at night because it is "quiet". Research proves that our cognitive function-which includes critical analysis, critical thinking, and problem solving- is at its highest during morning and early afternoon hours. Studying at night doesn't actually make you more productive but rather makes you work slower. That two-hour assignment that you're cramming at 2 AM could take 45 minutes to do at 10 AM.
Recovering Your Energy-the proper way
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Recovering Your Energy-the proper way |
Audit your highest energy periods. Keep a diary for three days, when are you feeling your most awake? You can then schedule your hardest tasks (such as writing, complex problem sets, etc.) during this time.
Stay Hydrated.
Are you "stressed" or simply dehydrated or anemic? Dehydration or anemia can significantly inhibit your capacity to study.
Be aware of your symptoms.
Stress and poor lifestyle habits not only impact your grades but your physical being and look-including hair loss at college age.
The 20-20-20 rule.
If you find you must be up late working, then do this to preserve your eyes: every twenty minutes, gaze at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
The "Sunset" ritual
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| The "Sunset Ritual" (Preparing for Rest) |
The Bottom Line
1. Should you ever pull an all-nighter?
Only in the case of an absolute extreme emergency, a test in a course you know absolutely nothing about and have had zero prior study time. Last resort, it is not a strategy. Remember, because sleep deprivation will affect memory recall, try to at least get a 3 hour "nap-cycle" to aid memory consolidation.
2. What if I'm naturally a "night owl"?
While it is true some people have a later sleep phase than others, this doesn't mean 3:00AM is the optimum time to study. You'll need to train yourself to become a "morning-ish" type by shifting your night-owl sleep phase back by thirty minutes every day, until you establish a sleep pattern that allows you to wake up on your own without the exhaustion.
3. If I study at night, can I have caffeine?
Caffeine is a "borrowed" energy. It doesn't provide energy, it only blocks Adenosine (the substance in your brain that makes you sleepy). Once caffeine has been metabolized in your body, you'll hit a gigantic crash that will make studying ten times harder.
4. What if I can't fall asleep because of the things I have to do tomorrow?
We often stay up studying due to anxiety of the next day. A simple trick to avoid this is to get all of the thoughts out of your head on a piece of paper so they aren't cycling throughout your mind at night, then you can focus on sleep.
5. Just how much sleep do I need in order to have a good GPA?
College aged individuals require roughly 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Just two hours less sleep for a few nights straight can be equivalent to a legally intoxicated person.
6. Should I study in the library or in my dorm?
Dorms and beds are strongly associated with sleeping and relaxation. Therefore, when you study on your bed your brain has a tendency to get confused. The best choice for studying will be on a study table at your desk or at a library desk.
7. Can I just sleep in on the weekends to catch up on my lost sleep?
The result of this is social jetlag, which further disrupts your circadian rhythm. It's better to wake up and be on schedule everyday, then sleep in on Saturday a bit if necessary.
8. How do I know I'm overdoing it?
When you constantly suffer from headaches, get easily irritated, have difficulty focusing on simple tasks and sentences, and rely on caffeine in order to feel somewhat alert you should definitely cut back.
Ready to change your habit? Today, take one assignment you usually work on during nighttime, complete it and transfer it to the morning. Your GPA and physical well being will definitely appreciate this effort.