Sleep can actually have incredibly beneficial effects on your memory and capacity for learning and should definitely be considered as a factor to improve when youre trying to better yourself and your education But how can you achieve better sleep and how can you make sure that it pays off with your studying
There are a few simple steps that you can take in order to make sure that your studying improves alongside your sleeping
Dreams
Although dreams are incredibly complex and we dont fully understand them at all yet since they are quite difficult to research there has been a study which researched the effect of dreams on learning and memory In the study participants had to make their way through a difficult maze and then had a ninety minute break
During the ninety minute break some of the participants were allowed to nap while others were not Obviously some of those who napped experienced dreams and of those the ones who dreamed about the maze did much better when faced with the challenge for a second time than all of the other participants
Although your upcoming exam might not seem like a maze your brain has to work around remembering all the facts similarly to how it might try to remember the paths in a maze so if you nap after a good study session you might just end up remembering more than you wouldve without the nap making it a worthwhile and pleasant option
Micro Naps
You might have never heard of a micro nap before but youll certainly know what one is Heather Johnson a health writer at Write My Paper and UKWritings says since its just a really short nap
However while you may have thought about having a quick cat nap due to simple tiredness or boredom in actuality they can be a realistic and convenient way to
refresh yourself and boost your learning abilities Nearly nobody can find time in the day for a half hour to an hour nap especially not if youre also trying to work or study or even bothSo why not fit in a quick five to ten minute nap setting an alarm to make sure that you dont oversleep since it will quickly rejuvenate your energy supplies and keep you in tip top condition throughout the day no matter how stressful it might end up being
Creativity
Coming back to the idea of dreams it is generally considered common knowledge that some ideas came to people in a dream although these people are generally looked upon as a little confused or more commonly obsessively religious since the ideas are often given to them by angels or deities
However going into a deep sleep can help your mind to mull over any difficult problems that you might be facing during your waking hours finding that hard to believe The societal stigma around dreams might be forcing you to stay within a predetermined box of disbelief and skepticism but there are hard facts to back up this claim
During another study into the effects of sleep a group of people were collected and given difficult problems to think about throughout the day having been given the problems in the morning
Some of the people were actively encouraged to nap and sleep throughout the day even while they were meant to be solving or thinking of solutions for these problems while others were strictly told that they could not sleep or nap
Out of the people who were encouraged to nap those who napped long enough to enter REM rapid eye movement sleep the deepest type of sleep where intense and vivid dreams tend to occur performed forty percent better at solving the problems and thinking of creative solutions than everyone else within the study
So if youre stuck on a certain area of study or need to become a master problem solver dreaming is a sure fire way to get yourself on the right track
Tiredness
Being tired might be one of the most fundamental problems for students who regularly pull all nighters staying awake all night in order to get all of their studying and coursework completed in time whether due to strict time constraints or slack time management on the students parts
If youre tired then you wont perform as well at academics sport anything really Charles Margolin an educator at Studydemic and Essayroo suggests When youre tired youll find it difficult to focus on anything making learning near impossible All you want to do is sleep not learn equations or memorize dates so give your body what it needs at the right time in order to not let your grades suffer
Sleeping before class even if its just a quick nap can easily boost your confidence and ability to learn and make you brighter and happier so it is an all round excellent idea to keep in control of your sleep so that fatigue doesnt ruin your studying efforts
Schedule
Leading on from that idea if you settle your body into a good sleeping schedule then academic benefits are sure to follow
Making sure that you go to bed at the same time every night perhaps an hour before you actually plan to sleep just to relax your body before you actually drift off and setting an alarm for the same time every morning yes even on weekends since lie ins can make you feel extremely groggy and can actually be horrible for your health despite their invitingness are brilliant ideas to keep you within a good safe sleeping pattern
Your body will eventually become in tuned with this arrangement and you will find it easier to spring out of bed every morning and be in a good working mindset for your studying
If youre in a good mood then your brain will be more receptive to gaining new facts and remembering new patterns making studying more worthwhile since youre more likely to gain knowledge from every minute instead of only actually remembering a couple of facts out of the hundreds that you mightve tried to learn
Conclusion
Sleeping is incredibly important to everyday life but it couldnt be more important when you think about it in terms of studying and revision
Although it sounds cliché getting enough sleep before an important exam is definitely better than trying to cram all the information in one night not only is it healthier for you and your brain but it is also more effective and youre more likely to do better academically if you pay attention to your body and how much sleep it needs
Alaska Sleep Clinic is the recipient of the 2018 Better Business Bureaus Torch Award for Ethics Business of the Year We take you and your familys health seriously Dont trust your sleep to anyone else
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