How Sleep Affects Learning
Have you ever been in the situation where you’re studying for an exam and the time is just flying by? Next thing you know, you’re counting how many hours of sleep you can still get…
You start off with 7 but decide you need another hour to study. Now you’re down to 6. An hour later, you’re still not done. Now 5 hours of rest will have to work. And so on…
This situation used to be all too familiar to me when I was an undergrad. At the time, this seemed like an OK scenario because I could ‘catch up’ on sleep later and no harm would be done. Well, let me tell you, I was totally wrong!
Skipping sleep to stay up late and study may seem like a good idea but you’re doing yourself more harm than good. Sleep is vital to operating at your max capacity.
If you sacrifice slumber, you sacrifice brain function. I don’t know about you, but to me, hindering anything to do with the mind doesn’t sound too good right before an exam.
A good night’s sleep provides many cognitive benefits. Making yourself aware of these benefits will make you want to be fully rested each and every day!
Improved Focus
Nothing’s worse than struggling to understand something simply because you’re unable to concentrate on the task at hand. A tired mind tends to wander and struggles to zero in on one task. This means if you’re trying to study while tired, you’re just wasting your time. You’d be better off resting and starting again the next day.
A full night’s sleep gives you an enhanced attention span. You’ll notice an increase in mental clarity and an improved ability to focus. This is exactly what you need when trying to learn complicated engineering and math theories.
Enhanced Problem Solving
Have you ever gone to sleep at night wondering how to solve a problem and then when you wake up the solution pops into your head? It always amazes when I have this happen. This is the power of sleep!
A well-rested mind has the ability to better utilize all the material you learned throughout the day. In addition, your thought processes speed up and your creativity gets a boost. All of this helps with complex problem solving tasks.
Memory Boost
Declarative memory deals with information we know. Something like recalling what you wore last night would be an example. One study has shown that sleep strengthens your declarative memory and makes it resistant to change. Basically, getting enough rest helps lock in that material you’ve been reviewing and trying to memorize.
If you don’t get your body’s required hours of sleep you just can’t retain the information. This is why after spending hours studying during an all nighter, you can’t remember a thing once you get to the test. Your brain just hasn’t been given the rest it needs to process and consolidate the material.
In Summary
For the sake of your overall health, consider getting a full 7-9 hours of sleep each and every night. Lack of sleep not only contributes to mental fatigue, it also has been shown to cause high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Next time you’re debating between the bed and the books, just remember that sleep might be your best option. If you are doubting that an earlier bedtime will help your school performance, give it a try for a week. I guarantee you’ll notice the difference!
