A Study Guide To Getting Sleep During Final Exams (2024)

How Much Sleep Do College Students Need?

Adults need at least seven hours of sleep per night to feel rested. Teenagers require a bit more, between eight to ten hours.

Our circadian rhythms, or internal body clock Trusted Source National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)The NIGMS supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.View Source , regulate our natural sleep schedule. During adolescence, we experience a circadian shift Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source , where our bodies naturally tire later.

Unfortunately, this circadian shift during adolescence occurs at a time when school starts even earlier. Starting in high school and continuing into college, students struggle with waking up way earlier than their bodies want them to. Even if students do manage to get a full night’s sleep, this shift in sleep schedule can still lead to negative effects, like poor mood and concentration, and increased feelings of depression Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source .

How Much Sleep Do College Students Get?

As you might have guessed, the vast majority of college students don’t get the sleep they need. During a typical semester, between 70% to 96% of college students Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source sleep fewer than eight hours on weeknights. Over half of college students Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night, and 47% report daytime sleepiness on a near daily level. Sixty percent of college students meet the clinical criteria for poor sleep, and 27% are at risk Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source for a sleep disorder.

If school and sleep don’t seem to go well together, it’s even worse during final exams. The average college student only sleeps 6.36 hours per night during finals week. Fewer than 10% Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source sleep for eight hours each night. In one study of architecture students, a majority reported pulling at least three all-nighters per month.

Not only do students spend less time sleeping during finals week, but they engage in worse sleep habits, as well, so the sleep they do get is of lower quality. Students are under an increased amount of stress during finals, and are more likely to increase their use of caffeine and other stimulants. They also spend more time exposed to bright light from their computers, smartphones, and other electronics. These devices emit a strong blue light that the brain interprets as sunlight, which keeps you awake by disrupting your circadian rhythms Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source .

College students’ sleep patterns wouldn’t be the end of the world, if only sleep weren’t so essential to overall wellbeing. When you don’t get enough sleep, it’s called sleep deprivation Trusted Source National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)The NHLBI is the nation's leader in the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders.View Source . Sleep deprivation can cause serious problems.

College Students and Sleep Deprivation

When we’re sleep-deprived, we experience symptoms like:

• Impaired immune function and increased susceptibility to illness and infection
• Increased stress levels
• Increased cravings and weight gain
• Increased risk of depression
• Decreased athletic performance
• Increased risk of drowsy driving accidents
• Impaired cognitive performance

Poor sleep impacts your memory, creativity, and logical reasoning. In other words, not sleeping enough impairs all the skills you need to perform well on a final exam. When students miss out on sleep, they have a tougher time paying attention, and it’s harder for their brains to commit new information to memory.

Sleep deprivation isn’t only how you feel after an all-nighter. It can also come on gradually, if you chronically cut your sleep short on a regular basis. Missing out on just one hour of sleep per night for a week produces the same cognitive impairments as a single all-nighter. Considering that most students sleep only about six hours during finals, most definitely qualify as sleep-deprived.

Better Sleep = Better Grades. Seriously!

Is sleep the secret answer to scoring better on your final exams? It just may be. Students who sleep better enjoy better grades, better recall, better mood, and better health.

Many students opt to cram instead of sleep, thinking the extra time studying will benefit them on their exams. The research says the opposite, however. One study created an incentive program to encourage students to sleep more, rewarding them with extra credit if they slept at least eight hours on average for five nights in a row. Of students who weren’t enrolled in the incentive program, only 9% got at least eight hours of sleep, and only 14% got seven hours. When the students enrolled in the program, those percentages increased to 59% and 86% respectively.

On average, the incentivized students slept over 1.5 hours more per night than the students who weren’t in the program. Best of all, the more well-slept students performed just as well as their sleep-deprived peers. In another variation of the study, the students who slept eight hours or more performed even better than those who did not.

What’s the takeaway from this research? Sacrificing sleep for studying does not actually improve your performance. In fact, spending more time asleep during finals week could actually help you earn better grades.

To Cram or to Sleep?

Good sleep can pay off even the night before an exam. Some studies have found that getting a full night’s sleep before taking an exam is correlated with better grades and higher overall GPA.

However, other studies have found that it’s not enough to sleep well the night before your exam. To enjoy the maximum benefits of good sleep, you need to sleep well for at least a week leading up to your exam. In one study, researchers found that the previous night’s sleep had no impact on test scores.

When researchers assessed the students’ sleeping habits leading up to an exam, however, they discovered that those who slept longer and enjoyed better sleep quality in the week and the month beforehand did get better grades. In fact, researchers estimate the better sleep accounted for nearly 25% of the difference in academic performance.

To understand why sleep can positively impact grades, it’s helpful to understand how sleep works. When we sleep, our brain cycles through different stages of sleep several times a night, from light sleep to deep sleep to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and back again. With each cycle, we spend progressively more time in the deeper REM stages of sleep, and less time in light sleep Trusted Source National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)NINDS aims to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.View Source .

When you cut your sleep time short, you cut your REM sleep short. REM sleep is the stage of sleep in which we do the most dreaming, and our brains process new information and commit it to memory. REM sleep is critical for our cognitive performance. When students miss out on sleep, they primarily miss out on REM sleep, which they need the most when they’re studying for finals.

Tips for Sleeping Better During College Finals

It’s possible no one has more on their plate than a college student during finals week. But, do what you can to improve your sleep during this time.

Use Your Naps as a Study Break

Students who nap more tend to have higher GPAs. Napping right after you learn something can help improve your memory Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source of the material. Even a six-minute nap can improve your vocabulary memorization by 11%. When it comes to retaining new information, napping has been proven to be even more effective than cramming.

There is a delicate balance between napping just enough and napping too much, though. Limit your naps to 20 to 30 minutes, and plan for naps to end by late afternoon. Otherwise, you may have trouble falling asleep later that night.

Follow a Regular Sleep Schedule

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (including weekends). Irregular sleep schedules have been linked to lower GPAs, while consistent sleep can improve academic performance.

Make Your Sleep Environment as Cool, Dark, and Quiet as Possible

Optimizing your bedroom for sleep can be tricky when you’re sharing a room and you don’t control the dorm’s thermostat. Four in ten students wake up due to a noisy roommate or dorm. If that’s your situation, eye masks and ear plugs are your friends. Or, fall asleep while listening to a white noise playlist on Spotify.

Go for Comfort

It’s easier to sleep more deeply when your body is comfortable. If you can feel the springs on your dorm mattress, get yourself a . These are an affordable way to improve your comfort. may also help relieve anxiety for some.

Say Goodnight to Your Phone

Electronics trick you into staying up past your bedtime because of the blue light they emit. Turn your phone off at least 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Read a book or listen to calming music instead.

Exercise Daily

Daily exercise has consistently shown to improve sleep quality Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source , even if it’s just a brisk walk around campus. Since you’re short on time during finals, make the most of your workout by doing it outside soon after waking up. This will give you an extra energy boost Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source , while helping to realign your circadian rhythms and improve your sleep.

Be Careful With Caffeine and Alcohol

Finals are so exhausting, it’s natural to want to reach for the energy drinks, coffee, and snacks whenever you need a pick-me-up. Unfortunately, these will likely make your sleep worse.

Be thoughtful about your caffeine intake during finals. Limit yourself to 400 mg per day Trusted Source Medline PlusMedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends.View Source , and stop having any at least eight hours before bedtime. Studies show that coffee has the ability to disrupt sleep even when ingested six hours before bed Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.View Source . Nicotine and alcohol also worsen sleep quality. Instead, indulge in your favorite healthy foods to keep your energy levels up and your mood balanced.