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Don't fight sleep!

Drop that book and get a good eight-hour sleep. You'll perform better in exams

Story by Pratibha Umashankar
Illustrations by Hadi Farahani

SLEEP IS a basic necessity of life.

And when it comes to preparing and appearing for exams, there is no better ally than sleep. You better believe it -- sparing enough time for sleep can actually help you achieve success in exams.

Sleep is as vital to our well-being as air, food and water. A good night's sleep refreshes and rejuvenates the human body. We are ready to face the day. Lack of adequate sleep affects every aspect of our lives.

So, how much is adequate? Says Dr John W Shepard Jr, MD, "We define an adequate quantity of sleep as that which, when you attain it on a steady basis, produces a full degree of daytime alertness and feeling of well-being the following day." Dr Shepard is with the US-based Mayo Clinic's Sleep Disorder Center.

Now, alertness is vital during exam days, and so is the feeling of well-being. But as the clock starts ticking towards the weeks leading to the exams, many people -- you could be one of them -- have a tendency to cut down on sleep!!! They let exams affect their sleep pattern when it is the very thing that will help them achieve success.

Sleep pattern gets disrupted either because such people convert sleep time into study time or because they feel anxious -- it leads to sleeplessness. There seems to be so much to study and so little time to study it in. Sleeping for such people seems to be a waste of time. Precious sleep time is stolen and used for studies. Night time hours get credited to daytime. And as the day of reckoning approaches, even the few hours of snatched sleep seem unnecessary. There are those who keep awake all night and read every line of the textbook and every scrap of notes ever written, the night before exams. Little do they realise that sleep can actually help them perform better. Little do they realise that the line, burning the midnight oil ensures better results, is a myth ... that it needs to be exploded right away!

Not getting the necessary hours of sleep results in a domino effect. According to clinical psychologist, Dr Mary John of Child Care and Development Centre, Dubai, eight hours of sleep is a must for children as well as teenagers. "In fact, teenagers ideally sleep more because of hormonal changes," Dr John says. "The body and brain need to rest for rejuvenation, alertness, good memory and peak performance." Adds Dubai-based microbiologist, Medha Bhaskaran: "Sleep restores our cell functions. If we are deprived of our quota of sleep, we feel confused, angry and restless." When vital hours of sleep are missed, the mind and body crave for rest. The mind tends to become less alert and attentive. People lose mental agility and powers of concentration. When they cannot concentrate, they absorb less. What is taught or what is learnt is not stored in the form of memory. Indeed, lack of sleep affects long-term memory storage. This, in turn, affects recall. Finally, it affects performance and thereby marks and grades. In short, it is a 'chain reaction'.

There simply can be no learning without attention. Lack of sleep influences attention. People cannot learn what they don't attend to. If there is no learning, there is no recall. It is a simple law: If there is no input there is no output. Worse still, if a mind that needs rest is forced to study, what is recalled is garbled and incoherent. If you have yourself faced a situation where you could not remember vital links of an answer or if you were confused as to which mathematical formula had to be applied to a problem, you would know what this is all about.

According to research conducted by The National Sleep Foundation, in the United States, the cost of sleeplessness is high. "Our concentration and judgement suffer, our ability to perform simple tasks declines," the Foundation concluded. "Our productivity is sabotaged. The result of a sleep disorder or an overextended lifestyle, invites diminished quality of life and deteriorating health." Dr Mary John recommends a minimum seven hours of sleep even during exams. "Research shows that a sleep deprived person does not perform well," Dr John says. "To interpret the question correctly and to write the correct answers, the brain needs sleep. Preparing well in advance for exams is the only way to ensure that a person gets adequate sleep before exams. People ought to take sleep deprivation more seriously."

Sleeplessness also leads to stress and anxiety. The whole thing is a vicious circle. Anxiety leads to sleeplessness and sleeplessness leads to anxiety. Lack of preparation leads to exam-related stress, because of which a person spends sleepless nights studying for exams. Going without sleep leads to further anxiety.

Lack of adequate sleep also leads to irrational paranoid and confused behaviour. It leads to irrational fears. Facing exams becomes an ordeal. It leads to mood swings and irritability. This in turn leads to being snappy and quarrelsome. Minor irritants are magnified and result in a case of overreacting to a normal situation. Relationship with family and friends gets affected. This ruins peace of mind. And peace and quiet are things one needs during exams.

Sleep deprivation affects our physical health, too. Normal bodily functions get disrupted. Lack of appetite is one of the consequences. Have you felt aversion towards food as examination days draw near? Lack of sleep could be one of the reasons. When you go without food, your body lacks adequate nutrition. This brings in its wake weakness and lack of stamina, which is so very vital for those crucial days.

An empty stomach triggers other problems, like acidity. This again affects performance in exams. According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, almost all hormone production is to some extent regulated by sleep patterns. If sleep schedules are frequently changed or disrupted, many body functions, including metabolism and regulation of immune system, get affected. Sleep triggers hormone production. This includes growth hormones. If you are sleep-deprived, production drops. Body temperature, hormone levels, heart rate, blood pressure and even pain thresholds are linked to the circadian rhythm (24-hour cycle). It is therefore important not only to sleep well and enough but to maintain a regular sleep schedule.

To put it in a nutshell, going without sleep has far-reaching consequences, mentally physically and behaviourally. As pressures increase in this fast-paced competitive world and a demanding schedule eats into our bedtime, people tend to forget that lifestyle has changed but the body has not. They pay a price for stealing night time hours: drowsiness by day. Experts call this 'sleep debt'.

It is evident that seven to eight hours of sleep is the desired ideal. Very often, it is impossible to achieve this ideal. To be more realistic, during exam days, one does not seem to get that kind of time. Some experts believe that there is a 'core requirement' of sleep, say five hours of deep and uninterrupted sleep. People should not forego at least this 'core requirement' it they wish to perform well in exams.

Planning ahead, efficient time management, a sensible work schedule, realistic goals and good sleep hygiene can help a person to get the much needed sleep (see box: Tips ... tips ... tips). This not only will improve mental and physical well-being but academic performance as well. People need to sleep well not inspite of exams but because of it.

Stages of sleep

THOUGH sleep is a period of relative inactivity it is a complicated and dynamic process. On the basis of extensive research in the field, experts divide sleep into various stages ...

Stage 1: Our muscles relax Our brain waves are irregular and rapid.

Stage 2: The brain waves become larger.

Stages 3 and 4 (also collectively called the 'Delta' stage or the stage of deep sleep). The Delta stage is the most important.

Stage 5: An hour after Delta, we move into a highly active stage of sleep where dreams occur. This stage is characterised by rapid eye movements. It is therefore called REM sleep. -PU

Lack of sleep -- a modern epidemic

WHEN you are preparing for exams, your sleeping habits do go haywire. Keeping awake till the wee hours of the morning and getting up when your mind and body are crying out for sleep and forcing them to focus on the task ahead is an all too familiar story.

Well, if on certain occasions if you do sacrifice a couple of hours of precious sleep, it is no big deal. You can make up for lost sleep and recoup the lost energy the following day. But there is a catch! If you have spent all night studying for a crucial exam, you would not be at your best for the exam itself. Your preparation may be thorough. but your performance may not be so.

Again, if you keep changing your bedtime once too often and keep varying the quantity of your sleep, two things are likely to happen: your brain will receive erratic signals. Your circadian rhythm (24-hour cycle) will get disrupted ... the normal bodily functions get thrown off balance. Energy levels will suffer. As you fool around with the quantity of sleep, the quality of sleep gets affected. When quality gets affected, your mental faculties are not at their best. YOU MAY BE AWAKE BUT YOUR MIND MAY NOT BE. You are not alert enough to undertake challenging tasks. Erratic sleep habits may lead to serious sleep disorders.

According to researchers at The National Sleep Foundation, in the United States, sleep problems have become a modern epidemic that is taking catastrophic toll on our bodies and our minds. According to a poll conducted for the Foundation, one out of every two people in the United States suffers from sleeplessness at some point, many of them chronically. For victims of sleep disorder, the night is a source of anguish not rest.--PU

You are not getting enough sleep if ...

You take longer to get off the bed even after you have woken up.
You try to snatch a few extra minutes' sleep after the alarm clock has gone off.
You look forward to catching up on lost sleep.
You sleep for long hours on weekends.
You go zzzz during class hours.
You feel perpetually fatigued.
You feel like a snooze after meals.
You doze off to sleep with your book in front of you.--PU

Sleep deprivation -- spot the villains

WHEN your mother coaxes you to go to bed early the day before exams, you probably respond, "Mom, you don't realise how much there Is to study! How can I waste my time sleeping?"

Now, are you really that hard up for time? What about time wasted early on? Spot the villains who claim your time and rob you of your well-deserved sleep:

Social pressures. Parties, hanging out with the guys.
Telephone. Did I really chat with my friend for an hour?
Computer. A useful servant but a demanding master, if you don't watch out!
The Internet. Twin of the above. The deadly twosome make sure that you spend hours In their company without realising it. You lose sight of time when you are site-hopping.
Television. Television has been aptly described as 'the chewing gum of the eyes'. You keep chewing at it long past the taste has gone. Channel-zapping to see what's on TV takes up more time than you think.
Loud music. This could be the 'silent enemy'. Music is soothing and even has therapeutic effect. But if you are a loud-music buff and just cannot go to bed without listening to music, it is most likely that this kind of music isn't lefting you sleep. It has kept you alert and awake longer than you think.
Being attentive in class. When you daydream in class, It eats Into your nocturnal dreams, that is, it gives you less time to sleep. This is how: You take more time to learn what you have not attended to earlier. As a result, revision time gets extended.)
Not being able to say 'No'. Many of the obligations you meet and favours you are forced to do are unnecessary. They are time-consuming. 9. You like the Idea of keeping awake till late at night, for no apparent reason.
Lack of discipline, time-management and defined goals. (For more on this, refer to parts 1 and 2 of Exams '99 which appeared in the December 29 and January 5 issues of Young Times.) --PU

RED ALERT!

"ANY time you are relying on an alarm clock to wake you up, you are not getting enough sleep. If your brain still wants to be asleep, your brain is voting 'yes', you need more sleep"

--John W Shepard Jr MD, of Mayo Clinic's Sleep Disorders Center

Tips ... tips ... tips

Sleep patterns are highly individualistic. Find out whether you are a 'lark' or an 'owl' (that is, if you are a morning person or a night person). Schedule your work accordingly, so that you are alert while studying and sleepy at bedtime.
Take a nap when you feel tired during mid-day.
Close your eyes and rest for a while if you cannot take a nap. This is a good idea especially if you have just learnt something complicated. This allows what is learnt to 'solidify'.
If a demanding schedule does not permit a nap, schedule lighter or easier tasks when you are drowsy.
Avoid artificial means of keeping awake.
Avoid intake of caffeine-based beverages at night.
Sleep helps learning and memory. It prevents clash of learnt information. Deep sleep is more important than any other stage of sleep. On no account should you sacrifice this.
Stick to a sleeping schedule. (Almost all hormone production is regulated to some extent by circadian rhythms. Sleep triggers hormone production. If you keep changing your daily sleep schedule, this gets affected. Metabolism gets affected. General health gets affected. You do need to stay healthy during exams and at other times, too.)
Wake up to your body clock. This does not mean that you chuck out your alarm clock. Regulate your sleep habits so that you are ready to wake up when your alarm clock asks you to.
Make use of the TV programme guide in the newspaper. Circle the programmes on TV which you would like to watch. Make a further selection of what you can manage within your time table. This will save channel zapping time and frustration. It will also make more time for sleep.
Do not go to bed with anxiety. This disrupts sleep.
A good night's sleep could solve anxiety problems. Remember the old adage, 'sleeping on a problem'?
Do not feel guilty to sleep.
Sleep is not a LUXURY. It is a NECESSITY. Dr John W Shepard Jr of Mayo Clinic's Sleep Disorder Center has this to suggest:
1. Put the electronic gadgets to work for you. For example, use a videocassette recorder to tape your favourite late shows and watch them earlier the next day in your relaxation time.
2. Use a personalised browser to scan the Internet for you rather than spend the night surfing.
3. Find local weather information, sports scores and other interesting news on the radio or the World Wide Web, instead of watching late night TV news.--PU

Are you an owl or a lark?

SOME people are at their best in the earlier part of the day while others are alert in the latter half. Experts call the former as 'larks' and the latter as 'owls'. If you listen to your body clock very carefully. you can find out whether you are a lark or an owl. You can work during your best time and manage to get adequate sleep as well. It is evident that If we make drastic changes In our sleep patterns, the body's natural clock is thrown off balance.

The result: everything goes haywire! --PU

To nap or not to nap?

SHOULD you have that nap which is so tempting? Experts in the field have this to say:

There are times when we experience a mid-afternoon slump. even when we have slept well. This occurs between 1pm and 4pm. This is called the 'Siesta Zone'. This suggests that the human body may be meant to nap. An occasional nap is good. It restores alertness. A nap is a good idea, especially if you need to keep awake longer later on and there is no time for a longer period of sleep. There is increasing evidence that a 15-minute nap can increase alertness and sharpen memory. It also reduces fatigue. A nap is ideal when sleep has been lost the previous night or when you know you are not going to get enough sleep that night. Many cultures, especially in warm countries, encourage and promote an afternoon nap. The split-shift system followed by many offices in the UAE. is an example. There is a lull in activities in all spheres in the afternoon. The ideal thing is to take a nap if your body demands it, so that you can wake up refreshed to face greater challenges. It does not make much sense to force yourself to study when you are drowsy. It would take longer. The same time could be invested in a restorative nap. --PU

source : http://www.youngtimes.co.ae/examaid3.htm

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