Which is better: two hours or an all-nighter?

Question

Say you're cramming for an exam, and it comes down to the point where you could get two-ish hours of sleep before it, or just stay up the extra hours and study a bit more.

Which is generally going to lead to a more focused attitude, one that'll actually remember the stuff that was crammed?

Obviously studying in advance is the best answer, but when it comes down to the wire, which is best?

Answer 1

going to sleep could result in you over sleeping if all you have is such a short amount of time to sleep so i would say risk staying awaking. mommyblues

Answer 2

Sunday night - 3 hours
Monday night - 4 hours
Tuesday night (tonight) - 3 hours

I have a lot of exams and papers due this week and as you can see I go with the 2 hour option over the all-nighter. The way I figure it is just a little bit of REM sleep gets your neurons back in place better than nothing. I have pulled all-nighters before and I they just make me unable to concentrate and I feel physically sick, which doesn't help.

Answer 3

To tell you the truth, none of these.

Becayse you shouldn't be cramming the next before an exam because it most likely won't stay in your mind
.
It would be better that you have no sleep as your body would be tired even more if you attempted to re gain some energy and it was woken up during this process.

Answer 4

You are screwed either way...

They did a study where they took two groups of students with various GPAs. And they had one group study for 2 hours and then go to sleep for 8 hours. They had another group study for 4 hours and go to sleep for 4 hours.
In the morning, they gave both groups a test... the group that slept the 8 hours remembered twice as much information than the group that only slept for 4 hours. So even though the group that only got 4 hours sleep studied 2 hours longer, they were unable to retain that information.

Answer 5

Study up until your concentration starts to wane, and are beginning to lose focus. Studying past this point is detrimental, as you gain little, and you waste precious sleep time. I don't think allnighters are a good idea because it leaves you excessively tired the next day.

My strategy was to to study up until the concentration starts to wane, then go to sleep. Wake up early the next day, and if possible, do an hours study before the exam (in the library).

Answer 6

I know that in my psych classes, we were told that it is worse to cram before a test because your brain has little time to store the information . It all goes into your short term memory which can easily be dumped out or jumbled with different information.

Answer 7

two hours is better than the whole night, because you simply wont get enough sleep, so you will feel tired and it will be hart to consentrate. study for as long as you can, but also dont forget to sleep, and eat chocolate just before the exam :)

Answer 8

Any amount of sleep will rest your brain and your body and aid you in some way better than none at all ... I would take the 2 hours sleep, all the while repeating to myself as I drift off, "I only need two hours sleep, ... I only need two hours sleep... I only need two hours sleep..."

The power of suggestion cannot be underestimated.

Answer 9

Get a little bit of sleep to allow your brain time to relax. If you can't sleep, just breathe deeply and close your eyes...make sure to set an alarm though!!

And study in advance next time!!

Answer 10

Sleep, the last thing you wont is to put the wrong answers on the test, because you read or understood the question wrong due to exaustion.