Sleep Deprivation?

Question

Is it necessary to get 8 hours of sleep? Or is it 10 hours? What are the benefits of a good sleep? I want to know because I have a test to take very soon in school and want to be in tip top shape.

Answer 1

Eight hours of sleep would be ideal but anywhere from 6-10 is considered healthy. I wouldn't recommend sleeping more than 10 if you aren't used to it. You'll end up feeling tired all day.

Here's what I suggest:
1. Make sure you feel prepared for your test. If you know that you understand the material, that puts less stress on you.
2. Eat a good dinner the night before. As long as it's balanced and healthy, any dinner will work.
3. Get some physical exercise after dinner- but not too close to bed time. This will help you sleep better at night because your body will be tired. Exercise is also a great stress reliever.
4. Take a nice, relaxing bath (or shower if you prefer) before bed. This will help relax you and help you sleep. Also, if you get clean the night before, you won't have to worry about it in the morning.
5. Put on one of those ocean sounds CD's. If you don't have one, you can get them cheaply at target- you'll use it a lot. It helps you sleep because the constant noise drowns out anything else that might disturb you (barking dog, loud family members) Just make sure you don't get one with those loud birds.
6. make sure you are as comfortable as possible before bed and settle in.

It also helps to just pick out a comfortable outfit and go low maintenence on the hair and make up so you can use that time in the morning to eat a good breakfast and review.

Hope this helps! This is what I do before I have any thing important scheduled.

Answer 2

If your taking a test, you definitely don't want to deprive yourself of sleep. 9 hours is good I would say, but definitely don't change your schedule before the test, as it will get you all wound up and you'll just toss and turn thinking about it. Listen to some music before, do a little stretching, and if you didn't know, sleeping naked ;)

Answer 3

I only sleep for 1-3 hours every night and I have straight A's. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Answer 4

8 hours is an average night of sleep. anything over 8 hours is excellent.

Answer 5

A Better Way to Prepare for Exams


Sleep could prove to be an important part of the strategy for preparing for challenges such as exams. "The fact that sleep provoked slightly more plasticity (connections between nerve cells) than double the amount of exposure to experience – suggests that if you reviewed your notes thoroughly until you were tired and then slept, you'd achieve as much plasticity, or 'learning,' in the brain as if you'd pulled an all-nighter repeating your review of the material," says Michael P. Stryker, Ph.D., researcher at the University of California, San Francisco


Studies have shown that sleep-loss affects learning and memory. When animals and humans are deprived of sleep, they do not perform well on memory tasks.

Adequate sleep is crucial to proper brain function – no less so than air, water, and food – but stress can modify sleep-wakefulness cycles.

Any amount of sleep deprivation will diminish mental performance, cautions Mark Mahowald, a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. "One complete night of sleep deprivation is as impairing in simulated driving tests as a legally intoxicating -alcohol level."




At the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in June 2001, Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D., reported that people who regularly do not get enough sleep can become less sensitive to insulin. This increases their risk for diabetes and high pressure – both serious threats to the brain.

Previous work by Dr. Van Cauter, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, found that "metabolic and endocrine changes resulting from a significant sleep debt mimic many of the hallmarks of aging. We suspect that chronic sleep loss may not only hasten the onset but could also increase the severity of age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and memory loss ."

* Sleep is as important as food and air. Quantity and quality are very important. Most s need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder.
* Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every day. Getting up at the same time is most important. Getting bright light, like the sun, when you get up will also help. Try to go to bed only when you are sleepy. Bright light in the morning at a regular time should help you feel sleepy at the same time every night.
* Stay away from stimulants like caffeine. This will help you get deep sleep which is most refreshing. If you take any caffeine, take it in the morning. Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and caffeinated teas. They will delay sleep and increase arousals during the night.
* Use the bed for sleeping. Avoid watching TV or using laptop computers. Know that reading in bed can be a problem if the material is very stimulation and you read with a bright light. If it helps to read before sleep make sure you use a very small wattage bulb to read. A 15 watt bulb should be enough. Bright light from these activities may inhibit sleep.
* Avoid bright light around the house before bed. Using dimmer switches in living rooms and bathrooms before bed can be helpful. (Dimmer switches can be set to maximum brightness for morning routines.)
* Don't stress if you feel you are not getting enough sleep. It will just make matters worse. Know you will sleep eventually.
* Avoid exercise near bedtime. No exercise at least 3 hours before bed.
* Don't go to bed hungry. Have a light snack, avoid a heavy meal before bed.
* Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep. Keep routines on your normal schedule. A cup of herbal tea an hour before bed can begin a routine.
* Avoid looking at the clock if you wake up in the middle of the night. It can cause anxiety. This is very difficult for most of us, so turn the clock away from your eyes so you would have to turn it to see the time. You may decide not to make the effort and go right back to sleep.
* If you can't get to sleep for over 30 minutes, get out of bed and do something boring in dim light till you are sleepy.
* Keep your bedroom at comfortable temperature. Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer.
* If you have problems with noise in your environment you can use a white noise generator. A old fan will work or you can buy noise machies from many sources.
* Know that the "night cap" has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. You may not notice it. (It is worse if you have sleep apnea because the alcohol makes the apnea worse.) Sometimes people snore only if they have had some alcohol or may snore worse if they already snore.)
* If you have a sleeping partner, ask them if they notice any snoring, leg movements and/or pauses in breathing . Take this information and try the sleep test. You may have a sleep disorder or you may just need to increase your awareness about your own sleep need. If you have any concerns see your doctor.