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Pulling an all nighter can actually give you crummy grades! | Source
When you’re gearing up to get back to school, the thing you dread more than anything is probably having to take standardized tests, midterms, and finals–and the all nighter study sessions that go with them. We have some good news for you: Based on a new study, you may never pull an all nighter again, because it shows that they’re not even effective at improving your grades! In fact, pulling an all nighter can actually make your grades on exams worse.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study at all–you still need to pass! But when studying impedes on your sleep schedule, researchers found that it’s actually better for your academic success to get your rest instead of cramming half a semester’s worth of American history into an all nighter. One researcher said, “What we learned is that when kids cram, particularly at the expense of sleep, the next day they’re more likely to have academic problems even though they spent more time studying that night.” This means that if you were up at 3 AM looking over your chemistry notes, the girl across from you who hit the hay at 10 PM may well get a higher grade than you on your final.
If this seems unfair, it’s not–it’s just how our bodies work. Experts explained that aside from restoring our bodies while we rest, we also process and organize information we got throughout the day and use that to make connections within our brains. When you pull an all nighter, you’re depriving your body of rest and your brain of those connections.
Experts in the study warn that school start times can play a big role in your losing sleep, too–as well as the pressure to balance academics with extracurriculars. It’s not easy!
Some students say it helps to block out a chunk of time every day or week–even if it’s just a few minutes to an hour–to review their notes or work to avoid having to pull an all nighter later. Others say it helps them to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier to review their lessons before school. Different methods work for different people, but know that losing sleep is pretty much universally a bad idea–and you need between eight and 10 hours of sleep per night to function your best. For more tips on how to get a good night’s sleep, go here–and rest up, smartypants!
Have you ever pulled an all nighter? Do you think cramming helps or hurts your grades? Tell us in the comments!
Do Perfect Grades Even Matter?
During the last week of school, I had a final exam every single day. I stayed up until 3am, or later, each night to study. I did well (B+ or higher) on all of my exams. I did better than I would have if I had slept instead of studying.
Cramming until 3am may give a worse grade than just sleeping, but cramming until 1am might be reasonable.
I’ve never studied a day in my life. I’ve also never failed a test. Except for in Algebra, but if you knew my teacher, you’d understand why. He was usually high in the mornings, which is when I had his class.