How much sleep do people need?

[Chibucks15]

In my first year I've consistently gotten B+/A-/A grades on exams but somehow thats barely above average for my class so far. Classes have been review for the most part and I know itll get harder but I hear around school people are happy if they get 3 hours of sleep the night before the test, and 5 hours on a normal night. Is this normal? I mean I'm all for trying to improve my grades but is not sleeping really worth it? Just heard that yesterday and was kinda surprised so wanted to see how other people did it haha I guess thats how people in my class do 100,000 things a day though

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[jcve34]

Which school do you go to? I depends on curriculum, for example at KCUMB I consistently get 5-6 hours of sleep 7 days a week. And then the night before a test I’ll get 8-9.

 

[Chibucks15]

Which school do you go to? I depends on curriculum, for example at KCUMB I consistently get 5-6 hours of sleep 7 days a week. And then the night before a test I’ll get 8-9.

I'm usually about 6-8 hours or so depending on test it just seems like a bad idea to consistently have less than 3 hours of sleep. Especially since after first semester literally people with a 3.9 weren't in top 25%. What frustrates me is that I miss out from getting high As by like 2 questions or so. I'm sure itll all even out but I didnt realize there would be so much sacrifice to memorize the little minutiae on these exams

 

[DO2015CA]

Those hours aren’t sustainable for everyone. People start to get comfortable with studying and they know what they’ll need to do in order to get a specific grade. This is when people scale back

 

[Scrubs101]

Typically average about 8-9, last two weeks i was averaging around 5. Really depends on the unit for me, but these last two weeks have definitely been the worst lol.

I value my sleep and exercise, if i give up either of those two things I definitely notice a huge increase in stress lol

 

[jcve34]

Those hours aren’t sustainable for everyone. People start to get comfortable with studying and they know what they’ll need to do in order to get a specific grade. This is when people scale back

Yeah that routine was beaten into me. I doubt I could sleep much more than that on a regular basis. I try to get into the gym 3x a week. But I rarely drink or eat bad so my health has been maintained.

 

[Atom612]

My smartwatch says that I've averaged a little over 6 hours a day this last week, last night I only got 5. Not by choice. I just wake up and can't fall back asleep

It's definitely affected my mood and focus. There are still students at my program that say they pull all-nighters before every exam.

 

[Chibucks15]

My smartwatch says that I've averaged a little over 6 hours a day this last week, last night I only got 5. Not by choice. I just wake up and can't fall back asleep

It's definitely affected my mood and focus. There are still students at my program that say they pull all-nighters before every exam.

Those people are superheroes or psychotic...many of them are the same kids that go out and do every volunteer/club thing known to man too. Its impressive

 

[TTPpentad]

I get at least 8hrs a night. Stopped going to class after the mandatory orientation week, and watch everything on 2x speed from the comfort of my home, coffee shop, wherever I feel like. This semester for your class is probably the worst for preclinicals (aside from boards time) just due to the frequency of exams.

How's your organization? Do you wait until the last second to cram?

 

[Mr. D.O.five]

I can function optimally around 6-8 hours of sleep. Any less and I get tired easily and any more, I get groggy when trying to study. a couple days before an exam, I tend to get 5 hours of sleep. I usually try to make up for it by sleeping a boatload of hours for the couple of days after the exam.

 

[Chibucks15]

I get at least 8hrs a night. Stopped going to class after the mandatory orientation week, and watch everything on 2x speed from the comfort of my home, coffee shop, wherever I feel like. This semester for your class is probably the worst for preclinicals (aside from boards time) just due to the frequency of exams.

How's your organization? Do you wait until the last second to cram?

No I feel like my schedule is actually pretty consistent and I have been able to avoid the "leapfrogging" to each exam forgetting the rest of the material. Just happens that I can't memorize minutiae from one power point slide that other people seem to be able to mostly is the difference. I'm trying to do either neurology or IM in the midwest, possible fellowship after (not sure though) so I know I don't need to be super competitive but I obviously don't wanna close any doors so I'm reverting back to neurotic pre-med for a minute

 

[DO2015CA]

Those people are superheroes or psychotic...many of them are the same kids that go out and do every volunteer/club thing known to man too. Its impressive

lol everyone hates the cyclothymic classmate

 

[Promethean]

I feel like I learn better when I have enough sleep. First and second year, the more dense the material, the more I would need to nap during the day even in order to cement all the new info into long term memory.

I think a lot of the people claiming 3 hours of sleep are probably underestimating or bragging nonsense. Those who are really doing those hours are either exceptionally lucky with regard to how much sleep they need, or more likely, exceptionally unwise. Performance drops when people are exhausted. There is nothing laudable about working yourself into a state of exhaustion.

 

[Carbon090]

I average between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 hours a night. I never feel tired during the day (typically). I also lift a lot.

Last year I got around 7 a night, but second year has been brutal with board prep, research, and class work.

 

[austintr]

I usually get 7-8. Last night/this morning I got 10. I have a wife and young kid though so sometimes I go a while without sleeping much and sometimes I get a ton of sleep because my wife lets me. I have two rules for med school though:

1. I will never pull an all nighter again. Leave that crap in undergrad/save yourself for rotations and residency. They're ridiculously inefficient and simply the result of poor planning/procrastination. This is coming from a poor planner/procrastinator.

2. I'm not sacrificing sleep for an A-/A when I can get a stress-free B+ and still get enough sleep and spend time with the fam.

I spent years developing the worst sleeping habits ever for 50k a year, I'll be damned if I'm gonna PAY 50k a year to keep sleeping like crap.

 

[Mad Jack]

I slept a solid 8 most nights, any night I didn't it was because I had a non-school related reason

 

[McDreamy123]

Trump says 3-4 hours a night.lolz