MD Studying for a night owl

[alaaz]

Hello so i figured out that i am actually more of a night owl
I mean like from 2 pm to 7 pm i can't study i feel annoyed and not wanting to do anything but in the night like from 7pm to 3 am my performance peak so i'm thinking of sleeping 2 times a day from 4am to 8 am then from 1pm to 5 pm
Is there someone like me

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[PrettyLadyDoc24]

I've definitely met people in medical school who change their sleep schedules to study at their peak hours. It shouldn't be a problem as long as you are sleeping normal hours.

 

[zygzy]

The only issue with an abnormal sleep cycle is that it can hurt you come exam time. It could be tough to be all systems go at a time you are normally sleeping.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

 

[tick_tock400]

There's lots of people like you. Can you not sleep in until 11 or something though every day? I would think that your scheduled sleep times may not work well with med school requirements. But every school's required times to go in are different.

 

[3characterslong]

The amount of time I sleep is regulated based on how much I need to study. Fluctuates from 4 to 12 hours a night.

The time frame in which I sleep is completely unregulated and if I get unlucky I use energy drinks or 5hour energy to power through tests.

 

[WingedOx]

The only issue with an abnormal sleep cycle is that it can hurt you come exam time. It could be tough to be all systems go at a time you are normally sleeping.

I was a night owl, though not nearly as bad as the OP, and exams were generally fine. Going from staying in the library until 2AM and sleeping the morning away to having to get up before 5AM for rotations once 3rd year started hit me hard though.

 

[mehc012]

There's lots of people like you. Can you not sleep in until 11 or something though every day? I would think that your scheduled sleep times may not work well with med school requirements. But every school's required times to go in are different.

Their proposed schedule would work perfectly for my school. It's a schedule I've considered myself, but I like group study too much :\
It would also work well for exams here!

 

[Domperidone]

Everyone has a slightly different circadian clock and 'circadian pacemaker'. There's research on this..but i'm too tired to look it up right now. ironically enough.

I don't think there's anything wrong in attuning your study schedule to your sleep or 'wakefulness' patterns. It's probably smart that you realize that now and can use it to your advantage. Also, enjoy having that amount of control over your study/work habits while you can. I did something similar I think with my study schedules during exam weeks, and did the energy drink thing as well on exam days.

Arguably school (and possibly medicine) is more suited to 'morning' people. I'm not a morning person either. I subsist on coffee more than I should to get through (I'm more grumpy than I should be in the mornings too). Apparently you can kinda train your 'rhythm'. i haven't fully reached that yet. so..the struggle for me persisted into rotations and beyond (would totally agree with wingedox's post there). I still go in and out of sleep debt. I used to be more worried about how i would function as a resident later, but then i realized there's plenty of adrenaline to go around to keep you functional and wide awake, and not hungry until after work. it's really not an effort </3

 

[AthleteDoc7]

I was a night owl, though not nearly as bad as the OP, and exams were generally fine. Going from staying in the library until 2AM and sleeping the morning away to having to get up before 5AM for rotations once 3rd year started hit me hard though.

out of curiosity, how did you adjust third year? were you able to eventually comfortably make the switch to normal sleep hours? i'm a night owl and concerned for next year lol

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

Sup. Night owl here. It's almost 4am and I'm still awake, what the hell is wrong with me

 

[Snoopy2006]

There's a lot of people like you out there. I used podcasting to my advantage so I could sleep in rather than sleeping in 2 shifts, but do what works for you.

Adjusting during M3 year wasn't as hard for me ... I started out with surgery. The first couple days were rough, but then you're so exhausted by the end of the day that you're able to fall asleep at 10 pm easily.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hello so i figured out that i am actually more of a night owl
I mean like from 2 pm to 7 pm i can't study i feel annoyed and not wanting to do anything but in the night like from 7pm to 3 am my performance peak so i'm thinking of sleeping 2 times a day from 4am to 8 am then from 1pm to 5 pm
Is there someone like me

It makes sense why 7-3am because around 12 is when your alertness starts rising. You're sabotaging yourself by throwing away your most valuable hours though. The most productive hours of the day are 5 am to 10-11 am. Don't believe me? Go work a 6-1 pm shift vs a 3-10 pm shift and see which one feels longer.

If you really want to be productive go to bed at 830 PM (takes a week to get used to) wake up at 330, work out (important), then study for a few hours. If I was a true master of discipline, that would be my schedule. As an added bonus, your 8am-12pm energy will also be boosted especially if you exercised in the morning. Then around 10 am but before noon have a very small caffeinated beverage to try and minimize that dip you seem to be getting around 2-3 PM. Don't be tempted to override that dip with coffee, that dip is there for a reason!

 

[mehc012]

It makes sense why 7-3am because around 12 is when your alertness starts rising. You're sabotaging yourself by throwing away your most valuable hours though. The most productive hours of the day are 5 am to 10-11 am. Don't believe me? Go work a 6-1 pm shift vs a 3-10 pm shift and see which one feels longer.

If you really want to be productive go to bed at 830 PM (takes a week to get used to) wake up at 330, work out (important), then study for a few hours. If I was a true master of discipline, that would be my schedule. As an added bonus, your 8am-12pm energy will also be boosted especially if you exercised in the morning. Then around 10 am but before noon have a very small caffeinated beverage to try and minimize that dip you seem to be getting around 2-3 PM. Don't be tempted to override that dip with coffee, that dip is there for a reason!

6-1pm shift feels longer. Unequivocally. Even though it's usually half as busy.

If I stay up late, I will get hours of straight productivity added on to my day. Whenever I wake up early, those hours are completely wasted. I feel great once I get used to it, sure, but I get nothing done.
Maybe, just maybe...different people have different periods of peak productivity?

 

[Redpancreas]

6-1pm shift feels longer. Unequivocally. Even though it's usually half as busy.

If I stay up late, I will get hours of straight productivity added on to my day. Whenever I wake up early, those hours are completely wasted. I feel great once I get used to it, sure, but I get nothing done.
Maybe, just maybe...different people have different periods of peak productivity?

Guess you're different then...wow, everyone I know feels differently.

 

[mehc012]

Guess you're different then...wow, everyone I know feels differently.

Granted, if I wake up early and there is an event which requires productivity early, it's a bit different. If it's energizing work in the morning (being in the hospital) I can get stuff done in the afternoon/evening and feel good. If it's exhausting work (listening to a boring lecture, working an office job, etc) I go home and fall asleep for a few hours and then have issues getting productive later in the day.

 

[evilbooyaa]

It makes sense why 7-3am because around 12 is when your alertness starts rising. You're sabotaging yourself by throwing away your most valuable hours though. The most productive hours of the day are 5 am to 10-11 am. Don't believe me? Go work a 6-1 pm shift vs a 3-10 pm shift and see which one feels longer.

If you really want to be productive go to bed at 830 PM (takes a week to get used to) wake up at 330, work out (important), then study for a few hours. If I was a true master of discipline, that would be my schedule. As an added bonus, your 8am-12pm energy will also be boosted especially if you exercised in the morning. Then around 10 am but before noon have a very small caffeinated beverage to try and minimize that dip you seem to be getting around 2-3 PM. Don't be tempted to override that dip with coffee, that dip is there for a reason!

Different strokes for different folks.

I would routinely study in medical school at crunch time from like 9pm - 2 to 3am before I went to bed, woke up at noon, and did it all again.

Find what times you are most complete with your studying, and do those things.
Everything will change once you hit MS3 and need to be up at ass crack of dawn for nearly all rotations though.