Exam week is stressful for high school students, requiring hours of studying and preparation. High school students must choose between an adequate amount of sleep or extra hours of studying. This choice can affect one’s ability to perform at their best during the exam. The side effects of sleep deprivation have a greater impact than many high school students are aware of. Inadequate sleep in the weeks leading up to an exam has a greater impact than sleep deprivation the night before. As high schools are approaching midterms, students need to understand the impact of giving up sleep for a few more hours of studying.
The side effects of an insufficient amount of sleep can impact emotions, physical health, and most detrimental, academic performance. A lack of sleep can cause inadequate memory, focus and shortening attention spans affecting one’s academic performance. “Lots of small chunks of learning leading up to an assessment with periods of sleep in between them is most helpful for long term memory” said upper school arc teacher Ms. Silverboard. The effects of long term and short term memory are present while studying and taking exams. For example, memorizing dates can become difficult due to impaired long term memory from a lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation not only causes side effects while taking an exam, but also in the weeks of studying leading up to the exam.
“I average six hours of sleep in the weeks leading up to an exam” said tenth grader Ann Rosengren. While it is true that an absence of sleep the night before an exam can affect academic performance, a lack of sleep in the weeks leading up to an exam can affect academics to a much greater extent. In the Pace community some students sleep less in the weeks leading up to an exam like Ann Rosengren and some students are sleep deprived the night before an exam. “I get six hours of sleep the night before an exam” said tenth grader Savannah Friedman. These two examples of sleep deprivation affect the process the human brain goes through while sleeping, one being REM, also known as rapid eye movement. During this stage the brain processes new information, meaning an insufficient amount of sleep leading up to an exam causes difficulty in retaining information. While studying, the absence of sleep can disrupt neural connections, leading to gaps in knowledge, hindering the learning process. High school students are recommended to sleep eight to ten hours a day. Less than 10% of students achieve enough sleep during exams, averaging around six hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation the night before an exam can affect academic performance, but its impact is even more pronounced in the weeks leading up to the exam.
Is it worth it to study, therefore losing hours of sleep? No. A few extra hours of cramming in place of sleep hurts academic performance. In the weeks leading up to an exam the learning process is hindered due to a lack of REM sleep and the side effects are detrimental.
Twice a year high school students at Pace take exams in Inman and the outcome of these exams can be hindered due to sleep deprivation.