I've anecedotedly studied how much sleep is the most efficient before writing an exam, throughout the many I've taken at university. This is a bit different than long term rentention though, as my hypothesis was basically "if you think you're screwed for an exam, what's the optimal crammed studying/sleep ratio the night before?"

1. All nighter is never worth it no matter how little material you think you know.

2. If you're semi confident in the exam, prioritize getting a full sleep over a little sleep.

3. If you're not confident in the exam, definitely still aim for at least 5-6 hours of sleep.

That's what I've noticed when it comes down to cram studying, otherwise my performance goes out the window.

One thing I did in school was sleep early and wake up early to study before the exam. I wonder if that was actually effective or not.

In my experience is good for light to medium study session, not heavier. If I try to do heavy study before the exam, I won't be able to perform well.

Looks like the brain has stamina that will be depleted little by little when used, either during exam or studying.

In my experience it gets more complicated depending on the days leading up to the event. Given good sleep for a good stretch of days up to the day before the exam, all-nighter can work out fine. But I guess there is a correlation between lack of discipline to get good sleep and not studying regularly so I can see that being a rare situation :-)

I think all nighters are bad idea, because my college mates who done them had ... less then smart answers to even simple questions.

They were smart, as people. But not sleeping whole night makes you dumb. And they inability to figure what was not memorized harmed their performance a lot.

Yeah this would make sense. I still do think all nighters would probably harm your memory retention even if you do it a couple days before the exam. I'd imagine the brain has more time to really process what you're studying if you sleep after doing so.

I always felt worse two days after all nighters than the day after. I feel like the next day isn't necessarily when you pay, once the morning comes around again you get a second wind

I have this same experience as well. During college, with exams in the mornings, I've also tried shifting periods: going to sleep really early just to wake up early and study for some hours until the exam. That did not work well - a consistent sleep routine is very important!

Before any exam, I had a simple rule: I don't study after 6pm the night before.

Instead, I get a good book, or a movie I've been looking forward to, and I veg out and relax.

This always lead to a good night's sleep and a better exam result than if I'd stayed up late studying instead, hoping to learn just one more thing- that I would never remember due to lack of good sleep anyway.

This.

I can't sleep well, trying to do everything in my power to make sure I get enough.

Whenever I'm well-rested for a week or so, I'm smart.

Whenever I'm ill-rested for a week or so, I'm only capable of basic functioning.

> I can't sleep well, trying to do everything in my power to make sure I get enough.

Just a word of warning, I've experienced this becoming a bit of an obsession. I was losing sleep over not getting enough sleep. I'd bring the subject of sleep up in conversation a few times a week, making it almost part of my 'identity' that I was a bad sleeper, and I'm convinced this made it worse.

For anyone who thinks they might have the same problem, my unqualified anecdotal advice would be: Don't tell people you're a bad sleeper, even if you are. Generally don't talk about it too much. Do define some sensible rules (e.g. consistent wake-up time, no snooze, etc) and follow them blindly for a month - don't allow yourself to review or change these rules for at least a month, or you'll be thinking about sleep too often. If you have a sleep monitoring device, definitely don't look at the data more than once a month.

The thing that has made the biggest difference in terms of sleep quality was adding a magnesium supplement to my nutrition routine. It was an immediate change for the better and it’s held for years now.

Chelated? Mg/lb?

For me Chelated, specifically doctors best brand. Perhaps better but when I looked into it last this was one of the best ways for deep sleep. Other types of magnesium do not work the same and can cause more GI issues IIRC.

Magnesium Glycinate, chelated. I use the Doctor’s Best brand, available on Amazon[1]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BD0RT0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm...

BioTest Z-12, except I take one, not the 2 or 3 they recommend. It it worth 10x its weight in gold.

I found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/quittingphenibut/comments/d8vazr/z1...

Not sure what it means though, but I would caution.

I have been using this for years. I have never had the negative experiences that these people on the Reddit forum ascribe to it.

If you live in a bright-at-night, or noisy environment, you may wish to consider blackout curtains.

We recently bought a set and it has been a revelation. Darker, quieter room. Better sleep.

I've found shifting my day works really well.

Instead of sleeping at 11/12pm and waking up at 6/7am, sleep at 9pm-ish and be up by 4:30am. It's usually still dark, it's extremely quiet and perfect for study!

Pro tip: a nap in the afternoon really recharges the batteries for another work session.

Most people don't have this luxury. Sad.

A lot of people have the luxury, they just lack the willpower. I used to stay up until 2am and wake up at 7am thinking I had more time for stuff. Now I try to get 7h minimum every single day and every day feels twice as productive as when I'm low on sleep, despite having fewer hours in the day.