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Tips on better sleep

westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
in General 3788 karma
Hi guys,

I have been studying the LSAT for over a year (will be 2 years in June), and I have been taking prep-tests very often ( nearly one a day). I haven't had much burn-out during my study-sessions, however sometimes I find it difficult to de-stress before going to sleep. Sometimes, I would be anxious or concerned if I'm on the right track and stressing about the exam before my sleep has affected my sleep-schedule. I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, 3 or 4 am, which would consequently make me feel sleepy and drained during the rest of the day. Do you guys have any rituals to de-stress?

To be precise, a lot of my anxiety comes from the fact that I seen nearly every exam besides PT 77 and I'm concerned about how to make gains from the 160 fresh PT score I got in the recent PT 70s exam back in January, coming from a diagnostic of a 140. In most of my other exams, which were retakes, I would go for minus an average around minus 4 to minus 7 but on the PT 70s I would get minus 12 to 15 on the recent LR. I'm getting a little better in noticing patterns in LG, thanks to the FoolProof method as well as getting better in RC, having scored minus 6 on a fresh prep-test. I did consider doing some drilling for LR, but it wasn't a particular question type so much as it was the way the newer exams that were written that gave me issues. Should I just re-do the PT 70s exam? I haven't BR-ed them because I was urged against so by a tutor I once had before I signed up with 7sage.
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  • Nicole HopkinsNicole Hopkins Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    4344 karma
    @westcoastbestcoast said:
    I have been taking prep-tests very often ( nearly one a day).
    First problem? WAY too many PT's!!!
  • allergicallergic Alum Member Inactive Sage
    246 karma
    I agree with Nicole, cut back on the PTs. Also, if you don't exercise I would recommend starting. That should help your sleep.
  • westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
    3788 karma
    Hey guys. Thanks for the responses. I do exercise everyday. It's also because of my anxiety due to the newer exams. I have drilled, done time sections before and as well as done extensive problem sets having taken several prep courses. I was wondering what alternatives to reducing PTs I could do. After consistent practice exams I actually scored into the high 160s and occasionally 170s, granted these were older exams
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    edited April 2016 27900 karma
    So first, also agreed with @"Nicole Hopkins" . Chill out on them PTs.
    @westcoastbestcoast said:
    Should I just re-do the PT 70s exam? I haven't BR-ed them because I was urged against so by a tutor I once had before I signed up with 7sage.
    Second, the BR is where the bulk of the learning happens, so it sucks you had a tutor that specifically told you not to BR (Why!??) but the silver lining is that you retain a lot of value on these tests.

    Third, if the LSAT is literally keeping you up at night, you are burned out. Take a couple weeks off or something.

    Fourth, if sleep is still an issue, make sure you have good habits in general. Wake up at the same time every day, no caffeine after whatever time, in bed at the same time every night, and nothing with a screen once you’re in bed. If you’re so off your cycle you need help getting back in sync, ZzzQuil for a few nights can snap you back pretty quickly.
  • westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
    3788 karma
    Hey @"Cant Get Right", Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely ease back on the intensity of my studying. Although I realize that there is some inflation involved, I was curious as to how much value I could attach to the scores I got on older exams.( PT 1-34) I completed alot of the questions in those exams in the form of problem sets last year when I took various prep courses.
  • Nicole HopkinsNicole Hopkins Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    4344 karma
    @"Cant Get Right" said:
    Third, if the LSAT is literally keeping you up at night, you are burned out. Take a couple weeks off or something.
    Amen!
  • westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
    3788 karma
    Any tips on the recent LR and its nuances? haha
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27900 karma
    @westcoastbestcoast
    Most of us are, more or less, invested in using our PT scores as diagnostics. Where am I? What am I scoring? These are very natural questions and no one is completely immune from these concerns. But the truth is, they don’t really matter. Your goal in PTing should not be to increase your score, but your understanding. When you take a PT, don't ask yourself “Is my score better?” Instead, ask yourself, “Has my understanding of the LSAT and the logical principles upon which it is based improved?”

    This is why the BR is so much more important than the PT. Really all the PT is doing is simulating conditions, allowing you to practice pacing and time management, and providing you with a framework to BR. In the BR, you identify, explore, and shore up your weaknesses; you dive deep into the logic of each and every stimulus, question stem, and answer choice where you are at all unsure; you figure it all out. By the end of a proper BR you should be an absolute expert on that particular test. By the end of a proper BR, you should be able to explain that test as well as JY. If you haven’t done that, if you can’t do that; then that test still has value.

    As a diagnostic, your used PTs are probably not going to be very useful. But that never mattered anyway. As a learning tool to increase your mastery of the LSAT, they remain extremely powerful.
  • westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
    3788 karma
    @"Cant Get Right" Thanks for the perspective. BR-ing has really helped opened my eyes to the complexity of the LSAT and helped me really break down each answer choice down meticulously. I guess I was having some bouts of anxiety about whether or not I'm properly learning from each exam, even after BR-ing. My BR scores were in the high 170s and I guess I got too caught up in those scores, frantically hoping that my exams would get closer to that level. I have also began vocalizing my rationale out loud as I BR in order to really see if my train of thought going into each RC or LR question made sense.
  • Nicole HopkinsNicole Hopkins Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    4344 karma
    @"Cant Get Right" said:
    But the truth is, they don’t really matter. Your goal in PTing should not be to increase your score, but your understanding.
    image
  • stepharizonastepharizona Alum Member
    3197 karma
    For retakes JY gave a great suggest of decreasing the time (to 30 minutes) to have a more accurate picture to prepare for the test. Basically, using the time crunch to simulate test conditions to as if you were seeing the questions for the first time.

    It can be hard to shift from score driven to "understanding" driven, but thats the goal.
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