Gearing up for the September exam, I consistently made sure to go to bed at 10 pm to wake up at 6 am, but on the night before the exam, my brain was too alert and I simply couldnt fall sleep. I basically went in the September exam after spending all night awake tossing and turning in the bed. This happened to me on a previous take and it had a negative impact on my performance.
Do you guys have any advice on what I can do so that I can calm the brain down and gdtsome deep rest the night before test day? I tried working out consistently, meditation and I had mixed results with melatonin.
Comments
Thank you @"Cant Get Right" for providing your experience. Has nyquil ever made you groggy when you woke up? What kind of meal did you have for dinner? I heard that a carb heavy meal at dinner can make for a distrubed sleep because of all the energy that the carbs provide.
For dinner, I ate an incredibly carb heavy meal, haha. 6 pancakes with pulled pork (locally, humanely raised, of course, lol). I thought of it in the same way marathon runners "carb up" the night before a race. In theory, I think it's supposed to take the body long enough to process the carbs that the energy doesn't hit until morning. Again, I experimented with this beforehand to know exactly how I'd respond to it. Everything seemed to go exactly as planned.
Additionally I agree with the stuff your face idea. Eat a huge dinner, like a thanksgiving dinner. It'll put you in a coma for sure.
I cut out almost all caffeine, which helped a ton. I work out in the mornings, but I still cut out my pre workout, which is loaded with caffeine. Definitely no caffeine is the afternoon/evening for me.
Keeping stress levels low leading up to the test was probably the biggest difference maker for me though. On nights where I had a lot on my mind, I'd toss and turn, as expected. Easier said than done, but avoiding stressful thoughts/actions/behaviors, especially near bedtime, is helpful.
1) 2 nights before the test, force yourself to sleep late (ex: 2 a.m.)
2) Wake up early the next morning (ex: 6 a.m.), and set your alarms for test day
3) Workout, run, etc...tire yourself out
You'll likely be exhausted the morning prior to test day, and will probably knock out that night.
So, for example:
-Test is on Saturday
Force yourself to stay awake until around 2 a.m. (Thursday night/Friday morning). Force yourself to wake up early (Friday morning). Set your Saturday alarms the second you wake up and get everything ready for the test. Workout/tire yourself out.
Again, if you've never tried this before, don't bother experimenting with it just before the test.
I believe that @Pacifico said that melatonin is child's play, whereas @Dillion finds it very helpful. As with all medicine, its effects must depend on the individual.
"Twas the night before the Lsat".
But seriously, I felt the same way. Wrote the September test with maybe a couple hours sleep at best. Thank you to everyone for all the valuable advice.