By Brittany Tankersley | Photographer
Since exam one is just around the corner for many students, the dreaded question of when to study looms overhead. Do I wake up early and study, or do I stay up late? As a senior, I have struggled with this decision more than once, but staying up late has most often given me the best result.
Getting a good night’s rest is definitely important, but sleep can also help with the recall of study material. Especially on those exams for which you only study once, it is better to stay up late and get some sleep after memorizing terms than to wake up early and cram.
I have also experienced sleeping through morning alarms. This not only causes you to be late for your test but also prevents you from studying at all prior. It is a terrible situation to be in and could easily be fixed by studying at night instead.
It is also easier to coordinate schedules with friends at night for group study sessions, since many Baylor students have classes early in the morning. Group study sessions are a great tool not only if you are struggling to understand a concept but also to simply keep yourself accountable and prevent procrastination.
While night studying is better than morning studying, it is still important to set some guidelines before you study. Try setting up a time frame during which you plan to study, and set your phone aside during that time. This helps maximize your study time so that you can get more sleep and not waste time.
The nighttime is also more peaceful than the morning. By 7 p.m., I have usually eaten dinner and done everything I needed to do for the day. This allows me to have a clearer mind and fully focus on my studies.
Ultimately, it is up to you when you choose to study, but as a senior who has stayed up late, woke up early and missed a test or two, I can definitively say that staying up late is the best form of studying.
