As a college rite of passage, students stay up late at night, or even all night to study and finish their work. It is understandable, therefore, the student would sleep in the classes before his test the next day. The student will be more refreshed and ready for the test, though he or she might be missing important material in the classes he/she is sleeping in. That is when true friends come in handy, sharing their notes.
While some may be praying a teacher shows a movie in class so that they could sleep, other take personal responsibility in preparing themselves to sleep in class, by wearing hoods or shades or by sitting in the back of the class.
Though you might be missing important information in class (some may argue depending on what class it is and how much your teacher rambles each class period), a recent scientific study has proven a nap during the day does not just beat tiredness- – it actually boosts brainpower. A nap improves the brain’s ability to absorb new information.
In the study, volunteers who napped for 90 minutes during the day did better at cognitive tests that the other volunteers who were awake the whole day.
The study, which was conducted in the University of California at Berkeley, claims that the brain needs sleep to process short term memories. Sleep creates space for new facts to be learned.
Dr. Matthew Walker of UC-Berkeley said, “Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness, but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap.”
During the time you take your siesta, whether in class, the library or back in your room is a time to move your memories to another “folder” in your brain and to clear your “inbox file.” Napping allows for better absorption of data. You remember more and you recall more when you nap during your day.
You might be tempted to nap every day now to do better in the classroom and at work. Remember however, the results of the study might be very accurate inside their laboratories but in the real world, other factors might influence the way we think and do things.
Consequently, the sleep/wake cycle is not rigid as we might assume it is. Different people sleep in different ways.
In what seems like a contrast to this study, you might find that people who nap in classes all the time make low grades. Obviously, students make bad grades because although their minds are maybe more open to new information, they were not attentive to absorb any new information.
From personal experience, it is a great advantage to nap for part of a class, to recharge after being up all night doing a homework assignment. My tip is to sleep in that class after you submit your work. If you were up studying for a test, then it might be a good idea to sleep in one of the classes before your test.
But be smart in choosing which class to sleep in: never sleep in any science class; you will regret that forever. You might want to sleep in one of your electives, instead.
Abdallah Abu Ghazaleh is a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].