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How To Study When Tired
8 Ways to Study Even When You’re Tired and Sleepy
You’re feeling sleepy… very sleepy… However, you really need to study for an important exam the next day, so you have no choice but to overcome your tiredness — and study as much as you can.
But how do you prop your eyelids open in order to load as much information into your sleepy self? Check out these 8 sure-fire ways to study when you’re tired and sleepy!
#1. Tackle the easier things first
Some may claim it’s better to begin a study session with a difficult topic so you’ll get it done sooner. While this hack may work wonders — when you’re wide awake and alert — it’s not a good idea when you’re tired but still need to study.
The solution? Start studying easier subjects or chapters first! Getting into the mood to study can be hard (regardless if you’re tired or not); so, by working on something easy, you trick your brain into getting started. The satisfaction of completing a topic will also boost your mood and encourage you to continue studying, despite feeling tired to the bone.
#2. Chew gum
Make your strips of chewing gum do double duty by providing you with fresh, minty breath and increased alertness while you’re hitting the books.
A recent experiment proved that those who chewed gum while studying reported a spike in attention paid towards work as well as a reduction in stress. It’s definitely worth keeping your mouth busy chewing gum while you study.
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#3. Drink plenty of water
Instead of reaching for your hundredth cup of coffee in the dead of the night while you sleepily stare at your notes, ditch the caffeine for good old water. Yes, H20 proves to be the nectar of the gods when you’re trying to battle tiredness.
How? Researchers discovered just a tiny reduction of total body water can affect your mood and thinking, particularly with tasks that require concentration and processing. So, glug on and never get dehydrated if you care about your grades.
#4. Get some brief exercise
Don’t worry, we don’t mean a full-on workout in the middle of your intense study session. These simple exercises are merely to keep your eyelids open and your heart thumping — so, get exercising!
Try jumping jacks, chair squats or wall sitting. Just remember to do these for a short while only as getting up too often might make you procrastinate and get distracted from your studying.
#5. Set study goals
It’s hard to be organised and think straight when you’re feeling tired, but a good study plan helps you to keep track of your revision. Remember to be realistic and set goals which can be accomplished.
So, instead of having lofty dreams of studying 10 chapters of each subject you have an exam for, think small and doable. However, don’t take this as an invitation to do too little. Work hard and pay attention to how long each session is taking you, so you can adjust accordingly.
#6. Avoid distractions
You’ll need every ounce of attention you have to focus on your studying, so don’t waste it on distractions! When you’re feeling tired, it’s easy to succumb to an action-packed game on your phone to “wake you up”.
Sure, the game may have given you a slight buzz, but you’ve wasted precious time that could’ve been spent reading your study materials. Put your phone on silent mode and stop yourself from using it when the urge comes up. Your studies require your 100% attention!
#7. Chomp on nuts
For an easy-to-eat snack that’s yummy and beneficial, you can’t go wrong with nuts. Since you’re running low on brain fuel, chomp on walnuts, the champ of nuts.
The synergy between the antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts increases brain power and boosts mental alertness. This should hopefully translate to a more productive study sesh thanks to the walnuts’ vitamin E that helps improve your working memory!
#8. Watch something that scares you
Let’s be frank; this one-off study session is really important even though you’re feeling tired, so you can afford to pull an all-nighter. To stop yourself from nodding off, stay awake for longer by scaring yourself with these creepy videos.
From lingering shots in an abandoned building to a real-life incident of a masked unknown hijacking a news broadcast to dance a spooky jig, these videos will definitely keep you wide awake.
We hope these tips will come in handy, particularly when you’re feeling tired, as you power through the night in order to score the best you can for the exam the next day. Keep going by thinking of your future!
how to study when tired after work
Top 6 ways to find motivation to study after work
“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living.” The immortal words of Dolly Parton. But imagine adding an extra 2-3 hours (or more) of study. How would you keep motivated?
We’ve come up with a few tips to help you better balance work and home study.
1. Make a plan
Get your diary out and see when your assignment deadlines or exams are. Work backwards and see how long you’ve got to study. Make sure you mark up any module change dates, or times, when you won’t be able to study – such as a holiday.
If you’ve booked the exams for your ACCA, CIMA, or AAT papers, add these to the plan.
2. Schedule study time
Each week put aside some time to study. But be realistic. Don’t say you’re going to study for 5 hours every night – you’ll lose sleep and your social life. Work out what days are busier than others, and fit your study time around them. Give yourself a couple of hours, including breaks, and stick to it.
3. Don’t get distracted
It’s so easy to procrastinate and put off studying when you’re at home. The laundry needs doing, dinner needs making, the dog needs walking – they’re all legitimate things to be doing, but your study is also a necessity.
Ask someone else to do the things you usually do. Can someone else do dinner tonight? Can you study alongside the kids doing homework? Try not to get taken away from your study by things that can be worked around.
We also thought this might help – How to motivate yourself to study.
4. Focus
A real waste of time is sitting at your desk, wondering what you’re going to do, or getting distracted by a quick look at emails and Instagram. The willingness to study is there, but the focus isn’t.
Before you start your study session, work out what it is you’re going to focus on. It might be as simple as jotting down 1-3 priority tasks on a sticky note the night before. Or you could go one step further and take control of your weekly/daily study tasks with a detailed plan.
5. Relax
Don’t stress if you feel you can’t fit a study session into one night. Just make sure you get on it again the next night. If you’re not in the right mind to study there’s no point forcing it. Make sure you are relaxed and focused before you open your books so the information goes in, and stays in.
6. Ask your tutor for help
Your tutors are there for you throughout your time with Eagle and are on hand to answer any questions you may have. They can help explain tricky topics and give you an alternative way of looking at the subjects that you may be struggling with.
how to stay awake at night to study
9 Ways to Stay Awake While Studying
- Move
- Use light
- Sit up
- Avoid your bedroom
- Hydrate
- Eat well
- Use active techniques
- Be social
- Sleep well
- Bottom line
Studying isn’t always stimulating — especially after a long day in class or at work, when your brain feels ready to shut down.
If simply staying awake while studying seems harder than quantum physics, try one of the following nine strategies to help you be alert and focused.
1. Keep moving
Movement is a well-documented energy booster. In addition to helping you stay awake, it may also help relieve exam-time stress and improve your ability to actually remember what you study.
A 2018 study Trusted Source of students of all ages — ranging from elementary school to college — found that 10 minutes of walking outdoors significantly improved students’ performance with memory, feature detection, and mathematical problem-solving tasks.
Aim to take a short break every 30 to 50 minutes to walk, dance, or do a few jumping jacks.
2. Let there be light
Our bodies are attuned to respond to environmental signals such as light and darkness. While the relationship between light and sleep is indirect — it’s possible to fall asleep in a well-lit room or to stay awake in darkness — light is a cue that can help promote wakefulness.
According to a 2017 study of zebrafish Trusted Source, this tendency may come down to a protein that’s activated when we’re exposed to light.
When it comes to studying, try to mimic a daytime environment with plenty of light. If it’s dark outside, a single lamp or overhead light might not be enough to keep you alert.
3. Sit upright
It might be tempting to get comfortable while studying, but it won’t help you stay awake.
Lying down is associated with increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, known for its role in functions such as “rest and digest.”
In contrast, sitting upright is associated with sympathetic nervous system activity. The sympathetic nervous system controls functions such as alertness.
A 2014 study Trusted Source analyzed whether sitting upright or lying down affected performance on a test of working memory.
The authors reported that when participants were lying down for the test, their self-reported sleep quality negatively affected their performance. Sleep quality didn’t affect performance when participants were sitting upright.
How does this relate to studying? If you’re feeling tired, sitting up may help you stay focused and alert.
You may also want to try standing up instead of sitting while you’re studying. Standing and moving around from time to time may help boost your blood circulation. This, in turn, may prevent you from getting sleepy.
4. Avoid your bedroom
If you live in a dorm room or shared apartment, the most convenient place to study might also happen to be the place where you usually sleep.
But it’s best to avoid studying in any place that you associate with sleep, which could leave you feeling drowsy.
When possible, study somewhere else, such as a library, coffee shop, or a dedicated, well-lit area of your home away from your bedroom.
By keeping studying and sleep areas separate, you’ll also be making it easier to turn off your brain when it’s time to go to bed.
5. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Fatigue or sleepiness is sometimes a sign of dehydration. But dehydration won’t just drain your energy — it may also disrupt cognitive functions, making studying difficult.
A 2010 reviewTrusted Source examined dehydration, including its effects on brain function. The authors reported that mild to moderate levels of dehydration might impair short-term memory, concentration, mathematical ability, alertness, and perception.
To ensure that you don’t doze off while studying, stay hydrated throughout the day. This is especially important if you’re physically active or live in a warm climate.
While how much you should drink varies from person to person, aim for around half a gallon per day.
6. Don’t forget to eat (healthy)
What and how much you eat affects your energy levels.
While it may be tempting to treat yourself while studying, it won’t help you stay awake. Sugary snacks and junk food can make your blood sugar spike and then crash, leaving you feeling sluggish.
On the other hand, if you forget to eat or eat too much, you might find yourself dozing off.
Instead, aim for a diet of small but frequent meals. Make sure each meal contains protein, a complex carbohydrate, and a source of healthy fat. Some examples include:
- Protein: whitefish (like cod, halibut, tilapia, flounder), lentils, beans, white-meat poultry, peanut butter, tofu, lean beef, eggs, Greek yogurt
- Complex carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, peas, oats, brown rice, whole wheat bread
- Healthy fats: avocado, salmon, eggs, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, nut butter
7. Make studying active
Reading and rereading class notes or a textbook might not be enough to keep you awake, let alone absorb information.
Keep yourself awake — and get the most out of your study sessions — by using active study techniques. To do this, try one or more of the following:
- Transfer information to a map, cue card, diagram, chart, or other visual.
- Read out loud.
- Teach the material to a classmate.
- Do practice exercises.
- Create your own examples and practice exercises.
8. Study with friends
Avoid nodding off by talking through the material with a classmate, friend, or study group.
Not only is social studying more motivating and stimulating, it can also offer new perspectives and interpretations of class materials. Ask someone to explain a confusing concept to you, or solidify your own understanding by teaching the material to a peer.
If you prefer to study individually, you might find that simply studying in the presence of other people makes it easier to avoid falling asleep.
9. Get quality sleep
Sleep plays an important role in mood, attention, motivation, and memory — all of which affect learning. It’s no surprise then that poor sleep is associated with poor academic performance.
In fact, making sleep a priority — both in the short- and the long-term — might be the most effective way to stay alert when you’re studying.
In a 2019 study, students were presented with detailed factual information over 5 hours. Midway through the 5-hour period, they either took a 1-hour nap, watched a film, or crammed the information. They were tested on the material 30 minutes after the end of the learning period and 1 week after the end of the learning period.
The researchers found that after 30 minutes, students who had either crammed or napped were able to recall the information better than students who had watched a film. However, after 1 week, only the students who had napped maintained better recall of the information.
Make time for naps, and stick to a regular sleep schedule to help make studying easier.