Colossus Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Hey guys, kinda new to this thread. A friend told me about it at uni. Anyways, im a 1st year undergrad in Bio up here in Toronto. Just had a question about sleep hours. Ever since I got in uni, loads and loads of work like tests, quizzes, assignments, lab reports etc are being thrown at us (You guys know how it is). Anyways, due to this amount of work, almost every night, I get about 6 hrs of sleep. I don't feel that bad when I wake up but I generally tend to get tired around 2-3 pm during lectures. What I've seem to notice is that the majority of people in university tend to drink a lot of coffee. But....I'm an athletic guy who works out a lot and like to keep my body chemistry and hormone levels at their natural level (ask any bodybuilder, they don't drink coffee haha). Anyways so yeah, I don't really like drinking that stuff. Since you guys have been through all this before, just wanted to know how many hours on average per day you guys would sleep in undergrad and whether that's changed much for you in med school. I really do appreciate you med students taking the time out to answer the "noob" questions that undergrads present forward. Thanks to this website, we all have something to learn. You guys have no idea how many hours and hours I've spent reading through most of the threads already haha. Anyways so yeah. let me know what you guys think alright? Gotta go do a pre-lab. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor_Strangelove Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Some people in my undergrad program drank coffee 3 times a day and kept telling me that they only slept 5-6 hours a night because they HAD to, otherwise they wouldn't be able to keep up with studying and their ECs. For me this was never a problem despite having several commitments including a part-time job. Therefore, unless you're actually working 15+ hours a week and have lots of ECs going on, then chances are you can afford to sleep a good 7 hours every night. Personally, I don't like to drink coffee, so I try to always get 7 hours of sleep so as to make sure I get through my days (bear in mind, I'm in medschool and have much more class hours than in undergrad). I also workout, and I find that there is no way I can recover from a workout with only 6 hours of sleep... and if I don't recover properly, I tend to get sick which sets me back way more than 1 measly hour a night that I could have spent sleeping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannn Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 You'd be better off posting in the premed section I got 4 hours of sleep/day during undergrad with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon each day. Then I'd get around 9-10 hours/sleep on the weekends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewB Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 When you are at school all day and only have a few hours of time at night somethings gotta give... Start drinking coffee. Now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 Go to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedDream Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 Hey Colossus, I'm only my second year in undergrad, so I remember very well the stress of entering first year and having everything thrown at you. Generally, I tend to get about 6hrs a night. Sometimes it goes down to 5, and I "hit the wall" around 3pm as well. What I find is a good thing to do is take a power nap. Just 20 or 30 minutes will make you feel LOADS better. I usually just fall asleep on a couch on campus haha... or the library... Really, there isn't a way to get around it. Weekends are a good time to catch up. I also find that working out early in the morning helps me to wake up for the day. umm coffee helps too, lots of it. I had a friend in first year who was super strict about no coffee, but sure enough come exams... he had a large one in his hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman101 Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 I used to get around 4-6 hrs in UG I think. Probably closer to 4. In med I get a lot more. 6hrs of sleep in the night and then usually after a day of classes I take a massive 2 hr nap. I actually have way less class time in med school than UG so I can afford that. Oh yes and I drank plenty of coffee and worked out in UG. But I wasn't actually going for a sculpted body. More all out strength, athleticism, and endurance, for which coffee helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 I "hit the wall" around 3pm as well. What I find is a good thing to do is take a power nap. Just 20 or 30 minutes will make you feel LOADS better. I usually just fall asleep on a couch on campus haha... or the library... there you go, excellent approach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedDream Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 future_doc I think you may have been the one to suggest those power naps to me haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedDream Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 so thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repede Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Unfortunately, it's normal. My sleep habits have been terrible ever since starting undergrad. No matter how much I sleep, I always get tired by the early evening - I guess it's because I've racked up so much sleep debt, the sleep I get on the weekends just doesn't cut it. But I'm on year 4 and I've probably had a total of 3 cups of coffee since starting year 1... as a treat for myself, not because I needed to stay awake! I advise against coffee - several of my friends are addicted and have developed tolerance to caffeine, so now just 1 cup doesn't do anything for them. All that coffee, along with the sugar/cream they consume with each cup, can't be good for them. Nor their bank accounts... As bad as this sounds, you will probably get used to it. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rext Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I personally find the best way to get sleep in is to "budget" time for it when you're planning. Its a good idea to set up a schedule for yourself and have a regular sleep/wake cycle. And try not to procrostinate, inevitably, it always ends up with you sacrificing sleep for subpar work. Oh, and staying of crackbook/premed101/SDN might help.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watermelon7 Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Hey guys, But....I'm an athletic guy who works out a lot and like to keep my body chemistry and hormone levels at their natural level (ask any bodybuilder, they don't drink coffee haha). Anyways so yeah, I don't really like drinking that stuff. you sure about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 future_doc I think you may have been the one to suggest those power naps to me haha. haha works for me, allowing me to maximize efficiency with time management Note: I no longer require sleep tonight and am able to accomplish needed studies while others sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor_Strangelove Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Make you sure you get at least 6 hours of sleep. Power naps DO NOT replace lengthy REM sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBoss Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Wow, and I feel bad if I don't quite make >8 hours of sleep a night. I guess that explains why I'm kind of deficient in EC's, but I refuse to compromise my sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgardiner Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 Hey Colossus, I'm only my second year in undergrad, so I remember very well the stress of entering first year and having everything thrown at you. Generally, I tend to get about 6hrs a night. Sometimes it goes down to 5, and I "hit the wall" around 3pm as well. What I find is a good thing to do is take a power nap. Just 20 or 30 minutes will make you feel LOADS better. I usually just fall asleep on a couch on campus haha... or the library... Really, there isn't a way to get around it. Weekends are a good time to catch up. I also find that working out early in the morning helps me to wake up for the day. umm coffee helps too, lots of it. I had a friend in first year who was super strict about no coffee, but sure enough come exams... he had a large one in his hand. Weird, I read this post yesterday. Then I read it seconds before I posted this and I experience deja vu. Something about you sleeping on a couch on campus, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 In undergrad it was usually about 5 hours, in med it's 8 but I'm sure that'll change on some clerkship rotations. Coffee sucks, I'm so brutally addicted to it that I'll be late for mandatory sessions just so I can get my coffee so I don't look retarded during them (I can't think if I don't have a coffee in the morning, seriously!). I've also tried quitting over 10 times and have never been successful (albeit I've never not had extensive responsibilities that required alertness) so if I were you, I would avoid it if you can. Unfortunately, I don't think I would have got through undergrad without developing my 3-4 (large) cup a day habit of coffee, so in the end it's sort of a tradeoff... your health for good grades, awesome! It's funny how now that I don't have to get up so early I only have 1-2 cups a day, must have something to do with that extra sleep, LOL. Hey guys, kinda new to this thread. A friend told me about it at uni. Anyways, im a 1st year undergrad in Bio up here in Toronto. Just had a question about sleep hours. Ever since I got in uni, loads and loads of work like tests, quizzes, assignments, lab reports etc are being thrown at us (You guys know how it is). Anyways, due to this amount of work, almost every night, I get about 6 hrs of sleep. I don't feel that bad when I wake up but I generally tend to get tired around 2-3 pm during lectures. What I've seem to notice is that the majority of people in university tend to drink a lot of coffee. But....I'm an athletic guy who works out a lot and like to keep my body chemistry and hormone levels at their natural level (ask any bodybuilder, they don't drink coffee haha). Anyways so yeah, I don't really like drinking that stuff. Since you guys have been through all this before, just wanted to know how many hours on average per day you guys would sleep in undergrad and whether that's changed much for you in med school. I really do appreciate you med students taking the time out to answer the "noob" questions that undergrads present forward. Thanks to this website, we all have something to learn. You guys have no idea how many hours and hours I've spent reading through most of the threads already haha. Anyways so yeah. let me know what you guys think alright? Gotta go do a pre-lab. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medhopeful64 Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 whoa I didn't know you guys slept so little in undergrad...now I don't feel bad for not getting the 8hrs LOL. I mean, yeah, most of the time i get about 7, but come midterm time or exam time it's decreases to about 6, or night before exam about 3-4 (once 2 lol). Or if I feel particularly ambitious I make myself stay awake longer to get work done... But don't worry, lots of people I know get the 8hrs, work out, and get good grades. I seriously don't know how they do it, they make me feel so incompetent lol. If you can study smart, then it's possible and yeah...you'll get used to it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Hey guys, But....I'm an athletic guy who works out a lot and like to keep my body chemistry and hormone levels at their natural level (ask any bodybuilder, they don't drink coffee haha). Anyways so yeah, I don't really like drinking that stuff. you sure about that Yeah- what do you think an ECA stack is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrition major Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 Put your own health first even if it means going to a Caribbean medical school instead of a Canadian one. How can we tell our patients to put their health first if we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 during the week, i usually sleep from around 3 or 4 am to 8:30am during weekends, usually 2 or 3 am to around noon the insomniac hours aren't from excessive studying though, they're from excessive tv lol, that's the worst part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mei_Mei_girl Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 Hmm...its late and im still up studying. Unfortunately I wish I could say it is as easy as pie, but on my journey to get into medical school (although I have much better habits now) it took alot of **** and strain (ie. working part-time jobs, taking care of ill family members, school work) and I DID not sleep well ran low most of the time...god it was hell!! But I had to do it to keep responsibilities completed. Now, in med school my habits are better but its still not perfect! If only life were perfect...sigh...we would all get the magical hours of sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 ditto 10char Put your own health first even if it means going to a Caribbean medical school instead of a Canadian one. How can we tell our patients to put their health first if we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 LOL, I was just about to say... Yeah- what do you think an ECA stack is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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