Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sleep. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sleep. Sort by date Show all posts

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sleeping through A&P


Research confirms it . . . sleeping helps you learn A&P! 

OK, I'm not talking about sleeping during your A&P class.  That kind of sleeping hurts your ability to learn A&P.

Although we've known about this for a long time, recent research in mice adds to the evidence that a session of uninterrupted sleep helps you learn things.  Here's a link to a brief, easy-to-understand explanation of the research: my-ap.us/ne2WaP

What this means is that you should make great effort to get a good night's sleep every day that you study A&P.  That means sleeping well on nights that follow your lectures, labs, and study sessions. Or even better: getting a good night's sleep every night!


Yeah, I know . . . there are all kinds of things that interrupt your sleep.  What I'm saying is that it's important to reduce those interruptions as much as possible.  It may mean that you need to get others in your life "on board" with your learning goals, as I explained in a recent post. It may mean changing your schedule around a bit. 

The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep (Harvard Medical School Guides)A lot of folks don't really have good sleep habits . . . at that prevents them from sleeping well.  Which prevents them from learning well.  There are a lot of resources for learning good sleep habits, so if you have trouble sleeping well you should do a bit of research or find some professional help.

Besides helping you learn, good sleep habits also help you stay awake during class . . . no matter how boring your professor is!  Regular, uninterrupted sleep also helps you stay healthy and live a longer, happier life!

My A&P students are always looking for ways to help them remember things.  So here's something that's easy: just make sure you get a good night's sleep!

Here's a short video on good sleep hygiene using tips from the CDC and acted out by students at Miami University.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Sleep Helps You Succeed

The results of a study by the National Sleep Foundation are just in—and they show that you need more sleep if you want to succeed in your A&P course.

A panel of experts analyzed all of the studies they could find that focus on recommended sleep durations and concluded that adults aged 18-64 should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night for good health.

Good health, for the purposes of the study includes performance, cognitive health, and executive function—all critical to success in your A&P course.

Yeah, I know, it's HARD to get a full night's sleep when you have to work, have family responsibilities, have too much on your plate, want to hang with your friends, have a roommate with insomnia, are too stressed, etc., etc.

However, there ARE ways to get around these issues and improve your sleep times.  Your physician or counselor can help you find sleep strategies that work for you.  This video from Dartmouth's Academic Skills Center may also be helpful to you.




Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Take a Nap Before Your Next A&P Test

New research shows that napping before a test or exam is just as effective as cramming.

I've offered advice on the value of sleep and napping in this blog many times before. We don't know exactly how it helps us learn and remember, but neuroscientists are getting closer. But why it works isn't as important as the fact that it does work when you are getting ready for that next exam.

The recent research points out that cramming can have a bit of an edge if your goal is short-term memory. But for the long-term memory needed for most exams, especially cumulative or comprehensive exams, napping works just as well. And let's face it—it's way easier than cramming.

You also need long-term memory so that you can "take it with you" out of your A&P course. You are required to take anatomy and physiology courses in your program because they give essential concepts you need in later courses—and in your career. So why waste your time and effort by purposely "throwing away" all those concepts by failing to get them into your long-term memory?

Of course, napping cannot be your only preparation for a test!  (I know where your thoughts were going with this!) There's a lot of work you need to do.

But in the brief time you have before your test, it may be better to get your brain in shape—perhaps allowing some sleep-time consolidation and organizing of knowledge—than to review and revise what you've already (hopefully) been working on. It might also prevent the escalation of test anxiety that often accompanies last-minute cramming.


Want to know more?



Advice from this blog about sleeping and studying:



Napping before an exam is as good for your memory as cramming.

  • This is an article giving more information about the recent research I mentioned.



  • Over a dozen brief blog posts about learning strategies and preparing for (and taking) tests and exams.
Photo: Jocilyn Pope



Monday, February 9, 2009

A nap after class?


Research shows that a short, five- or ten-minute nap after class or after studying can improve learning.

A current theory is that during the process of falling to sleep we sort through our recent memories and possibly filter and organize them. This may "lock in" important memories of what was learned in the classroom or while reading the textbook or studying.

Hmmmm . . . perhaps colleges should offer more napping spaces in classroom buildings to enhance learning. Not a bad idea, eh?

To read more, see this quick summary at NewScientist:

Are catnaps as beneficial as actual sleep?
Colin Barras
NewScientist 21 February 2008

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Ten Exam Strategies for A&P

exam answer sheet
It's close to exam time for many A&P students and you may be a bit anxious about that A&P final, eh?

Here are ten tips for preparing for exams and taking exams that have proven useful for many other A&P students.

  1. Determine what will be on the exam.  Your syllabus or other course resources usually map that out for you,  If not, chat with your instructor.  Ask about the format of the exam: will the questions be of similar style, range, and depth of prior tests?  How many items?  Has your instructor given you any hints about what to expect?

  2. Practice the exam. Use previous tests from the course (if available) to practice the exam. One way to do this is to cut up copies of your tests and draw individual items randomly from an envelope. Sometimes professors will provide a practice exam or copies of some old exams. If not offered, it wouldn't hurt to ask.  Go to my-ap.us/1rJxClB for more.

  3. Study with a group. Pooling your thoughts, and helping each other review and practice, work surprisingly well to solidify what you already know and to fill in any gaps. Go to my-ap.us/WIYzcd to find out how to find others for group study.

  4. Manage your time well. Don't cram at the last minute . . . do a little preparation each day for a week or more before the exam. Go to my-ap.us/rgNZ27 for more tips.

  5. Be healthy. Do NOT stay up nights studying . . . sleep deprivation will reduce your ability to perform well. Eat well in the days leading up to the exam. Try to reduce stress.  Exercise (it'll help you think more clearly).  Check out my-ap.us/1CD0x0z and my-ap.us/dIdsS9 and my-ap.us/XdoVes

  6. Get to the test in time. Duh-uh, of course you should be there in time. But for the exam, try to get there early. I've seen SO many students cut it close, then something comes up (bad traffic, for example) and they come in LATE. Not only does that cut down the time you have to take the exam . . . you'll be flustered and unable to think clearly.

  7. Skim over the exam before taking it. This will give you an idea of what's ahead and you can use your time wisely.

  8. Don't waste time on something you really don't know. Do all the parts you are confident about. Then use the remaining time to work on the real puzzlers. If you start with the puzzling parts, you won't have time for the parts you know well . . . and you might get flustered and bomb the whole thing.

  9. Double check your responses. Make sure you read the question accurately (a common mistake). Makes sure things are spelled correctly. If you use a scan sheet, make sure you answered on the correct line. If there are complex problems, and you have time, do them AGAIN--just to make sure you got the right answer.

  10. Don't skip anything. Well, if you absolutely run out of time, you have no choice. But if time gets away from you and realize that you have only a few minutes for the remaining items that you'd prefer to take more time with . . . then just "go with your gut" and fill in some fast answers. You'd be surprised how many may turn out to be right (especially if you've prepared yourself well).
Check out this video, too!



There are even more tips at:


Some content has been adapted from prior posts.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Why be honest?

What if your health professional
cheated their way through school?
As you begin a new semester of anatomy and physiology, the notion of academic integrity is worth thinking about.

What is it? Academic integrity is the honesty with which you participate in your course and other learning activities.

Characteristics of students with academic integrity include:
  • Honestly represent personal work as their own. These students do not copy the work of others and represent it as their own work. 
  • Communicate with the instructor and others truthfully. These students do not make false statements about computer failures, family emergencies, etc., in order to extend deadlines, excuse absences, or gain sympathy.
  • Engage other students with integrity. These students do not enable academic dishonesty by illicitly providing test answers or other academic assignments to other students. They do not "look the other way" when they observe dishonesty, but instead report it to the instructor.
The main reason you want to be honest in your anatomy and physiology course is that you need to learn these concepts. A&P is the foundation of everything else you will encounter in your professional training program and your career. If you use dishonest shortcuts to give the illusion that you have learned more than you actually have, then you will be under-prepared for the rest of the course and the rest of your academic program. It's likely that you won't be able to successfully begin your career.

If you get through your program by cheating, which is not very likely, you may later cause death or illness in a client! How? Because there will be concepts missing from your professional knowledge base.

Now is a great time to develop an ethical, professional mindset. And that mindset MUST include integrity because this is so important for health professionals. You don't want to set yourself up for  failure as a professional and as a person, do you?

Research shows that people who practice dishonesty become more dishonest over time. Yikes. Apparently, it's so easy to get in the habit of cheating that it soon becomes part of who you are and what you always do! Don't let that happen to you . . . it will only cause misery.

A few more reasons students want to practice integrity in the A&P course:
  • They want to avoid the risk being removed their course, removed from their school, or (later) having their degree rescinded when their cheating is discovered.
  • They want their credentials from their course and their college/university to be "worth something" . . . and the credentials won't be worth much if integrity is not the norm.
  • They don't want to be one of the folks listed in the professional newsletters that have been censured, suspended, license revoked, jailed, sued, etc., for offenses that are essentially failures of integrity. Often, the listed offenses are supposedly "one time, this won't hurt anyone, itty-bitty" cheating incidents, as often claimed by the offenders.
  • They don't want their classmates caring for their family and friends (or handling their health records) if their classmates made it through school by cheating, even a little.
  • They want to be prepared fully for the next class, the next program, the next profession. And you cannot be fully prepared if you have pieces missing from your training.
  •  They don't want to be known by their colleagues, friends, and teachers as a cheater.
  • How will they find folks to give them acceptable references if they are known to be dishonest?
When it comes right down to it, you should ask yourself . . . what kind of person do I want to be? You'll sleep better every night for the rest of your life having made the better choice about integrity. This is a big deal when you are older and suffer from insomnia. Just wait.

You may want to review my prior article Why are you here? addressing the importance of learning everything you can in A&P . . . rather than just trying to get through it.


Updated September 2017

Trust image: Lukas Plewnia


Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Exam time!

guy studying
Many students have exams coming up this week or next . . . or sometime soon.

Last week, I shared some tips for exam preparation.

Now here are a few tips for what to do on exam day . . . and during the exam:
  • Be healthy. Do NOT stay up nights studying . . . sleep deprivation will reduce your ability to perform well. Eat well in the days leading up to the exam. Try to reduce stress. Exercise (it'll help you think more clearly).

  • Get to the test in time. Duh-uh, of course you should be there in time. But for the exam, try to get there early. I've seen SO many students cut it close, then something comes up (bad traffic, for example) and they come in LATE. Not only does that cut down the time you have to take the exam . . . you'll be flustered and unable to think clearly.

  • Skim over the exam before taking it. This will give you an idea of what's ahead and you can use your time wisely.

  • Don't waste time on something you really don't know. Do all the parts you are confident about. Then use the remaining time to work on the real puzzlers. If you start with the puzzling parts, you won't have time for the parts you know well . . . and you might get flustered and bomb the whole thing.

  • Double check your responses. Make sure you read the question accurately (a common mistake). Makes sure things are spelled correctly. If you use a scan sheet, make sure you answered on the correct line. If there are complex problems, and you have time, do them AGAIN--just to make sure you got the right answer.

  • Don't skip anything. Well, if you absolutely run out of time, you have no choice. But if time gets away from you and realize that you have only a few minutes for the remaining items that you'd prefer to take more time with . . . then just "go with your gut" and fill in some fast answers. You'd be surprised how many may turn out to be right (especially if you've prepared yourself well).
There are more tips at the Study Tips & Tools page on Taking Tests.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Test taking strategies

For many of you, you are either in the midst of final exams or close to it.

Quite a few students know that performance on an exam has a lot to do with how well you understand the concepts. Duh-uh!

But did you that there are other factors, too?

Here are some factors that can impact the performance on a test:

  1. Wellness. Whether you are ill or healthy, whether you are tired or well-rested, whether you have eaten well or not, and so on, can have big effects on how well you do.
  2. Test-taking skills. Yep . . . there are certain methods to use when taking a test that help you increase your chances of doing well. For example, managing your time properly helps you respond to all the items on an exam (rather than running out of time and missing out on part of the exam).
  3. Test-preparation strategies. What you do before the exam can have a big effect on how well you do. Last-minute cramming, depending on how you do that, may actually decrease your performance on an exam . . . especially if it causes you to lose critical sleep time.
So . . . what are the particular strategies to use? Glad you asked!

Just go to the Lion Den Taking Tests page for specific, student-tested advice . . . and links to other sources!