Sleep pattern and GMAT

Question

Hi,
I work in my family business and, sadly, we're bakers.
This means that I have a strange and inconsistent sleeping pattern, waking up at 3,30 am since I was 16 to work before school and university.
Usually I sleep in the afteroon to recover myself.
Recently, I tried several mocks in test-center conditions, scoring in the same range(650-660-660), even with a month of study in between.
My first mock, during this preparation(this is my second time) was during the Christmas holidays, when I have been able to sleep two days consecutively all night long such as a normal person(something like 0:00 to 8:00am), and I scored 690.
Now, the strange things are:
During my first mock, I scored Q49 and V35 on the old software(37 quant and 41 verbal questions). I'm currently enrolled in E-Gmat full course, and it is yielding pretty good. I'm able to score consistently around Q49 in math and I'm improving my verbal score.
The interesting thing is...That at the time when I scored 690, I didn't started the verbal course yet. I was basically just remembering the things from my precedent GMAT preparation almost one year before.
So I managed to get a V35 without study anything, on a longer test but with 2 nights of good sleep.

This month, I tried 3 GMATPrep Mocks
Q48 V31(650)GMATPrep3
Q50 V28(660)GMATPrep4
Q48 V33(660) GMATPrep6
In each of these test I did not sleept well like in my first one, and I scored poorly in Verbal even if now I finished the E-Gmat course. In these mocks, I tried to sleep since 20:30pm to 3:30am, then worked for 3-4 hours and then started the mock a 9:00am.

Now I'm wondering if and how much can the sleep quality-deprivation-pattern influence my score overall.
I'm planning to take one week off from work before the GMAT and then sleep like a normal person for that week.

What's your opinion/experience about it?
Is it all about the number of hours or does the time/pattern influece as well?

Ari7 · Answer

Sleep is very imp.

I’ve tried meditation and it has helped me a lot. Do a 15 min meditation before sleep to calm your mind and you can switch your sleep pattern. Try 30 mins or longer if it is harder at first.

Tons of videos available on YouTube. Let me know if you want me to send you my fav ones. But you can pick and chose.

Good luck. Make sure tha your biological clock matches with your exam clock or fatigue will get the best of you.

I have an exam at 8 am so I’m trying to sleep early and wake up at 5.30.

Good luck!

Posted from my mobile device

AjiteshArun · Answer

I think lack of sleep is one of the major reasons for underperformance on test day. Taking one whole week off from work sounds like a good idea.

ccooley · Answer

This is an interesting question.

Sleep  deprivation  can definitely influence your mental acuity. You don't even have to feel tired - if your brain is fatigued, you won't perform as well as you could.

But, I recently did some research on whether your sleep  pattern  matters when taking standardized tests. There isn't a lot of research out there about the GMAT specifically, but it seems like there's no clear evidence that sleep pattern (i.e. being a 'morning person' versus a 'night person') has much impact on your score. A lot of studies contradict each other: some show that everyone does better in the morning, some show that everyone does better in the afternoon, some show that you should take the test at your 'preferred time', etc. In general, I'd recommend that you take the test at the time you're used to doing intellectual work (whether that's morning, afternoon, or evening) -  unless  you're normally sleep-deprived, in which case you should make an effort to sleep more regularly before taking the test. But if you normally sleep enough, but you sleep at an unusual time, that should be okay.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

One prominent expert said that s/he has slept 4 hours on average for last 22 years! If sleep makes any problem how did s/he achieve a good score in gmat? If you are habituated with 4 hours sleep then it does not make any problem at least to you, IMO. But, Suppose, you go to sleep 7am everyday like me but if you make appointment test time at 9am then it will make problems in real exam because you made this appointment at 9am just to sleep

in the exam hall! Posted from my mobile device

GiuPao94 · Answer

Some people are genetically more adapted to sleep something like 4 hours, but some others are not.
I'm planning to try to sleep since 11:00pm to 7:00pm during this week, trying to engage the exam in the best time of brain activity.
Decrease sodium and simple sugars, increase water, 30 min of cardio every day, and so on.
Tomorrow I have the first simulation without waking up at 3,30 am.
Let's see what happen

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi GiuPao94,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, all it takes is a quick Google search and you will find a  myriad of studies that conclude that a lack of sleep has negative effects on your mental state . Given that you did not sleep well, then went to work, and then took your practice exams, I’m not surprised that you scored lower on your last three practice exams than you did in your first.

The next time you take a practice test, you should ensure that you take the test on a day when you’ve gotten plenty of sleep and you do not have to work before the exam.

If you need any further advice regarding your study plan, feel free to reach out.

Good luck!

AliciaSierra · Answer

GiuPao94 ,

One question, probably stupid question, what are going to achieve by decreasing sodium and edible sugar ?

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi ammuseruu
excess of sodium lead to problems of concentration and excess of simple sugar can lead to gilcemy spikes

Hi Scott,
Surely, the amount of sleep influences your score a lot, but my question was much more on the pattern of sleep, because during the mocks I sleep something like 6 hours in the night before anyway

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi guys,
Today, after two days of normal sleep and one day off from studying, I did my last mock, GMATPrep5
Scored 660, Q49 V32
During the last part of the Verbal section, the page froze when 6,5 minutes were left and there were still 6 questions to ask, of which 1 short passage of RC and 3 SC(so, doable in 6,5 minutes, maybe not with a 100% accuracy, but doable).
The page froze for almost 4 minutes, and so I guessed the last 6 questions, resulting in 6 mistakes at the end of the verbal section.

totalling 14/36 mistakes in verbal and 7/31 mistakes in quant
So, the same result in worst conditions. I think that this could be accounted as an improvement

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

That really stinks tha the page froze. I do believe you would have had a higher verbal score had that not happened. When do you plan to take another practice test?

GiuPao94 · Answer

I do not plan any other mock. I have the GMAT for 4 February, so it is better for me to repete and rest.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi GiuPao94,

In these last few days before your Official GMAT, you should limit your studies to general practice and light review (NO CATs and NO 'cramming'). You would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi Rich, it is exactly what I'm doing. I'll let you know how it is gone

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi guys,
I scored 660 on the real test
Q47 V34
I slept since 21,50 and then woke up in the night at 2,20am. Got some problem to sleep again after that.
I'm not so satisfied, maybe I will retake.
Especially that Q47 does not excite me so much, but on the real test there where some really strange questions :/

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi GiuPao94,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your recent CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 660 +/- a few points). This is the same general level you were performing at in early 2018, so it's possible that you have developed some 'bad habits' that are keeping you from scoring higher. You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

You might choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn't provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

1) Is your Score Goal still 700+?
2) What are your current application plans?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi Rich, glad to see that you remember me
Anyway, I have to point to you that I interrupted my preparation in February last year and I restarted in October 2018, so I restarted basically from scratch because in my first attempt I didn't studied too well(basically, I was solving question on the OG and I discovered the manahattan guides only in the last month)

This time I studied with e-GMAT
Yesterday I undervalued the difficulty of math, because I was scoring consistently above Q48. I was a little bit tired and I can remember 2-3 questios that I was ablo to solve but i got wrong.

I'm planning to retake in 2-4 weeks, in the same place. It should be more familiar this time and so I will be less nervous.
Yeah my goal is still to score above 700
I'm starting my application this week to several schools(Rotterdam, IE, ESADE, ESCP Europe, Bocconi)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi GiuPao94,

It's certainly possible that you have the potential to score higher than you did on this last attempt. That having been said, you are scoring at the same general level every time you take a Test, so there are likely some aspects to Test Day (or some bad habits) that are hurting you in various ways. Thus, you can continue studying as you like - and potentially run the risk of scoring at this same general level again - or you can proactively choose to make some changes to how you approach this process.

The ESR would help to define your specific issues in more detail - and if you have any questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi Rich,
Thank you for your help.
I will buy the ESR as soon as possible. At which kind of habit do you refer? 
During the several mocks, there was always a kind of problem like people around shouting or making noise, or I wasn't fully prepared on all the sections(for example, I took 2 mocks before start the RC course).
I think that my last mock was the most reliable in terms of score, and it was inflated by the frozen page.
Yes I believe to have the potential to score higher, but I would like some examples of these "bad habit" to understand better where I committed mistakes.
I read a little bit of resentment in your last answer. If I offended you in some way, I'm sorry. I'm here to learn and I'm open to any kind of suggestion
Thank you again

GiuPao94 · Answer

Hi Rich,
I bought the ESR
as you can see, I lost a lot of verbal point on RC.
At the middle of the verbal section, I started to rush and I basically guessed a short RC(the last one)
The first two were of an average length, with three questions for each
The third was long and I think that I lost myself there
By the end I was guessing a lot due to a shortage of time. Honestly, V34 still surprised me considering the amount of rushing in the last part

In the quant section, I can remember something like 3 questions wrong in geometry that I was actually able to solve. 
I think that I have to work more on this section for sure.
Algebra is also a weakness and I have to work a lot on this
Finally, I think that what really screwed me in math was the time: used to gain a lot of time advantage in the first questions during the mocks, I wasted a lot of time on some questions resulting in a rush during the middle-end of the section; as you can see, my score fell there

What do you suggest? 
I would like to retake in 3-4 weeks, and I think that I will work a lot more on RC especially, reading the economist and solving the official guide's questions
I will work more also on geometry and algebra

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