Trouble sleeping the night before?

Question

Recently I have been forcing myself to go to bed at 10pm and wake at 6am, since those are the conditions I will be under the night before the test. I am usually extremely sleepy by the time 9:30 rolls around and fall asleep quickly when I go to bed. But, I'm wondering whether that will be the case the night before the exam. I put myself on a similar schedule the night before the CFA exam, and had difficulty falling asleep. So, I ended up taking a Tylenol PM and crashed out, waking up refreshed the next morning.

I tried to take Simply Sleep (sleep ingredient of Tylenol PM without the pain meds) last night to see how it made me feel this morning. I got a case of restless legs about 1 hour in, and felt a little groggy this morning.

Did any of you have similar issues the night before your test, and if so, how did you handle them?

chineseburned · Answer

Welcome to the club! 
Yeah, if you anticipate not being able to sleep, take your medicine and take it early, so you don't sleep in. 
My solution to this is to reschedule for an afternoon time slot since that way I am less nervous the night before.

kyatin · Answer

I could not sleep well. Did lot of tossing and turning. But it was not too bad.

I think what can help is keeping the day light...the more you do the more your agitate your mind.
Just take a chill pill. Unfortunately no pharmacy sells it. :lol:

MeddlingKid · Answer

Thanks for the pointers. I am planning to take it easy on Tuesday and maybe just review some flash cards at some point. I think my anxiousness is more excitement for this thing than being nervous. I would take it now if I could.

Tarmac · Answer

I had a bit of trouble sleeping, but not much. Same as before any big day, new job, starting college, big game, etc.

altaurus1 · Answer

I second the idea of scheduling for an afternoon slot.

Tarmac · Answer

It affects everyone differently, I hated the idea of waking up, waiting around for 5 hours, and then taking the test. I intentionally took the morning slot.

Yahsek · Answer

I definitely had trouble sleeping the night before I took my tests (all 3 of them). I just laid there thinking about all the little things that could go wrong. What if I got lost on my way to the test center? What if I forget all my idioms? What if I forget my ID at home? What if my appointment was actually today and not tomorrow? What if I have to go #2 in the middle of the test?!?! Luckily I took all my tests in the afternoon, so even though I went to bed a little late I just slept in for a few more minutes. I agree that if you decide to take a sleep aid, to take it early. It would totally suck to be driving to the test center while still "under the influence" or worse, be taking the text while your medicine is still trying to make you go to sleep.

:sleeping:

sondenso · Answer

I am also in the same boat! I am an early bird, but I will be sleepy at 9 or 10 oclock. God!

I tend to take test at 11.30 AM. Around that I focus on the thing better! I work down in the afternoon. I dont know how to do with the night before test!

Wait for other tips!

navy01 · Answer

If you aren't used to taking sleep aides and then testing, I wouldn't do it. Same like drinking red bull and all that other stuff to get you in the zone. I hard a hard time falling asleep and sleep lightly through the night but I was so wired (naturally) when I actually sat for the test that I didn't have a problem of concentrating. Just need to tell yourself to relax and DON'T THINK OF ANYTHING when you lie down. So clear your mind of all that noise and you'll fall asleep.

MeddlingKid · Answer

Same here. I find I am at my peak during mornings. I have also been purposefully studying and taking practice tests at the same time each morning.

Anonymous · Answer

I would try melatonin. It's a natural ingrediant that helps induce sleep. I am always a restless sleeper, and take this daily (work is stressful) - it works like a charm for me, without the groggy side effects of cold medicine.

gmatnub · Answer

when I took the test last year, I scored 600. I was not expecting a super high score, but not 600 (38q, 33v) either.

What happened was that I was getting only 5 hours of sleep 2 nights before the test. The night before the test, I took 4 benadryls, and went to bed early. Two benadryls usually put me to sleep fast, but on this night I was so anxious that I got no sleep at all, zero, nada. I got out of bed around 8:30am, got some food, drank coffee, took no doze caffeine pills. My test was scheduled at 12:30pm. I seriously thought about not taking the test, but I decided to take it. I was yawning the whole time while on my way to the testing center.

I would love to get my hands on some real strong stuff that would just put me out for 10 hours the night before test day. Anyone here with the "magic" potions/pills?

MeddlingKid · Answer

I think it's worthwhile to see if you can get yourself to sleep naturally. For a month before the test, train your body to go to sleep and wake up at precisely the same time you intend to sleep and wake on G-Day.

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