Have you ever stayed up late or woken up early to study for a test or prepare for a presentation? If you have, then you are not alone. Lots of students stay up late or wake up early for schoolwork. One person might benefit from staying up late rather than waking up early, and vice versa. It depends on the person, but there are pros and cons to late nights and early mornings.
Staying up late may seem more attractive because we are already awake and staying up longer is easier than waking up early. Staying up late can stimulate creativity. Our brains are wired to be more creative later into the night. If you are used to staying up late because you like to watch movies or spend time with your family, then staying up late to study might be the better option for you. People who stay up late usually wake up late as well, which makes it difficult to wake up early because your body is used to waking up late. If you commonly stay up late, you can study and stay focused well into the night. Studying at night also increases your ability to retain information well enough for your upcoming test. When you revise something and sleep on it, you are more likely to remember it because you revised when there were no distractions, so you could drill the information into your brain. Staying up late increases productivity because it is late, and one wants to go to sleep, so they are less likely to waste time.
However, staying up late to study has its downsides. Studying late at night allows you to memorize information, but not learn it. Memorizing information ensures that you remember it for a short period, enough to do well on the test, but you don't learn it. If you are asked to recall the information a few weeks after you memorized it, it will be difficult to do so. If you are someone who rarely stays up late, then this could be terrible for you and your performance. Every hour past normalcy, you stay awake, the more your brain gets tired. This affects your performance for learning and memorizing. If you rarely do, staying awake late affects your body clock, which can affect lots of external factors. When you stay up late, you get less sleep, and if your body isn’t used to it, then it is difficult to stay awake in class. Your brain won’t have the energy it needs to function properly, which makes it difficult to learn the new content being taught in classes.
Waking up early sounds difficult, but it certainly has its benefits, especially if you are a student. When you wake up early, earlier than your family, the surrounding atmosphere will be quiet. Some people work better in a quiet environment. If this sounds like you, try waking up earlier and studying. The quiet allows you to stay focused because you won’t have distractions, and this increases your productivity. Starting your day early usually results in getting things done early in the day. Seeing completed tasks works as motivation to keep you focused and productive throughout the rest of the day. Waking up a few hours before you need to also ensures that you are at your peak when you need it the most. Since you would have already been awake for a while, your body will be awake as well, which ensures that you are focused. For example, if your school starts at 7:30, and you normally wake up at 6:30, if you wake up an hour earlier, at 5:30 you will have been awake for two hours before school begins, which is enough time for your body to properly wake up. Waking up early also leads to enhanced energy. Getting out of bed in the morning could mean a workout for one person, or schoolwork for another. If you are awake and doing something, you will have more energy later in the day. Early mornings are also the time that many people set their daily goals. Doing this early is more motivating because you will have the entire day to achieve those goals and taking the time to write your goals downplays a big role in achieving them.
On the other hand, waking up early also has its disadvantages. If you are not used to waking up early, suddenly waking up an hour earlier could cause you to be exhausted throughout the day. It may seem that you have more energy when you wake up, but as the day progresses, your body functions will lag because of the lack of sleep. When you get tired, you might decide to nap, which makes it hard to fall asleep at night, and this routine repeats. When you are tired, you might also drink energy drinks, which contain sugar, this could also ruin your diet. If you wake up early, you need to make sure you are sleeping early as well because if you don’t get enough sleep, it will lead to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation prevents our brains from functioning at full capacity, which could lead to exhaustion and high levels of stress. The stress can cause migraines, muscle aches, and mood swings. If you sleep late, but try to wake up early, it is suggested you don’t do that, so you get the needed sleep for your body. If you wake up early, you also need to sleep early. When you sleep early, you are cutting down your free time that you have later in the day. Whether you use that time to talk to your friends or family, do something you love, or just relax and watch tv, that time will need to be cut down based on how early you wake up. If you try to wake up early, but you find it difficult, you might naturally be a night owl whose body is programmed to stay up later than wake up early, listen to your body, and find the schedule that is right for you.
In the end, everybody is different, and what works for me might not work for you. To ensure maximum productivity, find the schedule that works for you, whether it is waking up early or staying up late. That could also change based on the subject, or the date of the exam. Waking up early and sleeping late both have their pros and cons, we just have to choose the one we prefer more. Whether you decide to wake up early or stay up late, it is important to take care of yourself. That means don’t overwork yourself, make sure you get enough sleep, and just take a break when you need it. Just because you want to increase your productivity, it doesn't mean you need to be busy 24/7. It means you need to use your time wiser, but also leave some time for you so you don’t stress yourself out. The decision of waking up early or staying up late entirely lies on you and is different for everyone. Find what works for you!
Comments