To prepare for this exam, I decided to do two things:
1. Quit caffeine - because I want to be able to drink a bit on the day of the test and get positive effects, whereas if I have a tolerance, the normal amount wouldn't work for the test and I would have to drink extra, and would also have negative effects due to the tolerance.
2. Change my sleep schedule - so I can wake up early
I did those two things but this past week I've been constantly sleepy all day and feel really fatigued and shitty and my eyelids keep drooping and it takes effort to keep my eyes open. I don't know if this is because of the caffeine withdrawal or the change in sleep schedule.
I don't know what to do because if it is due to the caffeine, I could either start drinking it again and go back to having a tolerance, or bear it for the next few days and live in the misery and then take some on the test day. If it is because of the sleeping schedule IDK how to fix that.
What are you people doing about caffeine/sleep schedule?
Caffeine + Sleep + This exam Forum
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about bar exam prep. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about bar exam prep. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
-
law732
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:00 am
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
I wouldn't change a routine at this stage in the game. If you drank 8 cups of coffee everyday for the last 3 months, now isn't the time to stop.
-
FinallyPassedTheBar
- Posts: 485
- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 5:27 am
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
I'm generally a night-owl. But I've been sleeping from 11pm to 7am every day for the past 2 months to get my body used to it.
Last year I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. It was causing me not to get enough restful sleep. So if I slept 8 hours, it was only equal to about 5 hours of restful sleep, because the other hours my body was constantly fighting itself. So during the day, I would often feel very drousy. But now that I have an air machine when I sleep, I am getting all the restful hours I need.
Last year I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. It was causing me not to get enough restful sleep. So if I slept 8 hours, it was only equal to about 5 hours of restful sleep, because the other hours my body was constantly fighting itself. So during the day, I would often feel very drousy. But now that I have an air machine when I sleep, I am getting all the restful hours I need.
-
swtlilsoni
- Posts: 428
- Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:00 am
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
How long did it take you to get used to the new 11-7 schedule? Did you feel crappy at first? I've been trying to do this for months but was unable to change my biological clock, and only this month I started making progress due to the use of sleep aids.6TimeFailure wrote:I'm generally a night-owl. But I've been sleeping from 11pm to 7am every day for the past 2 months to get my body used to it.
Last year I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. It was causing me not to get enough restful sleep. So if I slept 8 hours, it was only equal to about 5 hours of restful sleep, because the other hours my body was constantly fighting itself. So during the day, I would often feel very drousy. But now that I have an air machine when I sleep, I am getting all the restful hours I need.
-
FinallyPassedTheBar
- Posts: 485
- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 5:27 am
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
swtlilsoni wrote:How long did it take you to get used to the new 11-7 schedule? Did you feel crappy at first? I've been trying to do this for months but was unable to change my biological clock, and only this month I started making progress due to the use of sleep aids.6TimeFailure wrote:I'm generally a night-owl. But I've been sleeping from 11pm to 7am every day for the past 2 months to get my body used to it.
Last year I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. It was causing me not to get enough restful sleep. So if I slept 8 hours, it was only equal to about 5 hours of restful sleep, because the other hours my body was constantly fighting itself. So during the day, I would often feel very drousy. But now that I have an air machine when I sleep, I am getting all the restful hours I need.
It was sort of difficult the first few days. In order to speed it up, I started exerting more physical energy during the day...like taking the stairs, religiously mowing my lawn every 3 days, etc. so that by the time 11pm rolled around, I was tired. Then my body just got used to it after about a week. I am totally alert and happy the entire day.
I don;t use sleeping aid medication.
Want to continue reading?
Register now to search topics and post comments!
Absolutely FREE!
Already a member? Login
-
Neve
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:45 pm
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
Agreed. I drank my usual amount of coffee during bar study (and sometimes more if I needed it). On the day of the bar exam itself, I had coffee in my car to drink during the lunch break with a chicken sandwich. I also had coffee before the exam with a butterfinger (candy for breakfast is for champions, but I passed on my first try!law732 wrote:I wouldn't change a routine at this stage in the game. If you drank 8 cups of coffee everyday for the last 3 months, now isn't the time to stop.
).-
KTnKT
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 2:10 pm
Re: Caffeine + Sleep + This exam
People advise you to continue your normal routine through bar prep. That's what I did... my normal routine was 1 red bull a day and two in finals, so I did 1 red bull during prep and 1.5 during the exam. Why throw off the system that works for you?
As for when you sleep... I do think that is a good idea to get on the right sleep schedule, but I wouldn't stress about getting on your sleep schedule until closer to the test... I really just did it the week before or so... but even though I'm a 50x snooze button hitter... the actual day of the exam the adrenaline ruled me and I didn't hit snooze even once. I probably could have done without the caffeine for that matter...
Also... since I am a night owl, I did Tylenol pm at about 7 pm each night of the exam... It'd kick in around 8:45 and I'd be out until about 5 in the morning when my alarm went off. It worked beautifully. Definitely test it out beforehand though.
As for when you sleep... I do think that is a good idea to get on the right sleep schedule, but I wouldn't stress about getting on your sleep schedule until closer to the test... I really just did it the week before or so... but even though I'm a 50x snooze button hitter... the actual day of the exam the adrenaline ruled me and I didn't hit snooze even once. I probably could have done without the caffeine for that matter...
Also... since I am a night owl, I did Tylenol pm at about 7 pm each night of the exam... It'd kick in around 8:45 and I'd be out until about 5 in the morning when my alarm went off. It worked beautifully. Definitely test it out beforehand though.
