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I haven't tried it, but I had a similar problem with waking up during the night before the test last october.

You have to find a way to get a good night's sleep. If you want to try some type of sleep medication or melatonin, just make sure to test it beforehand so you know if it's effective. Also, you should try to get yourself onto a sleep schedule 1-2 weeks in advance so the night of isn't out of the ordinary.

hope that helps

I used to take OTC sleep meds fairly regularly. They never worked very well for me. They can also be habit forming, and the grogginess is a real problem the next morning. Never had any real experience with ambien though. I don't know how potent it is vs. otc stuff, but I imagine it's similar.

I've found the best way to ensure a good night's sleep is to get a large amount of exercise the day before. For June, I went on a bike ride in the morning and a run the night before the exam. I slept great. Like you said, exercise the next morning will help you wake up.

If you do decide to take ambien, make sure you experiment with it the night before some pt's. You don't want to be working through a new experience like that on game day.

if you're going to go the ambien route i'd definitely test it out a couple times beforehand. i had the same sleep issues/sleep issues in general so i was prescribed ambien, but I didn't like the way I felt in the morning, especially for taking the LSAT. for me, the key was convincing myself that I had done everything within reason to prepare and that I was ready, along with moderate exercise the day before and improved sleep hygiene (i.e. no technology at least an hour before bed, only using bed for sleep etc. it's actually really improved my sleep in general too). I had a much better night of sleep than I would have expected doing that. good luck though, sleep issues suck majorly

Do some yoga. An hour of yoga before bed and I sleep like the dead. Of course, that's another thing you don't want to experiment with on test day, so if you haven't done yoga before...Seriously though, general exercise the day before is a good idea. I run a lot so I'm actually going to run the day before (then do yoga) and again the morning of to clear my head.

I slept like crap the night before my test and did perfectly fine (3 pts above my PT avg). It's 3 1/2 hours in a chair with a snack break, not climbing Mt. Everest. The human brain and body can operate just fine on one bad night's sleep.

Just don't go in completely freaked out that you're going to fail because you didn't sleep well: that will fuck you up way worse than a single restless night.

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i've tried melatonin. it puts me to sleep in 30 minutes, i never wake up groggy, and it's not habit forming.

also, you could try doing a really hard workout during the day. that exhausts your body and will help you sleep.

try also a warm bath before bedtime, with epsom salts maybe, and eating high carb or even sugary foods. think milk and cookies, bananas, too.

also, in the hour or 2 before bedtime, don't go on the internet, read news, watch violent or scary movies, anything like that that might keep your mind active when you're trying to fall sleep.

if you're anxious, maybe try writing in a diary to get all your thoughts out of your mind.

there's also one other tip i've heard from a friend but have never tried. basically you wake up super early/get very little sleep the day before, so you'll be exhausted by bedtime the night before the test.

hope that helps!

try benadryl specifically, diphenhydramine HCL...its OTC allergy meds but one of the big side effects is drowsiness...its incredibly effective...so effective that it is used as a short term sleep aid (in fact if u did buy OTC sleep aids it prob would be benadryl), but lasts only 4-6 hrs so u wont feel groggy.....

Whatever you try, the time to test it is now. You want to make sure that it won't have negative effects (grogginess) and also give your body time to adjust to the new schedule/chemical in your system.

Another thought is to just make sure you sleep well two and three nights before. I tend to find that When I have a bad night of sleep it affects me a lot more 24-48 hours later than it does the morning I wake up.

PKozi wrote:Another thought is to just make sure you sleep well two and three nights before. I tend to find that When I have a bad night of sleep it affects me a lot more 24-48 hours later than it does the morning I wake up.

This.

I have noticed over time that I still perform well with only one night of little sleep. It takes 2-3 nights before I really start to suffer.

Also, I haven't used Ambien, but I have used various other prescription sleeping pills, and I find I am often below-par most of the next day - usually into the evening, at least.

Also, don't mess with your sleep schedule the night before the test - if you go to sleep and get up earlier than usual, the sleep won't be as good quality.