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For all of you night owls out there, how are you managing your sleep schedules ahead of the LSAT?

I cannot fall asleep until 3 or 4 in the morning so have desperately been trying to get to bed earlier. Last night I lay in bed from midnight for 3 hours trying to fall asleep but failed. This is a very difficult cycle to break -- going to bed at 3 am and forcing myself to get up at 7, 8 am to simulate testing conditions almost guarantees that I will be non-functional by 3-4 pm in the afternoon and be forced to take a nap, hence delaying my bed time and prolonging the cycle.

Any tips?

Melatonin helped a lot for me. I was able to shift my sleep schedule a few hours earlier by taking it every night for about three weeks. I also avoided caffeine and drinking during that time. It sucked, but it pretty much worked. Then of course my nerves kept me lying awake in bed the whole night before the test anyways, and I reverted to my old ways as soon as the test was over.

Does melatonin give you any side effects? Hallucination, nerves, sleepiness in the morning, etc?

It makes my dreams more vivid. At first it made me a little drowsy in the morning, but switching to a smaller dosage fixed that. You only need a tiny amount; I buy the 3 mg ones and split those into sixths.

You take melatonin in what form?

Tablets. You can get it at pretty much any pharmacy or Amazon.

To be clear, it's not some wonder drug that'll knock you out. In my experience, it mostly helps nudge you into sleep, and over time helps you feel sleepy at the time you want to. It's good for jet-lag, too.

I was a night owl, but about a month ago I switched in preparation for writing the LSAT.

Melatonin does help you fall asleep, but i would often wake up groggy the next day if I did not sleep at least 8 hours and wake up naturally. That was just an issue I had with it, but it works fine for a lot of people.

Instead I just would drink some wine and read a book. Especially after a long day of studying this will make you tired and you will pass out. Its tough to skip the nap at first, but i would suggest either skipping the nap or be disciplined to just take a 20 min power nap and then go do something active and it will reinvigorate you for the remainder of the day and you will fall asleep earlier and can still be productive in the afternoon.

Sacred Cow wrote:Tablets. You can get it at pretty much any pharmacy or Amazon.

To be clear, it's not some wonder drug that'll knock you out. In my experience, it mostly helps nudge you into sleep, and over time helps you feel sleepy at the time you want to. It's good for jet-lag, too.

Thanks SacredCow! Would you recommend it if someone starts taking it now for next Saturday?

Sorry for the late reply. Probably wouldn't start the night before, but otherwise you can try it and see if you like it any time.

I usually pop a Xanax and sip some tea before bed.

Ilovemydogxo wrote:I usually pop a Xanax and sip some tea before bed.

careful w that if youre serious