Should I Do My Homework or Sleep?
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Sleep and homework are two essential things that you can’t do at once. They’re both important, but you have to set your priorities straight and assess which one you need more. It can be challenging to sleep with all the homework-related things running in your mind. It can also be terrible to do your homework while feeling extremely sleepy.
Should I do my homework or sleep? Find a balance between both. Effectively managing your time is the key to maintaining study habits without sacrificing sleep. Sleep can help boost your mental health and promote a sharper memory. Take advantage of your brain’s peak performance and study for your upcoming exams after waking up.
It would be best if you slept to relax and refresh your mind. Lack of sleep can affect your cognitive function, leading to a lack of focus and concentration. Prepare your body and refresh your memory by sleeping within the right number of hours. You can also take power naps or short breaks in the middle of a busy day before doing your homework.
What Time of the Day Is Your Brain Sharpest?
As mentioned, your brain functions better in the morning, especially when you’ve had a good night’s rest. According to science, the brain is at its peak performance in the late morning. This suggests that it’s best to do your homework or review for an exam at around 10:00 to 12:00 noon. Our ability to concentrate and focus is better, and we tend to be more productive at this time of the day. However, other studies also reveal that other people tend to function better in the afternoon. Perhaps this holds true if you’re more of a night owl than a morning person.
In real-life situations, some people have sharper minds and have better control over stress during the day. Meanwhile, other people are more productive and smarter during the afternoon. Due to these contradicting factors, I think the best answer to this is that the brain works best when we are well-rested and free from stress or tiredness.
What Works Best for You?
The times of the day are important, but in most situations, we don’t have enough power over our time. We are hardwired differently, and there’s no exact parameter as to what time our brains function at its peak. There are also unavoidable situations like some people need to go to school earlier and come home a bit earlier. This means they don’t have time in the morning, but they’re too tired from school in the afternoon. Some go to school very late and come home late as well. This means they’re too tired to study after school, so their best bet is to study in the early morning. This is where time management comes in.
Ask yourself if you’re a night owl and try to get a few hours of studying before hitting the sack. If you’re a morning person, set your alarm to two hours earlier than your usual wake up time, depending of course on the quantity of your homework. Discover your body’s natural rhythm and stick to the times that you feel at your best and most productive.
Plan Your Day
Here are things you need to note down for you to be able to create an effective daily plan for studying and sleeping:
- Figure out your sleep/wake cycle.
- Observe which time of the day you can focus, memorize, and concentrate more.
- Find a spot in your home where there are no distractions and where you can focus more.
- Note down your observations and create a schedule from there.
- Always get a good amount of sleep or rest, regardless of what time of the day you feel most productive.
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How Much Sleep Do Students Lose Because of Homework?
This is probably a burning question that pops up in every student’s and parent’s mind when the word “homework” is mentioned. Does homework really lead to sleep deprivation? How many hours of precious sleep do we lose every time we stay up late to study? The number of hours can’t be one and the same. It depends on how many hours you’re willing to stay up late for tomorrow’s exams. You may feel more creative at night than during the early morning, that’s why you stay up late. It can also be that you sleep first, but you force yourself to wake up early to study for the day’s schoolwork or test. The point is, you lose hours for every time you choose to disrupt your sleeping patterns, so it’s essential to maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
It’s up to you if you want to pull an all-nighter or wake up really early, but isn’t it better to dedicate a few hours at night and then in the morning? Or you can also make sure that you get enough sleep, so you don’t feel groggy the morning after. There are many ways to avoid losing those precious sleep hours, and it really counts on how well you manage your time and activities.
Improve Your Sleep
A must-have for better sleep is the 100% Authentic Natural Himalayan Salt Lamp (view on Amazon). This genuine crystal rock salt lamp is made from 250 million-year-old salt. This product is available on Amazon, and it has a UL-Listed Dimmer Switch and includes two 15 watt bulbs ideal for your study room, bedroom, or living area. It purifies the air and helps prevent air pollutants and dust. You can use it for a more relaxed and restful sleep.
Is It Good to Do Homework in Bed?
Speaking of sleep and study, how about those who are fond of finishing their lessons while in bed? Is it a good habit, or is it something that is unhealthy? It is widespread knowledge that doing your homework in bed is not recommended at all since it lessens a person’s ability to focus or concentrate on the lessons. The bedroom is not an ideal learning environment in that it has too many distractions such as phones, television, and of course, the bed itself. However, it’s also not a good thing to deprive a person of where they’re comfortable. Some are just way more comfortable studying in bed. It could be that they have no other place to study, or they want to lie down while reading or writing. Just make sure you have proper lighting, and you have a good pillow to rest on while studying.
Use Proper Lighting
Light is essential for improving proper studying and sleeping habits, so make sure to have Circadian Optics Lumine Light Therapy Lamp (view on Amazon) on your desk. Check it out on Amazon and experience the great benefits of this minimalist product. This revolutionary lamp is easy-to-use and has a versatile design that will fit any room in your home. It features light therapy that helps regulate sleep, fights stress, and improves a person’s focus. This therapy lamp helps establish a healthy sleep-wake cycle, boost energy, and reduce fatigue so that you’ll get good sleep and be ready for another busy day at school.
How to Do Homework in the Morning
Now that we’ve discovered several ways and times people prefer to study let’s now move on to how we can effectively maintain good study and sleep habits. This part is not just for early birds but also for night owls who want to make sure they’ve finished their homework before hitting the sack.
- First, you should organize your desk the night before. This is so that as you get up in the morning, you’ll slowly get to prepare your brain and body for studying.
- Second, list down your tasks in a planner or use a task management app. That way, you’ll be able to estimate how much time you’ll need for homework.
- Next, list down the usual times you sleep and wake up so you can maintain good sleeping habits. As a student in his teenage years, you should be getting about 8 to 10 hours of sleep, so make sure you have enough room for finishing schoolwork.
- The next thing is to make sure to warm up first before going to your study desk. Do a little stretch or exercise because it also helps promote mental health and concentration. If you’re a night owl, try to do some stretching or activity as well to relax your mind before a long night of studying.
Track Your Progress
A great partner for sleep is the Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker (view on Amazon). Discover how this product can help you in more ways than one. It has several exercise modes such as run, yoga, swim, and bike. You can set goals and monitor your progress. You’ll also get all the benefits of having notifications on your wrist because this device has apps for weather, calls, text messages, and more. The best thing is you get to record during different stages of sleep.
Balance and knowing your priorities are some of the best things to do to prevent getting confused between choosing homework or sleep.
