The Effects of Cramming for an Exam

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Stressing about an approaching deadline or an upcoming test is nothing new to most people, especially students. The manner in which both business professionals and students handle the stress is quite similar. The majority of people who often find themselves in this situation say that they stay up most of the night, if not all the night, preparing and reviewing information. As the standards for a quality education continue to increase rapidly, students find themselves having less and less time to prepare for approaching exam dates. The pressure to succeed and do well causes many high school and college students to study all the information intensively, or cram, the night before the exam while putting off sleep. Although this seems harmless, there are many severe effects to late night study sessions. Staying up late and reviewing information does more harm than good.
First, there is no correlation between late night studying and doing better on exams. In fact, research shows the exact opposite. Studies have shown that “the information will not sink in, because memories form during deep sleep” (“Cramming hurts grades and health”, 2012). By the time of the test, the information will no longer be remembered. It would be similar to not studying at all. Making late night caffeine filled study sessions pointless and ineffective.
Giving up sleep for grades may seem like a good idea; however, cramming for an exam the night before actually impairs mental function. “Harvard Medical School associate professor Seung-Schik Yoo drew this conclusion after doing a study that required subjects to forgo sleep for 36 hours and evaluate various visual stimuli” (Heibutzki). Yoo’s study showed that sleep deprivation can weaken mental function. Those wh...

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... the consequences of prolonging their sleep and are oblivious to what they are actually doing to their body and physical being. No matter how harmless staying up late may seem, there are many severe effects to late night study sessions. Staying up late and reviewing information does more harm than good.

Works Cited

Cramming all night for exams can hurt more than your grades -- it can damage your health. (2012). New York Daily News, Retrieved from http://nydailynews.com/life-style/health/constant-exam-cramming-ruin-health-article-1.1180676

Eun Hee, S. (2012). CRAMMING, ACTIVE PROCRASTINATION, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 40(8), 1333-1340.

Heibutzki, R. (n.d.). The Effects of Cramming for a Test. Seattle Pi, Retrieved from http://education.seattlepi.com/effects-cramming-test-2719.html

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