Cramming Essay

1043 Words5 Pages
Everyone at some point in time has procrastinated on homework, a term paper, or even a major project. For example, at most schools towards the end of the school year, students must take an end of course exam. The approaching exam will cover all the information back to the beginning of the year. Students have the test date scribbled down on a calendar and ingrained in their brains, but for some reason they choose to wait until the day before to study. The time being spent relearning and studying everything they once knew could have been spread out, and now they’re cursing themselves for not starting earlier. As students, we tend to wait until the day before the test to “cram” everything we have learned in one sitting. We stay up late at night until the early morning trying to do everything all at once, not knowing that the body and mind needs those necessary hours of sleep to function. Cramming is an ineffective way to study and it can jeopardize a student’s grades and also negatively affect other aspects of a student’s life. One reason students should not cram is because cramming can cause sleep debt to build up. In “Sleep Debt and the Mortgaged Mind,” William Dement and Christopher Vaughan explained the term by comparing sleep debt to a “monetary debt.” Just like a “monetary debt” sleep debt must be paid back in full. Contrary to popular belief sleep debt and sleep deprivation are two different problems, but they do go hand in hand. Late night cramming sessions can cause sleep deprivation to occur and sleep debt to build up. As the sleep debt increases, simply trying to pay back the sleep debt by taking a nap won’t suffice. This growing sleep debt can result in a change in one’s “energy and ability to make decisions” (501). Young people believe that they can stay up all night, go to class, maybe take a mid-day nap, and do it all over again, not knowing they
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