The Value Of Sleep To Effective LSAT Prep!

One thing I always emphasize in my LSAT Prep courses is the importance of sleep to effective LSAT performance.  A recent study may have provided a powerful explanation of the reason for that.

Sleep is a tricky thing, since some people need more of it than others to function well.  However, good sleep has been associated with everything from helping people lose weight to avoiding accidents.  One doesn’t need to read about a lot of experiments to know the value of sleep – we have all experienced it firsthand.

Nevertheless, the conclusions of a recent study are interesting.  Women have been found, on average, to need more sleep than men.  Women may enjoy knowing that the apparent reason for that is that their brains are more complex and tend to work harder than men’s.  Because women tend to perform more complex, multitasking activities on a daily basis, it is theorized that they need more sleep for their brains to recover.

One particularly interesting aspect of the article was the conclusion that for everyone – male and female – the harder your brain works during the day (e.g., engaging in lateral thinking, complex tasks, etc.), the more sleep you need for effective brain recovery.

Preparing for the LSAT is an activity that definitely stimulates brain activity and involves lateral thinking – I routinely tell my students that the LSAT is challenging, but likely to be the single most fun test that one ever studies for.   LSAT Prep students should take note – it may not be the most exciting LSAT Prep advice, but don’t underestimate the value of good sleep!  You can read the short article describing the study discussed above here.