How many hours should a JC student study?

[slmkhoo]

My school schedule used to be quite hectic due to my CCA. So I used to reach home only at around 8 when I was in JC. I would be too tired to study so I'd sleep right after dinner from 8.30pm until 2-3am and wake up to study and leave for school at around 6.20am. I'd also catch some sleep in school for about 1-2 hours at about 1-3pm depending on when lessons would end or if there were long breaks. Food tended to be a sleeping pill for me, I couldnt concentrate and was always sleepy after meals. Hence, I decided not to try and fight my body and just went along and slept right after lunch and dinner. It was effective to a certain extent. But it also meant I had to refrain from food before exam papers for fear that I would not be at my best.

Nowadays, in uni, I can't seem to sleep or wake up, if you get what I mean. That's why Im writing this post at 2am. While it used to be so easy to survive JC with just 4 hours or heck, somedays I used to go to school without having slept a wink the previous night. Now, I can't seem to find the strength to get out of bed and my brain keeps running at night such that I cant fall asleep. I keep thinking about philosophy, politics and public policy before going to bed. Sleep in NS was fine, well, its NS, either you wake up or you die. I've even went to the extent of having to take a little bit of cough syrup or ophenadrine+paracetamol to put myself to sleep when I have papers the next morning now in uni. Anyone has any good advice on how to fall asleep?

Maybe you need to take some time to reset your body clock. It sounds pretty scrambled, and stress and a heavy workload just make it worse. There is a lot of information about insomnia online - you way find some of the tips helpful. Hope you can find a solution.

[rafflez]

I think it's not about how long you study, but how effective it is

[wilburlim]

A JC student should study everyday, every time when they are free. No question. Study till you know it. Best of all, master it. You'll know when you are done studying.

[Dr.Daniel]

One thing I tell my JC students is that it is normal not to understand difficult topics the first time you study it on your own. Some students think that if they do not magically understand everything right away, that they are not capable of figuring it out and give up on studying. The other extreme is to continue to grind on a topic when you are confused.

Sometimes you need to review something and then if you do not understand it - write down your question. What is it that you do not understand? Take a break. Then go back and review it again after a good night's sleep. Many times your subconscious mind can organize your thoughts and when you revisit the topic, you can figure it out. This is a normal and natural process for studying science. The key to this is to have regular study habits.

If you still don't have the answer, you can bring your question to the tutor or teacher. If you ask a few questions each class, it is far more efficient for learning in the long run. Learn steadily, a little bit each week and let your subconscious mind work for you.

[BitterSweet]

Like others have said, it's not about sheer amount of time, it's about effectiveness. Some people cannot study in groups (too noisy, distracting) and no matter how much time they spent studying in groups, it's almost wasted. Others need to study with friends to get help for concepts they don't understand.

Studying too much can kill you too; i have friends who studied like crazy (8am to 8pm on weekends) but just burned out during the exams (scored quite badly even though they were hardworking and smart)

[gjooheng]

Anyone has any good advice on how to fall asleep?

You can take melatonin 30 mins before sleeping time. It is an antioxidant and helps to fall asleep. Can buy the brand "Green Life" at Guardian. A bottle of 60 pills cost around $25 and provide two months of daily supply.

Exercise during the day also helps.

[zbear]

Studying too much can kill you too; i have friends who studied like crazy (8am to 8pm on weekends) but just burned out during the exams (scored quite badly even though they were hardworking and smart)

This is what my Sec 3 son told me. He said he shouldnt study too much now or he will be burnt out next year for O levels.

[sparks]

This is what my Sec 3 son told me. He said he shouldnt study too much now or he will be burnt out next year for O levels.

[sky12_]

I hope someone sees this... Are sleep cycles really helpful when you just simply have no choice but less than 5 hours available for sleep? I haven't tried it out yet and I'm curious if anybody has.

[jedamum]

I hope someone sees this... Are sleep cycles really helpful when you just simply have no choice but less than 5 hours available for sleep? I haven't tried it out yet and I'm curious if anybody has.

What do you mean by sleep cycles ?
Is it sleep a certain short hours and then wake and sleep again before wake for rest of the day ?
Like "polyphasic sleep"? I read this term from a JC student blog not long ago.