Six Last-Minute Bar Exam Tips

3) Pre-Exam AND Mid-Exam: Sleep Sleep Sleep

Law school and studying for the bar instills in us a bullshit idea that we’re macho and productive and smart if we deprive ourselves of sleep in order to learn. That’s insane. Sleep is literally the best thing you can possibly do right before — and during — the bar. Sleep is fantastic. Sleep is awesome. Getting enough sleep helps your brain do all sorts of heavy lifting.

Basically, certain stages of sleep are thought to help form different types of memories. So, declarative memories (things like facts and knowledge) are enhanced by slow wave sleep (deep sleep), whereas implicit memories (long term memories that don’t require conscious thought, like riding a bike or tying a shoe) are enhanced by REM Sleep. Essentially, it’s thought that thebetter the sleep you get each night, the better your memory.