How Energy Cycles Can Level Up Your Student Life (Without the Slumps!)

Ever crafted the perfect schedule and study environment only to crash after an hour or two not even knowing what hit you? This struggle is common, but there's a solution: understanding your energy cycles.

Knowing when you focus best can help you manage your time effectively, even with a demanding schedule.

What Are Energy Cycles

Energy cycles refer to the natural fluctuations in your energy levels throughout the day. These cycles are influenced by factors like your internal clock (circadian rhythm) and personal habits.

Each person has a unique energy cycle, leading to some being early birds, night owls, or something in between. That also explains the sudden slumps that leave you staring blankly at a textbook.

Think of your body like your phone's battery. It needs regular charging to function at its best.

Just like a neglected battery can lose its capacity over time, neglecting your body's rest needs can have similar consequences.

Trying to force your way through exhaustion won't magically unlock boundless energy. Instead, it might lead to a longer recovery period down the line.

How Knowing Your Energy Cycle Helps Manage Student Life

 Knowing your energy cycles is a game changer and a far better idea than trying to power through via endless cups of coffee and zero sleep.

Once you can approximate when you’ll be at your best, you can decide to do the hard tasks at that time, schedule some quality rest time, and get back to it recharged and ready.

 Scheduling your classes

If you have some flexibility to choose classes from various time slots, pick the most challenging ones for your peak focus time and less challenging or more passive classes during your lower energy periods.

Or if you are working on a thesis and figured out you’re a morning person, try to go for afternoon classes so you can dedicate your most productive time to your thesis.

Taking notes and following your professor is generally less demanding.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution, so be flexible and experiment with your schedule to find what works best.

The perceived difficulty of a class can vary depending on your interests, learning style, and even the teaching style of your instructor.

 Study Habits

 Studying isn’t one basic activity that you repeat to no end. It’s an umbrella term for tasks like reading notes, checking out flashcards, solving problems, and writing essays. Most of us have to do all or at least some of these.

During your dedicated study time, it’s good to identify the analytical and memorization tasks.

→ Analytical tasks generally demand more from you – like writing a thesis. They involve creativity, focus, and dedication. So it’s best to do those at your highest energy

→ Memorization tasks, such as reviewing flashcards or practicing vocabulary, can be tackled during lower energy periods.

How to Identify Your Energy Cycles

Figuring out your energy cycles is fairly easy.

Here's the trick: pay attention when you feel most productive during the day and feel it's easiest to enter in the flow state.

At the same time, notice those hours when no matter how hard you try, it's painful to focus or to come up with anything creative or interesting. Do this over 1-2 weeks and there you have it!

Of course, energy can vary from day to day depending on factors like your diet, how much sleep you get, and what activities you get involved in.

However, tracking your energy for a week or two is usually enough to identify an underlying trend, an average of your energy patterns.

What Is Quality Rest?

I mentioned above that you need to take quality breaks and rest. What I mean by that is to pay attention to the activities you do during rest time. Don’t trick yourself into doing other tiring tasks.

Sleep Hygiene

First and foremost, have good sleep hygiene. No matter when your energy peak is, when you go to bed, be mindful about it.

Avoid screens (phones, laptops) for at least an hour before bed, and create a relaxing bedtime routine.

Don’t take your phone with you. Avoid Netflix right before and try not to sleep with your TV on. It might harm your REM and affect your energy levels in the next day, even if you get a full 8-hour sleep.

Rest Your Mind During Breaks

Beyond sleep, when you’re taking a break during the day, give your mind a break too, not just your body.

While scrolling through social media might be entertaining, it bombards your brain with information.

Opt for activities that truly give your mind a break: a walk in nature, gazing out the window, or preparing a healthy snack. Minimize screen time during short breaks to avoid feeling even more drained.

Recharge With A Power Nap

Power naps can also be a game-changer. It works like a reset button for some people. Experiment with short power naps (10-20 minutes) to see if they improve your focus and refresh your mind.

Prioritizing physical and mental rest can significantly improve your energy levels and overall well-being.

Bottom Line

Your body is not a machine, so ditch the guilt trips and relax - truly relax, don’t distract yourself.

Pushin through costs you more time in the log run, so strive to become a better planner and introduce intentional rest time into your schedule.

Listen to yourself, not to FOMO. Hacks won't beat fatigue, but breaks will recharge you to crush your studies.