It’s not exactly ground-breaking study skills advice to tell students to get enough sleep and to take breaks. But Tom Rath’s book Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes actually shares two scientific findings that might convince you to follow those tips.
1. An influential 1993 study on human performance found that truly elite performers slept an average of 8 hours and 36 minutes per night (the average American sleeps 6 hours and 51 minutes on weeknights).
2. That same study found that elite performers, from musicians, to athletes, to actors and chess players typically practice in focused sessions lasting no longer than 90 minutes. This mirrors the advice shared by study skills author (and one of my favorite go-to’s for study skills advice) Cal Newport here.
The study skills takeaways: Work hard in short bursts. Take regular breaks. And get plenty of sleep.