“Get a good night’s sleep” is hardly groundbreaking advice. Still, it’s the first thing many students give up in pursuit of their goals. Many students seem to wear sleep deprivation like a badge of honor, as if their lack of z’s is documented proof of their commitment to academic excellence.

But mounting scientific evidence shows that sleep isn’t just important for feeling rested and alert; it’s also crucial for storing new knowledge in your memory to be accessed later. In this five-minute TED video, Dr. Shai Marcu argues that for students facing an exam the following day, an extra hour of sleep will likely produce better results than an extra hour of studying.