Parents should warn their children doing the Leaving Cert against cramming into the midnight hours, according to one sleep expert. 

The Leaving Cert begins on June 5th with English Paper One and teenagers around the country are entering the final study push. 

Students should be warned against pushing too hard, according to health scientist and sleep coach Tom Coleman. 

“The temptation is to cram as much information as possible,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

“Here is the trouble – it's like having a limited amount of storage on your computer. 

“When we prioritise sleep, that’s when learning happens. 

“That's when the brain actually rewires and decides what to keep, what to put in long-term memory and it strengthens our ability to retrieve information.” 

Presenter Ciara Kelly said she agreed with Mr Coleman – but admitted to being a crammer herself while doing the Leaving Cert. 

Mr Coleman said when we’re under a lot of stress, our performance levels go up so late-night studying can work. 

“I would encourage people to try to get as much sleep as they can and maybe the night before you can push the boundaries a little bit,” he said. 

“When we sleep, we sleep in cycles of 90 minutes, and they continue in the brain during the day. 

“If we study for 90 minutes, take a little break, you’re less likely to burn out.” 

Studying for the Leaving Cert

When studying fatigue and sleep, Mr Coleman and his colleagues always measure it over a period of a week to 10 days as exhaustion doesn’t happen in a day 

“You can look after your sleep and really build it and get your levels up to 100% and then maybe after you can push it on the night before,” he said. 

“It's like a skill to learn to switch off the brain.” 

Mr Coleman also recommended short bouts of “intense exercise” to give your brain more adrenaline in the run up to the Leaving Cert.