Archive · 7 Jan 2026
Namita Thapar advises against all-nighters for exams
Namita Thapar, a judge on Shark Tank, shared advice for students and parents during exam season.
She says that staying up all night to study, called 'all-nighters,' is not helpful.
Instead, she suggests that getting 8 hours of sleep is much better.
She explained that science shows people who sleep well remember things better and do better on exams.
Studies found that people who slept 8 hours had brains that worked 40% better than those who stayed up all night.
Another study showed that students who slept more than 8 hours scored higher on exams.
Not sleeping enough can make it harder to learn new things and remember them.
So, Namita advises students to sleep well before and during exams to do their best.
Namita Thapar advises against 'all-nighters' and promotes 8-hour sleep for better exam performance.
Research shows 8-hour sleep group had 40% better brain functioning than all-nighters.
Students sleeping more than 8 hours scored higher in exams (Scullin, 2018).
Sleeping 4 hours or less hampers new memory acquisition (Scientific Reports, 2020).
Lack of sleep reduces visual categorization by 50% and slows hippocampus activation.
- Who
- Namita Thapar, Shark Tank judge and pharmaceutical entrepreneur
- What
- Advice against all-nighters and promoting 8-hour sleep for better exam performance
- When
- During the upcoming exam season
- Where
- Shared on X (formerly Twitter)
- Why
- To challenge the glorification of all-nighters with scientific evidence
- Advice Source
- Namita Thapar, Shark Tank judge and pharmaceutical entrepreneur
- Key Advice
- Avoid all-nighters; prioritize 8-hour sleep for better exam performance
- Research Finding 1
- 8-hour sleep group showed 40% better brain functioning than all-nighters
- Research Finding 2
- Students sleeping >8 hours scored higher in exams (Scullin, 2018)
- Research Finding 3
- Sleeping ≤4 hours hampers new memory acquisition (Scientific Reports, 2020)
- Brain Impact
- Lack of sleep reduces visual categorization by 50% and slows hippocampus activation
- Target Audience
- Students and parents during exam season