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Writer's pictureTommy Sangchompuphen

Importance of Sleep Before and On the Bar Exam

The quantity and quality of sleep have a profound impact on learning and memory. Research examined by the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School suggests that sleep helps learning and memory in two distinct ways. First, a sleep-deprived person cannot focus attention optimally and, therefore, cannot learn efficiently. Second, sleep itself has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential for learning new information.

The Mayo Clinic advises that healthy adults need 7 or more hours of sleep per night. According to my WHOOP metrics, my body needs 8 hours and 45 minutes of sleep for my body and brain to perform at their peak. I only average 6 hours and 36 minutes each night.


Let’s look at how sleep and sleeping might be tested in bar exam questions:


Criminal Law (Physical Act)—A defendant must have either performed a voluntary physical act or failed to act under circumstances imposing a legal duty to act. An act is a bodily movement. Examples of bodily movements that don’t qualify for criminal liability include: conduct that isn’t the product of the person’s own volition; a reflexive or convulsive act; and an act performed while unconscious or asleep.


Criminal Law (Burglary)—Common law burglary consists of a breaking and entry of a dwelling of another at nighttime with the intent to commit a felony in the structure. For purposes of common law burglary, the “dwelling” requirement means a structure used with regularity for sleeping purposes, even if it used for other purposes such as conducting a business.


Torts (False Imprisonment)—The key testable elements for false imprisonment are: an act or omission on the part of the defendant that confines or restrains the plaintiff; and the plaintiff must be confined to a bounded area. It is important to know that the plaintiff must know of the confinement or be harmed by it. Therefore, if the defendant locks the plaintiff’s bedroom door while the plaintiff is asleep in the bedroom, but then unlocks the door before the plaintiff wakes, the plaintiff cannot recover for false imprisonment.

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