Questioning My Declining Mental Capacity as an Undergrad Math Student

[mal4mac]

If something needs to be "put to sleep" it is perhaps all of us: most people need 8 to 9 hours of sleep, and that includes the peope who do "fine" with 5 to 6 hours of sleep...

I totally agree with that! More importantly so does Axt. Also, Einstein was famous for sleeping nine hours a night. He also rode a bicycle, a great alternative if your knees are hurting through too much jogging in your youth. Axt's solution to weight gain is simple: eat less! Incentive: eating less is the only clear strategy that has been shown to increase lifespan significantly in rat experiments.

 

[tgt]

I am undergrad math student, aged 20
In the last 3-4 years, I feel that my intellectual capacity has waned and don't feel as smart as when I was a kid.

I seem to be fine at handling abstract concepts, but I feel slow and clumsy. My problem isn't lacking ideas, its more about concentration and sharpness. I feel i am extremely unproductive in studying.

I wonder if other people have same problems, or could offer advice.

thanks

Are you a man? If so it could be the onset of woman that has distracted your study?

 

[fizziks]

I spent about 2 years in the army + ROTC during college. I had more energy and endurance when I only gotten 5-6 hours of daily sleep than when I wasn't in the army + 8-10 hours of sleep.

Exercising and working out increases your overall stamina. Thus requiring a little less sleep to restore yourself. I am very cereal about this. I did better academically when I exercised more than sitting down and staring at my books and computer.

 

[Count Iblis]

Well, I still need about 8 hours of sleep. But I can function well with 5 hours of sleep for about ten days (e.g. when visiting conferences and suffering from jetlag). But then I don't work out, so my body only has to recuperate from listening to lectures while it is used to recuperating from hard exercise.

So, I'm quite fit after ten days of sleep deprivation while everyone else is a wreck.

 

[Moonbear]

I am undergrad math student, aged 20
In the last 3-4 years, I feel that my intellectual capacity has waned and don't feel as smart as when I was a kid.

I seem to be fine at handling abstract concepts, but I feel slow and clumsy. My problem isn't lacking ideas, its more about concentration and sharpness. I feel i am extremely unproductive in studying.

I wonder if other people have same problems, or could offer advice.

thanks

Congratulations! You're just advancing in your education and learning that you don't know as much as you used to think you know. You're not a teenager anymore.

Really, it's not a bad thing, it's a good thing. Very bright people feel like everything comes easy when they are still young and everything taught to them is still fairly simple. It's a bit of a shock when you start encountering things that don't come so easily, but it means you've advanced far enough in your education that you're no longer being coddled and spoon fed. Yes, it's tough. Yes, it takes some adjustment. Most importantly, it means you're aware of your limitations and starting to learn about all the unknowns in your field, not just the easy stuff. The more educated you are, the more you realize how much you don't know.

Don't let it get to you. Just keep working hard and try to understand that every advance you make from now on is going to come with more questions than answers. Embrace the questions; this is what you'll be doing for the rest of your life...asking questions.