Finals = All Nighter

[Wishpig]

Allright. Fourth year college student here, although I'm a sophomore now due to transferring and changing majors three times. So I got two more years left :smallfrown:

About a month ago I had to write a paper on two success stories and compare and contrast the two. I suddenly realized I had to success stories of my own to share! So I focused on my two friends. A med-student and my business born friend who isn't even out of college but has a 60,000 dollar job and is gonna have his own branch in New York... in about five years.

Long story short, writing the paper made me realize that my whole life I've been expecting success to fall in my lap, while my friends actually went out and worked for it. So I had an epiphany of sorts.

Ever since I have been working my @$$ off! No video games, library non stop, and a steady diet of energy drinks, pop-tarts, and pizza (there goes the thirty pounds I lost!)

Now for the FIRST time in my life I am forced to pull an all nighter. I have a term paper and a final 2morrow. Neither of which I've had a chance to work on till now. So, I'm HOPEING to get at least an hour or two of sleep.

Is this even possible, have you done it, GIVE ME HOPE! I think my 2nd wind is hitting me, so back to the grind!

PS- Yes I know it's a terrible thing to do, and good sleep = good results, but I have no choice at this point.

[Alteran]

I've never pulled an all-nighter for work, but I find myself up too late working (o hai it's too late now) almost every night, so I can sympathize. I wish you luck in your endeavors, and I hope that you can finish your paper and get a good mark for it. I wish you further luck with your overall pursuit of success, that's not an easy thing to attain.

[Icewalker]

Damn good epiphany, gotta say. That's a similar change to one I recently had, it's really good to have a strong drive in life, for success, one way or another and however you may define it. Good luck with your paper and final, and just work hard and work efficiently, that's the most important thing. Time is the context in which we attempt to achieve all of our goals: the more of it you have to spend well, the more you can do.

[Starscream]

I'm a college senior myself, and tomorrow I have a big midterm for a class I truly despise. It is currently about 1 am at my location, and my final is at 9:30.

But I have made preparations! After class yesterday I bought a meal to stick in my fridge and went straight to bed. I just woke up 20 minutes ago, so now I can pull an all-nighter studying, but with food and a full tank of sleep.

The fact that I am on a forum right now should in no way indicate that I am procrastinating. No sir.

Incidentally, I have always felt that the occasional all-nighter is good for you. If you spend every day going to bed at the same time, and waking up at the same time you get too used to it. Then when something happens that forces you to stay awake, you can't handle it.

So I make it a point to stay up every now and again, just to throw my sleep cycle a curve ball. Even if I just spend the night watching movies with friends, it makes me feel less reliant on a set schedule. Napping during the day, even if it's just for an hour or so, is also very helpful.

[skywalker]

Allright. Fourth year college student here, although I'm a sophomore now due to transferring and changing majors three times. So I got two more years left :smallfrown:

About a month ago I had to write a paper on two success stories and compare and contrast the two. I suddenly realized I had to success stories of my own to share! So I focused on my two friends. A med-student and my business born friend who isn't even out of college but has a 60,000 dollar job and is gonna have his own branch in New York... in about five years.

Long story short, writing the paper made me realize that my whole life I've been expecting success to fall in my lap, while my friends actually went out and worked for it. So I had an epiphany of sorts.

Ever since I have been working my @$$ off! No video games, library non stop, and a steady diet of energy drinks, pop-tarts, and pizza (there goes the thirty pounds I lost!)

Now for the FIRST time in my life I am forced to pull an all nighter. I have a term paper and a final 2morrow. Neither of which I've had a chance to work on till now. So, I'm HOPEING to get at least an hour or two of sleep.

Is this even possible, have you done it, GIVE ME HOPE! I think my 2nd wind is hitting me, so back to the grind!

PS- Yes I know it's a terrible thing to do, and good sleep = good results, but I have no choice at this point.

Yeah you can do it. I did it two nights ago :smallbiggrin: Future advice: less energy drinks, more natural foods, and more rest. Success is awesome, but it's not worth your health. There are plenty of healthy things you can still eat "on the go" and energy drinks are killing you faster than you think.

Good luck, and don't waste time here. Get to work!

[Wishpig]

So I make it a point to stay up every now and again, just to throw my sleep cycle a curve ball.

HA! I like that!


Yeah you can do it. I did it two nights ago :smallbiggrin: Future advice: less energy drinks, more natural foods, and more rest. Success is awesome, but it's not worth your health. There are plenty of healthy things you can still eat "on the go" and energy drinks are killing you faster than you think.

Good luck, and don't waste time here. Get to work!

I dunno if it's considered REALLY natural, but I've been downing V8's. Energy Drinks are great for short bursts, but they hurt you in the long run. I fully plan on having two ready to go for the course of my final though!

As far as wasteing time, taking a break from the essay, and writing more formally here, really helps the flow and style of my essay... keeps it from getting two bland.

In other words, forum writing offers a nice little reboot.

[SDF]

I can't sleep for two hours after being awake for a while without just sleeping on through my alarms and whatever else I have to do the next day, so I'll stay up. I do all nighters all the time for all sorts of reasons.

I'll sometimes do an all nighter for a project I need done.
I'll pull an all nighter to reset my sleep schedule.
I'll pull an all nighter if I'm afraid I won't wake up at the hour I need to.
I'll pull an all nighter when I lose track of time and forget to go to sleep.
I'll pull an all nighter when playing DnD, WoD, ect (though I haven't gamed in some time)
I'll pull an ect. ect. ect.

I've stayed up well past three days straight before. I've read thats all kinds of bad for you. :smalltongue: Sometime between 30 and 40 hours things with designs on them like carpet or wallpaper kind of dances when you stare at it. And, after about 60 hours you constantly see things moving out of the corners of your eyes, and there was an irrational paranoia to go along with it. Least thats how it was for me. I feel like I'm describing drugs...

Anyway, I don't really stay up all night for class much anymore. I've been doing all my work way ahead of time these days and it feels great. At the same time my grades are up.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Man, I feel your pain... I had three of my finals within 20 hours of one another. Fun fun fun...

A few tips: physiologically you're better off NOT using energy drinks while studying. Caffeine is okay as a stimulant and keeps you fairly awake (although doesn't really increase your performance), but sugar rushes will kill you. Eventually you'll need an energy drink every hour or two so you don't fall asleep (eventually I mean after you've done this a half-dozen times in a semester, not eventually after not sleeping for 30 hours).

Sugar gives you a short rush and makes you more tired after it's over because your blood glucose level is going to go down (since sugar isn't actually glucose despite fooling your body into thinking it is and needs to be broken down).

Use coffee. Preferably black or with something like sugar-free vanilla.

Save those energy drinks for the actual exams, where you actually NEED the sugar rush.

Sleep - everyone's different. I can't do all nighters for example... I will fall asleep no matter how many stimulants I take around 11 AM. Even a 1 hour of crappy, anxiety-ridden sleep will make me feel much better. Other people (a lot of my friends come to mind) are like SDF - they won't be able to wake up. Two other friends I have are even more interesting... They start feeling super tired by the time morning rolls around but after a certain point in time (around 8-9 AMish) they wake up and don't start to feel tired anymore. Figure out what works for you.

Yeah, I know, I'm weird that I actually like, care and read about this stuff but it comes with the major.

PS: alcohol in small amounts (say 1-2 shots) is surprisingly great. Ironic that it was actually a prof that suggested it. Helps with test anxiety and is a good stimulant that stacks with coffee (won't get into neurology so I won't make an already long post even longer, but in small doses it's a stimulant and only becomes a depressant at higher saturation).

PPS: even if you absolutely need to get a project done, distract yourself. Dunno, check your email every 20 minutes or check an online webcomic. This will give you less time but it'll give you a fresh perspective on the project every time you come back to it, usually making it an overall much better paper.

[SDF]

EDIT: @^: Ooh, we should have a science off! :smalltongue: But I would warn you that I recently wrote a 5 page paper on the molecular properties of cat litter - for extra credit. :smallcool: I chose the topic. :smallamused:

Even sugar free energy drinks aren't all that helpful. Caffeine has an enzyme that will block the receptors that tell you when to stop producing adrenaline. Too much can increase stress, and when the adrenaline leaves you can get fatigued. And, if you drink a lot for a while then stop the lack of adrenaline that you have acclimated to gives you those caffeine headaches.

Also, getting up every few minutes can help. So can eating certain things like fruits and vegetables, or most things with a low glycemic index. (don't want to get the "itis" =P)

[Icewalker]

Any sugar, caffeine, or similar short term boost is a terrible idea in use in advance, as our OP understands. They can be useful to be under the influence of during a test, but taking one beforehand is just an awful idea because of the crash.

[Wishpig]

Save those energy drinks for the actual exams, where you actually NEED the sugar rush.


Thats what I do, I useally grab two monsters (so tasty and one of the few energy drinks that effect me.)

I drink one roughtly five minutes into the test, after I've looked over and decided how to approach the questions.

Then when that one begins to wear off, and if I still have more questions to answer, I down the other. By the time THAT wears off, I should be done the test...

and the crash helps me fall RIGHT to sleep when I'm done.

And once I'm done this test, I am heading strait to me bed ;)

[Don Julio Anejo]

Even sugar free energy drinks aren't all that helpful. Caffeine has an enzyme that will block the receptors that tell you when to stop producing adrenaline. Too much can increase stress, and when the adrenaline leaves you can get fatigued.

Dude, it's a science off :tongue: Use proper terms like epinephrine reuptake inhibitor :amused:
But for your adrenaline to run out you usually need to either drink enough coffee to give an elephant ADHD or to be already stressed and producing adrenaline because of the upcoming exam/due date. Even then, you still get a good 5-8 hours until your body starts pumping cortisol instead of adrenaline.

Also, its main effect is still as an adenosine antagonist, which takes away the sleepiness... And since sleepiness often comes after mental stress, it's pretty much the best effect you could hope for when studying or writing papers.

PS: so, uhm.. What ARE the molecular properties of cat litter? :confused:

EDIT: forgot to ask. What's your major? You're obviously more hardcore into neurology than I am (I'm doing general psych and only recently found this stuff interesting).

[Moff Chumley]

All I'm gonna say is I'd DAMN LOVE an epiphany like that...

[Wishpig]

HAHA! Wow, it all worked out great!

Did amazing on my final, got my two papers handed in, went home slept, and now I'm eating a big @$$ pizza! School is out for the summer baby!

Pulling an all nighter was unpleasent, but it works.

The two energy drinks during the final helped, I felt 100% awake and totally with it.


All I'm gonna say is I'd DAMN LOVE an epiphany like that...

I'm telling you, as corny as it is, once I started actually putting in work and giving it my all... everything seemed to change. It's like my karma shifted or something.

I would have scoffed at the idea a few months ago.

[Mando Knight]

I'll pull an all nighter when playing DnD, WoD, ect (though I haven't gamed in some time)
I'll pull an ect. ect. ect.

One more turn couldn't hurt, could it? :smalltongue:

The longest I can stay up is around 30 hours. And that's on high levels of stimulants towards the end of that. Even then, by around 24 hours of staying up I start to drift off...

[thubby]

I've done it once or twice. IME, it's a good idea to have something else to help chase away sleep.
music is the obvious.

[GoC]

I've got to study for my next exam on wednesday...:smallfrown:

[Alteran]

I very rarely pull all-nighters, and I never have for work. I think the longest I've ever stayed up for would be about 26-28 hours, which was at a D&D session. I then fell asleep for 16-18 hours.

[Zocelot]

I often used to fall asleep at 12, then get up at 1 or 2 in the morning to work, but I found this is more difficult than doing all my work before going to sleep. Now, I do all my work ASAP, so I rarely need to work past 10. One important thing to do is to think about how you ended up in a situation where you had to pull an all nighter, so that you can avoid it.

The only times in the last couple years where I've pulled an all nighter are for D&D and for the Super Smash Bros. Brawl release.

Also, energy drinks are your friend, but if you don't often drink them, do not drink more than 2 or you will feel too sick to work.

[Weezer]

I've never pulled an all nighter to do work, i've found that after about 1:30 by writing starts to become pretty incoherent and my logic starts to get fuzzy, no matter how much caffeine/sugar i pump into my body. though I have pulled all nighters before for more recreational reasons aka dnd, lan parties and once even rock climbing.

[Graymayre]

though I have pulled all nighters before for more recreational reasons aka dnd, lan parties and once even rock climbing.

rock climbing... That has to be pretty high on the list of things not to do while sleep deprived. :smalltongue:

I have done all nighters for Magic, D&D, Video Game parties, and regular parties. Normally, it is followed by a half day of continuing to do said activities.

[TigerHunter]

I have AP's next week. I don't plan on pulling any all-nighters, though I will be reading through the entire Comparative Government textbook over the weekend.

[SDF]

Dude, it's a science off :tongue: Use proper terms like epinephrine reuptake inhibitor :amused:
But for your adrenaline to run out you usually need to either drink enough coffee to give an elephant ADHD or to be already stressed and producing adrenaline because of the upcoming exam/due date. Even then, you still get a good 5-8 hours until your body starts pumping cortisol instead of adrenaline.

Also, its main effect is still as an adenosine antagonist, which takes away the sleepiness... And since sleepiness often comes after mental stress, it's pretty much the best effect you could hope for when studying or writing papers.

PS: so, uhm.. What ARE the molecular properties of cat litter? :confused:

EDIT: forgot to ask. What's your major? You're obviously more hardcore into neurology than I am (I'm doing general psych and only recently found this stuff interesting).

Well, I try not to use too much science jargon so you don't have to wiki every one of my sentences. :smalltongue:

The most important things in cat litter are absorption, biodegradability, NH4+ neutralization (Fecal bacteria combined with uric acid forms ammonia, and the water in urine protonates the ammonia. This is what gives it that noticeable smell) There are other additives that can deal with smell and bacteria, ect. I can get much more technical, but life is too short to spend on cat litter =P

I'm double majoring in biochemistry as well as molecular and cellular biology, pre-med. I'm graduating hopefully next year with the biology degree, and if I don't get into the PhD/MD programs I want I'll finish my biochemistry degree up in about another year. I'd like to get a PhD in genetics or epidemiology, and want to go into oncology or neurosurgery.