All-nighters ITP

[Vampire包子]

So, it's finals week (or getting there for some schools).

How many of us are up late cramming? Writing final reports? Preparing essays? Double-checking references?


And, another question, before I pop the second 5-hour liquid energy shot: while a good night's sleep is obviously the best option, when you have a 7:30 exam and will be up until at least 3 studying, do you study for the extra 3 hours, or get 3 hours of sleep?

I often find the sleep drains me, and wake up groggy and unable to focus. Does a little sleep (less than seven hours, say) help or harm you guys when it comes to exams? I have a presentation in front of half the department at 1:30 in the afternoon too, and still finishing that up, so not like I can sleep after my exam either :( What do you guys think?

[UncleWolf]

So, it's finals week (or getting there for some schools).

How many of us are up late cramming? Writing final reports? Preparing essays? Double-checking references?


And, another question, before I pop the second 5-hour liquid energy shot: while a good night's sleep is obviously the best option, when you have a 7:30 exam and will be up until at least 3 studying, do you study for the extra 3 hours, or get 3 hours of sleep?

I often find the sleep drains me, and wake up groggy and unable to focus. Does a little sleep (less than seven hours, say) help or harm you guys when it comes to exams? I have a presentation in front of half the department at 1:30 in the afternoon too, and still finishing that up, so not like I can sleep after my exam either :( What do you guys think?


You may want to take coffee as soon as you wake up. Just make sure that it is strong coffee.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I'd go for getting at least some sleep. Studies have shown that staying awake for that long has the same affects as being highly intoxicated. And that's just one of the many detrimental things that have been shown to happen with sleep deprivation.

[Rettu Skcollob]

Already finished mine! (W00p!)

Guess we run on an earlier timetable here than you do.

[Skippy]

Calculus exam in the morning. Before that, I need to deliver a Python program which was supposed to be a teamwork, but my team decided to devote themselves to have a program with a nice format, instead of a program that works. And they sent me the program a few hours ago to make it work. I've been asking them for the code the last three weeks, and now I have to pull an all-nighter if I want to finish something.

They are terrible programmers, BTW.

[Uberdruid24]

I would get some sleep. What I usually do is set my limit of how late I stay up to some time around 1 am. After that it's sleep time!

[Veg Sorbet]

Heh, UK uni student here who'se just completed an accidental all-nighter to complete a 2500 word report on the importance of access & outreach to archive services.

Yeah I didn't really mean to stay up as long as I did, but found that, after putting the damned thing off for the last five weeks or so, it was a lot easier to get into than I'd thought.

Guess I should get a couple hours sleep before I head off to hand it in. I may even get to my 1pm lecture later...

ixgk!

[Deathslayer7]

always get some sleep before exams. Trust me. It is better when you do.

4 hours minimum i would say. Luckily for me though, all my exams are around 10 o'clock in the morning. So I have to wake up around 7:30. I'll be hading to bed soon, which will give me about 8 hours of sleep.

I only have 1 exam per day, so it's not too bad for me.

Tomorrow is music appreciation, which is really easy.

Tuesday is physics. have to study for that.

Wednesday is calc 283, should be easy. Been getting B+/A- average on the tests, and the final is based off the tests.

Thursday is English, which will be easy.

But ya, get some sleep!

*scolds* :smallannoyed:

[Mushroom Ninja]

Working on English right now...

Gotta get back to work...

:smallsigh:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Got my homework done about an hour ago. Going to bed soon.

[Ninja Chocobo]

And, another question, before I pop the second 5-hour liquid energy shot: while a good night's sleep is obviously the best option, when you have a 7:30 exam and will be up until at least 3 studying, do you study for the extra 3 hours, or get 3 hours of sleep?

If you've got an exam at 7:30 and you're up til 3 you're doing it wrong.
Seriously. Get a good, long, night's sleep beforehand. Very few exceptions.

[Killersquid]

Got an assignment due tonight. Putting it off until later in the day. Should take less than 3 hours.

[Jansviper]

Doing my last stats assignment now. I don't suppose anyone wants to help me calculate a Subject/AxB Repeated Measure Design by hand do they? ^^

I'll be waking up at 730 for my 1010 final. Drive the 30-40 minutes into town, grab a hot chocolate, and spend the next two hours revising my notes.

xD Gods willing, I'll get more than 2 hours of sleep this time.

Also; Pandora.

Classic Rock station right now, taking a break from orchestral (10:00pm-1:00am), modern rock (6:00pm-10:00) and whatever the hell the abomination of rap and rock that Hollywood Undead represents (1:00pm-6:00).

[Don Julio Anejo]

It depends what kind of sleep you get. If you get nice, deep REM sleep that gets cut short by your alarm, yeah, you're screwed since you're going to wake up tired, groggy, unable to focus and with less studying done than if you did the exam.

If, however, you go to bed wired, barely fall asleep and wake up before the alarm rings, you're going to run through your day on adrenaline. It's not healthy in the long run but it works great for that exam in the morning.

@ Ninja: I think the OP meant that the exam starts at 7:30 AM, not that it's 7 and a half hours long.

PS: what works better for me is instead going to sleep when you actually feel sleepy (since any studying you do won't help much), wake up 2-3 hours early, go to school (since at home I'll just end up on my computer doing crap I shouldn't be doing) and study right up until the exam starts. You'll also get over your grogginess and tiredness and will actually feel pretty good once the exam starts. Obviously doesn't work for 7:30 AM exams but mine usually don't start till noon.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Sleep is for the weak. Being sleepy is me.

[Elm11]

W00tzor H4X!!!1!. all my exams are done, and tomorrow is my last day :smallbiggrin:. Personally, i reckon you should get the sleep. And as a note, i'm sure it's why i'm not great at exams, but i find, that if i need to study for any other purpose than light revision, i'm pretty much screwed anyway :smalltongue:.

[Thufir]

Yeah, sleeping before exams is a good idea. All-nighters are for coursework and parties (Not at the same time).

[Felixaar]

Might not be doing exams, but the all nighter is quite common. I usually make it via diet soda and more diet soda.

Candies, too.

[Player_Zero]

Yeah, sleeping before exams is a good idea. All-nighters are for coursework and parties (Not at the same time).

Eating food at some point helps too.

Revising is optional.

[Ninja Chocobo]

@ Ninja: I think the OP meant that the exam starts at 7:30 AM, not that it's 7 and a half hours long.

I knew that. I just didn't type it right. Point stands, though. I speak from experience, having fairly recently finished my HSC.

[SilverSheriff]

If you've got an exam at 7:30 and you're up til 3 you're doing it wrong.
Seriously. Get a good, long, night's sleep beforehand. Very few exceptions.

Easier said then done in the case of some people, namely me and other insomniacs (not that it matters since I don't go to school).

[Krytha]

My university career was full of all-nighters before exams. It certainly wasn't easy on the body, but it worked fine for marks. Although, it isn't for everyone. Some people fall asleep in exams or can't focus. For me - sheer terror keeps me awake long enough to do everything right and then once I step out the door I am allowed to crumple into a heap or die in a snowbank.

[Helanna]

Got an assignment due tonight. Putting it off until later in the day. Should take less than 3 hours.

This is me. So badly.

I'm not actually in college, but I am taking a few courses at the community college in the spring, as well as Pre-Calculus and US History right now which are offered to juniors and seniors in my school by aforementioned college.

My History course absolutely kills me, but not the work itself. Just my procrastination!! Every 2 weeks, we have an essay due on the topic we've been working on. I am invariably up until midnight on Sunday doing it - luckily, it only takes about three hours at most. I ususally finish up the debate questions we're supposed to have during the first few minutes of the class that it's due in.

But this is even better. We've had five weeks to work on a big research paper - 7-10 pages, primary sources, notecards, and all. It's not so bad - we had FIVE WEEKS.

I'm in the school library right now. About 90% of its occupants are finishing the rough draft that's due today. :smallbiggrin: Of course, not me. I finished it well before it was due, which is to say, last night at 10:30. I was then up finishing one of the previously mentioned essays as well.

Arrrgh, so much writing . . .why do I do this to myself?

Also, being in high school, I don't actually have tests yet, but I can feel my Physics test looming in January. I can feel it, and it's malevolent. It wants me to fail. :smalleek:

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Seriously, you people use soda or coffee for all-nighters? Hah! Weak! I don't rely on such stimulants for my all-nighters! Only sheer force of will!

On the other hand, I don't pull all-nighters that often, and I feel like a wreck when the day comes, so maybe that's weak too.:smallredface:

[UncleWolf]

Well, I leave in 5 minutes to go to my first final of the week.
College Algebra. Wish me luck.

[Flame of Anor]

Good luck Wolfbane!

If, as I assume, you'll be going on in math, I should warn you that trigonometry is boring and much of it is nearly useless. BUT it will let you take calculus, which is totally awesome and a lot of fun.

I don't have very many finals, but they're still piling up. I haven't needed any all-nighters this time around, but I have at other times. With force of will, as Zousha said. But they should all be done by this Thursday!

[UncleWolf]

*comes back from exam*

Epic Fail. I borrowed a calculator from the math department and they gave me one without log. About a full third of the test needed it. The calculator still had ln so I think I was able to covert it correctly.

And this was the only math class I needed since I am a CJ major.

[valadil]

I always, always, always vote for sleep. If I've only gotten 4 hours of sleep, I'm non functional and it doesn't matter if I've studied or not. If I have gotten 8 hours of sleep I'm much more likely to be thinking on my feet or be able to recall some minutae from lectures.

True story, I was having trouble with a physics test due to inadequate sleep. I did all the questions I could, then took a 15 minute nap mid test. When I woke up I was fresh enough to finish and get a 93.

Of course I also think people should do what works for them. I'd rather study 30 minutes every night of the week until a test than study for 4 hours the night before. Do what works for you.

I should also point out that not once as an undergrad or grad student did I stay up past midnight to study or do homework.

[FoE]

Any bit of sleep is better than no sleep. I have learned this from experience. Go to bed.

[Vagnarok]

I have yet to begin writing a paper before 1am on the morning that it's due (during my college career anyway). It's turned into a really fun ritual for me, so I kind of look forward to writing them now.

[snoopy13a]

So, it's finals week (or getting there for some schools).

How many of us are up late cramming? Writing final reports? Preparing essays? Double-checking references?


And, another question, before I pop the second 5-hour liquid energy shot: while a good night's sleep is obviously the best option, when you have a 7:30 exam and will be up until at least 3 studying, do you study for the extra 3 hours, or get 3 hours of sleep?

I often find the sleep drains me, and wake up groggy and unable to focus. Does a little sleep (less than seven hours, say) help or harm you guys when it comes to exams? I have a presentation in front of half the department at 1:30 in the afternoon too, and still finishing that up, so not like I can sleep after my exam either :( What do you guys think?

I didn't think that all-nighters helped for exams. My belief was that I was better off getting the sleep then trying to cram in information from 12-3 AM.

I did get my share of all-nighters from essays though.

[Swok]

I rarely do all nighters. From experience, I've found I get more benefit studying less the night before, sleeping well, and then studying a bit before the exam so as it is more fresh.

[Don Julio Anejo]

To clarify my point, I don't do all nighters. I make sure to get at least some sleep (the few all nighters I've done, I collapse at 11 AM sharp barring a 4-shot vanilla latte).

But if it's the choice between sleeping for two hours and studying those same two hours and then going to write the exam, you may be better off studying those two hours, to raise your excitation level.

[UncleWolf]

:smallsigh:
I was this close to stabbing a friend.

One of my friends had a final today. He went home afterward because the rest of his are online.