It's not more total work, the work just gets done sooner (The next day by 8am.) It works well when you only have class every other day of the week (MWF).

FakeDouble

Australia676 Posts

March 20 2012 06:08 GMT

#42

All-nighters are great for finishing off assignments and such. I use them quite regularly, but after I finish the assignment, I'm useless for the rest of the day (and maybe the next too). Not so great for exams though, in my experience. I find that a good night's sleep will at least help me answer the bits I know coherently, instead of doing a shitty job on slightly more of the paper (slightly more of the paper, not all).

Also, don't take any substances that you haven't used before and you don't know how to manage. Your body can react differently to it from other people's, and now would not be an ideal time to experiment. Conversely, don't forget to take what you usually take (if any). I'm addicted to coffee, drinking 4-6 long blacks everyday, and can't function without a coffee or two in the morning, and always have one before an exam.

ShaLLoW[baY]

Canada12499 Posts

March 20 2012 06:20 GMT

#43

From personal experience and in agreement with most of the posts in this thread, all-nighters before exams are a bad idea. Save them for getting projects/labs done and preparing your room for inspection like I am right now, fffuuuuu-

CaptainAmerica

United States89 Posts

March 20 2012 06:31 GMT

#44

Caffeine and B Vitamins are good for staying up, I do all-nighters once/twice a week. Coffee, red bull, and 5-hour energy all worked for me. The problem comes tomorrow when you start getting the shakes.

Eventually, enough caffeine will make you jittery and anxious. That's when you have to cut back and go for water. STAY HYDRATED!

Also, you can take little walks/cold showers or do light exercises to pep yourself up.

Loud, upbeat music never hurts and I wouldn't suggest looking at the clock too often.

As advised, taking a nap for 1-2 hours to recharge before your exam can help. That's up to you.

GLHF

PolskaGora

United States547 Posts

March 20 2012 06:56 GMT

#45

Do not for the love of god pull an all-nighter for the sake of studying for an exam. You will blank-out, and you will be far worse off than if you stayed up until midnight studying and slept normally. Your recall is far better after a full nights rest, and I would personally sleep normally and not study over study and not sleep. The only occasion I would recommend pulling an all-nighter is for finishing up a project or report that's due the next day, since of course you can't sleep it off like you can with studying.

Black[CAT]

Malaysia2589 Posts

March 20 2012 07:22 GMT

#46

Take 15 minute power naps every 1 hour. Works for me.

Caphe

Vietnam10817 Posts

March 20 2012 10:00 GMT

#47

Dont pull a allnighter the day before the exam esp if the exam is on morning. Better get some hours of sleep in so you have energy and your brain will work better in exam.

DemonDeacon

United States158 Posts

March 20 2012 23:35 GMT

#48

i think it also depends on what kind of person you are... people have posted how food and short naps can help but none of that stuff really helps me.. i can't pull all-nighters for sh*t.. but i had roommates last year who pulled all-nighters all the time and would not eat or nap for days (literally, days)... they would just take adderoll and drink red bull to stay awake but they are probably on the opposite end of the spectrum from me

lubu42

United States314 Posts

March 21 2012 02:23 GMT

#49

Go read my Procrastination blogs HERE and HERE! The second one may answer a few questions about what its like. What I can tell you from ALL of the expierences I have had which is basically all the time, is that keep drinking things. Whether it's Red Bull or Water just keep drinking things. Secondly, if you can, listen to music. I can't stress how important it is to have some kind of noise while staying up. Lastly, All nighters do definitely work but if you're so insanely tired that you're struggling hard to stay up and study/do homework, just go to bed because I guarantee you that you won't retain any information. Hope this helps

and good luck!

MysteryMeat1

United States3292 Posts

March 21 2012 05:05 GMT

#50

Turn off facebook, turn off skype and get your work done. If you remove distractions i guarentee you will never have to pull an all nighter for studying. Its a bit different for projects. Honestly the day before the test you should try to get at least 6 hours and wake up and hour and a half before the test. Take a shower eat breakfest drink coffee and make sure you are FULLY functioning before your test.

JackDT

724 Posts

March 21 2012 07:58 GMT

#51

All Nighters are effective for projects and other work where it's okay if your brain is wiped out the next day, because you just need to turn the project in. A quick short term boost. And sometimes working at night is great because there's so little distractions.

For exams though, they are not a good strategy, because being tired will make perform so much worse on the exam.

Even if the worst case -- let's say I start studying at 3AM for a test at 12 noon the next day, (9 hours away). You still want to use use 2 or 3 of those hours to sleep.

TOloseGT

United States1145 Posts

March 21 2012 10:32 GMT

#52

When I was studying Architecture, pulling all nighters wasn't really a big deal. The stuff I had to do was mostly busy work since I figured out the intellectual stuff.

I would never pull an all nighter to study though, because taking tests when you're tired is a bad idea.

Asha

United Kingdom38257 Posts

March 21 2012 10:52 GMT

#53

Prep for the next day - set alarms, get clothes out, etc. If you do finish early/fall asleep you need to be able to get going asap. You also don't want to be rushing around in the morning trying to sort things out.

Eat fruit!
Don't work anywhere too comfortable.
Keep fresh air circulating.
Stretch yourself out periodically (actual stretches or a walk around the house, w/e just move)

Most important - Do you have something important to do the next day (i.e. is your all nighter for a presentation or something similar)? If so drink a ton of cold water during the all nighter and DO NOT rely on caffeine products. There is nothing worse than working all night only to be having a caffeine crash the next day and being really subpar for what you stayed up all night working on.

Make sure you have time to shower before starting the day. Not only for the obvious reasons of cleanliness, but because it will really give you a boost for getting through the day.

talontromper

United States258 Posts

March 24 2012 06:48 GMT

#54

On March 20 2012 10:39 Cowpieguy wrote:
If you have a test the next day, it will probably be better to sleep so you will be able to focus. If you feel like shit and can't remember anything because you're tired, staying up all night to study won't have done any good. I never had much luck with all nighters, and if you're not used to it, it will be really, really difficult, especially if you're doing something as boring as studying.

I have no experience with energy drinks, so I don't know.

^^ sorta what he said

Being an architectural major I have had all nighters two to three times a week. To do so you need to have a caffeine and be a customed to them... Not being a customed to them you have a hard time getting work Done and focusing... You should just work until 3 or so and call it a night better to have some sleep and some studying done then no sleep and do poorly on the test. If you start to make all nighters a habit drink something you like! If you don't like redbull don't force urself to drink it get something the you like and drink mass volumes of that. Go with your 3 tests

Yes I know this is one long sentence but I'm takig a break from hw at 4 am for my arch project due tomorrow.