Author	Thread: All Nighters!
Admin	All Nighters! Posted : 14 Apr, 2011 08:56 AM What do you do to stay awake when you pull an all nighter to finish a homework assignment or big project? Do you... Drink lots and lots of caffeine? Make the room a little colder to stimulate your brain? Study with friends? Take 10 or 15 minute exercise breaks? Something else? Post Reply
bcpianogal View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 14 Apr, 2011 10:47 AM I only pulled 2 or 3 all-nighters during my college career...and by all-nighter I mean a night with less than 2 hours of sleep! I never pulled a REAL all-nighter! If I was working on a project, paper, or homework assignment, I usually didn't have trouble staying awake and focused. I'm a bit of a night-owl anyway, so most of my best work (and best piano practice, much to my family's dismay) happened between 10 and 12 at night. If I was just reading something for a class or passively studying for a test, though, I never did find the trick to staying awake! The closest I came was finding that if I sat in a straight-backed chair that was very uncomfortable, and didn't allow myself to slouch, I would stay awake...but I was also miserable and remembered very little of what I read or studied. Post Reply
View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 14 Apr, 2011 10:55 AM I'll be pulling one tonight due largely to major procrastination. Although on the flip side, I'll be done with my classes.:dancingp: Then again, I have two presentations to give tomorrow, so its probably a really bad idea to stay up tonight, but now I have no choice. Anyway, to answer the question, I usually drink some caffiene, maybe sneak in a short nap, and look for any kind of motivation outside of last second panic to get my stuff done. Post Reply
Tulip89 View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 14 Apr, 2011 07:43 PM The majority of the time I just did my work. Caffeine wasn't a necessity after a while. I haven't pulled an all nighter in a while, so I doubt I'm in good enough shape anymore though. Post Reply
MS1girl View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 15 Apr, 2011 12:13 PM I don't pull legit all-nighters all that often, but I do quite frequently get by on minimal sleep, especially during exam weeks. My strategies are somewhat different now than what they were in undergrad. In undergrad, I would often drink a lot of caffeine (in the form of some terribly bad for me diet soda) and if I was particularly worried about falling asleep I would go to the chemical engineering computer lab to work. I found that at times I would get so sleep deprived that studying in my room was just not productive. I would get distracted by my computer if I sat at my desk and studied so I would shift to the floor and before I knew it I would be sleeping on the floor. If I went to the computer lab, there were usually other people around who would also be studying so I would not be as tempted to goof off. I also get really embarrassed when I fall asleep in front of people so having people around was a good way to keep me awake. Now, I hardly drink any caffeine. I really don't think that caffeine helps me that much anyway. Usually just drinking something cold will suffice. I sometimes go to the study lounges to study during exam weeks for the same reasons that I went to the computer lab in undergrad. During exam week I can usually keep myself awake for insane amounts of time just because of the adrenaline that accompanies the night before exam panic; but by the end of the week I am pretty much a zombie. I am not a person who waits until the last minute to do things by any means, but before the exam panic sets in I find it incredibly hard to stay awake when I'm studying (or even sitting in class for that matter). I think I am chronically sleep deprived so whenever I open a book or sit quietly in class my body decides that it's time to catch up on some Z's. I stay awake better if I am actively taking notes, plus I find that when I am studying I tend to remember things better if I write them instead of just reading them. Post Reply
View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 16 Apr, 2011 06:37 AM I have on various situations been in a strange country, waiting for the airport to open...at some ungodly hour. And you can't fall to sleep! The 7/11s are closed so you can't buy coffee, and you just tell yourself to stay up! Its worked a few times. I remembered I once didn't sleep for 48 hours while traveling. I've never had to stay awake all night studying but I know that talking out loud helps you keep focused on what you're studying and not get sleepy. Post Reply
View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 16 Apr, 2011 07:56 AM Yeah, I've had to spend the night in the Beijing airport 3 times and the Shanghai airport once. It's the one thing I hate about travelling to China. I pulled quite a few all nighters in college, but I hardly ever drank caffeine. My two closest friends and I were in the same major and we usually had all the same classes (well, except for maybe one class) so we always studied together. Whenever one of us would get frustrated and have an emotional breakdown (usually me) we would go for a run outside or run down the hall. Post Reply
joesgeo View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 26 Apr, 2011 10:47 PM Midnight to 4pm at work. I don't do that very often. 4pm to 8am at work isn't really any fun either. I drink caffeine and force myself to stay away. I don't think about how tired I am. Definitely not fun though. Post Reply
OutOfStep View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 16 May, 2011 10:05 PM I require 4 hours of sleep every 36. Its all natural, no caffine needed. If you need people around you to stay up, Dennys is everywhere, or Waffle House, or a Perkins, whatever you have in the area. Don't depend on the internet. I have a lot of friends who work at night with me, and we can hang out, but they aren't gonna wanna study. And they all crash out by 4 on weeknights. Sad and lonely. Post Reply
OutOfStep View Profile History	All Nighters! Posted : 16 May, 2011 10:10 PM As for all nighters, I've only had maybe 4 this semester, and a few days of going to my internship 6am and interpreting for 8 hours, then to the gym, then to work till 4am, then going back to my internship. I banged out all of my papers (7) in one night, and a 7 page thesis in an hour and half. Next semester is packed because I'm finally getting my AA! Sleep will be scarce, but its only 5 more months... Post Reply