Pulling all-nighters

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-12-11 09:36pm

Important tip: when you're getting really tired, do the following:

Go to the bathroom.
Fill a bathroom sink full of cold water.
Stick your head in the cold water.
Pull your head out of the cold water (this step is important in order to avoid drowning).
Shake head vigorously, like a dog who just came out of the pond.
If you are still fatigued, go outside onto the lawn and run wind sprints, then repeat steps 1-5

I'm not joking; I used to do this during all-nighters.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2003-12-11 09:48pm

Holy crap, you're a Redcoat? This could get interesting... However, we should probably argue about this AFTER you are done with exams, and not during.

Oh hell, I can't help it. Heck yeah I march! Plus I'm in the volleyball, hockey, and occasionally basketball pep bands. I can proudly say that it's OUR fault that the NCAA must regulate volleyball pep bands and specify what can and cannot be yelled at members of opposing teams. Beat THAT!

And now that I've riled you up you should have enough adrenaline in your system to keep you going another thirty minutes.

PS Thanks Darth Wong for the heavy metal suggestion. I'll remember it for next semester...yay for exams being done!

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-12-11 10:12pm

Okay, now I definately know I've been here too long...

When I saw "all-nighter", I didn't think about it in context to studying...

Ubiquitous · Post by **Ubiquitous** » 2003-12-11 10:19pm

Well, this is ironic. I sit here presently at 2.40am writing an essay titled:

'Slavery was the taproot of Confederate defeat.' Discuss.

I found out when I started the fucker at 7pm how very little I actually know on the subject. Some of the stuff I have put down is fantastic - if it was an English Lit. essay. Sadly, its a history essay, and half done at that.

Has to be handed in later today.

Thus - all nighter. But I also have a lecture at 11am and a seminar [that I have been unable to prepare for because EVERY FUCKER HAS THE READING MATERIAL OUT BECAUSE ITS ESSAY TIME! DUR HISTORY DEPARTMENT!] at midday.

Wish me luck people, I'm gonna need it.

ArmorPierce · Post by **ArmorPierce** » 2003-12-11 10:20pm

don't take naps for me that ends making me more tired. I really don't think all nighters are worth it, I end up spacing out during tests and start thinking about stuff that doesn't make sense.

Beaker · Post by **Beaker** » 2003-12-11 11:21pm

Amphetamine Sulphate always works well

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2003-12-12 02:31am

Get some 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew, chug one at the beginning, then use the rest as a carry thru. Works great for me.

Ubiquitous · Post by **Ubiquitous** » 2003-12-12 02:42am

It's not 7am, just finished my essay off. I think it's quite good, but I should really have done a lot better, but I have tried my best. 10 hours of work is more than I have put into any essay, I just hope my effort gets a good mark.

I can't go to bed because I have a lecture at 11am. Gotta go to that. Won't be class at 12 though because by then I doubt I shall be able to speak coherently.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-12 04:21am

Only 3 1/2 more hours till the exam. I'm holding up better than expected.

Ubiquitous · Post by **Ubiquitous** » 2003-12-12 05:43am

My eyes are hurting way too much for this to be healthy. I can now longer speak c....

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-12-12 05:55am

I just got done fucking up my sleep cycle. The library, due to budget cuts, was only open 24 hours for half of finals week, which is retarded, but I digress. Tuesday night I stayed there all night from 10 pm to about 6 am on Wednesday, went back to my apartment, drank hot chocolate, relaxed for a bit, then went to take my mechanics final at 7:50. I got back at around 10, went to bed, and I slept until about 10 pm. I got up, took a shower, ate something and then started studying for my differential equations final at 1 pm and my physics III final at 3:10 pm (back to back). I got back here at around 5 pm yesterday, went to bed and woke up a few hours ago, unable to get back to sleep. And I've got to work at 8 am today.

I ended up falling asleep while switching gears from differential equations to physics, and I lost a good hour that I could've used to study for my physics final. So don't let yourself fall asleep. This means no studying on the couch.

Be sure to allot yourself one break for food. I went to Jimmy John's and got a sub, Dr. Pepper, chips and a cookie at around 2 am before they closed. You'll feel much better, and you'll find that you'll be more able to concentrate on a full stomach. Every so often (maybe once every hour or so), get up and walk around. The worst part about studying (especially for math or science exams, which involve doing lots of practice problems) is that it kills your neck and back. So get up, walk around, and stretch.

I've never found that heavy metal helps me much for studying. It keeps me awake, sure, but it's really distracting. I've got lots of different piano and symphony music on my iPod, so I just listened to that to drown out the background whispering and occasional obnoxious people who couldn't shut the fuck up for the rest of us who actually had work to do.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 2003-12-12 05:59am

What works for me is just go for it, don't try to think about the time. Just concentrate on your work/study progress.

I don't like/drink/need coffee, so Darth Wong's advice works for me. A physical break (cold water, moving around, etc.) every few hours works to keep the monotony from bugging you.

Ironically, my classes just ended, and it is now 4:21 AM.
I'm normally an insomniac, but when it's exam time, I try to get plenty of rest, more than normal.
All-nighters to prepare for tests don't really work for me. (All-nighters are for screwing around on SD.net out of boredom after exams are done.)

Just make sure you're awake when you take the test.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-12-12 06:14am

One word: Tejava.

Sound strange? This drink is great because hot drinks like coffee tend to relax you (making you want to fall asleep) whereas Tejava is cold, yet it has loads of natural caffine. I can pull two all-nighters in a row on this stuff and still feel decent enough to take an exam.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2003-12-12 06:18am

Well, its too late for my method by now. What I do is get at least 10 hours of sleep every night. I can then extend my alert time for 48 hours at a time if I have to, so long as its not too frequent.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-12 12:17pm

I just finished the test. God, what a fucking train wreck. But it would have been the fucking apocalypse if I hadn't pulled the all-nighter, so I guess it was worth it. Thank you all for your advice, it actually worked out pretty well. Now I'm going to go sleep my ass off.

Oh, by the way, Mike, that shit you told me about running around and splashing cold water on your face, that worked, amazingly even.

And one last tip, if you're ever really starting to lose your consciousness and can't control yourself, jamming the sharp end of a safety pin into your arm for a second or so will wake your ass right up.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-12-12 12:30pm

I guess I'm a bit late but for others out there.. Natural sugars are good. Oranges and apples.

Also, only a few hours of sleep can potentially be worse than no sleep at all.

~ver

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-12 12:36pm

verilon wrote:I guess I'm a bit late but for others out there.. Natural sugars are good. Oranges and apples.

Also, only a few hours of sleep can potentially be worse than no sleep at all.

~ver

You are correct. It's extremely difficult to get yourself on the go again when your body is very aggressively telling you to get back in bed.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-12-12 12:42pm

Joe wrote:
verilon wrote:I guess I'm a bit late but for others out there.. Natural sugars are good. Oranges and apples.

Also, only a few hours of sleep can potentially be worse than no sleep at all.

~ver
You are correct. It's extremely difficult to get yourself on the go again when your body is very aggressively telling you to get back in bed.

Rank: Official SD.Net Insomniac

Trust me, I know.

~ver

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2003-12-12 12:58pm

Well Joe formally known as Durran, glad to hear that the all-nighter wasn't a complete disaster. Now get some sleep!

Shortie · Post by **Shortie** » 2003-12-12 06:40pm

I never found staying awake through the night that hard, though I probably spent almost as much time playing Tetris and Snood as actaully working.

All-nighters are okay if they're for stuff in the morning, but do not do them before something important in the afternoon.

Falling asleep in a tutorial will not impress your tutor. I speak from experience here.