# Tips for pulling an all-nighter?



## Meggiepie (Jan 27, 2016)

So does anyone have any advice for pulling an all-nighter? I've only done it once but I didn't do it because I had an assignment due and I ended up falling asleep around 11am the next day and I felt absolutely horrible. I want to work on my undergraduate thesis and get it done tonight so that I don't have to worry about it anymore. 

I don't drink coffee so don't suggest drinking a ton of it. I've tried to drink it before, and even with a ton of sugar in it I still can't drink it and it makes me sick. I do drink green tea though, so I can get some caffeine from drinking a few cups of that.


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

DO NOT GO TO BED. You know, just gonna take a break for 5 minutes. Whenever I absolutely have to stay awake I remove my mattress. It's really not hard after that, as it's very hard to fall asleep sitting.


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## Meggiepie (Jan 27, 2016)

Demon Soul said:


> DO NOT GO TO BED. You know, just gonna take a break for 5 minutes. Whenever I absolutely have to stay awake I remove my mattress. It's really not hard after that, as it's very hard to fall asleep sitting.


True! A lot of times I do homework on my bed because it's so comfy, but today I'm doing all of my work at my desk which has a really uncomfortable chair. I couldn't even fall asleep in 5 minutes no matter how tired I am, so no worries there


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## Repix (Jan 14, 2016)

I'm extremely unhealthy with all-nighters as I do them most every other day now.. so my tips might be helpful.

You mentioned coffee, and not energy drinks.
So try some of those! (There exists organic ones too, but my favorite is Redbull or Rockstar)

Now if you have no caffeine drinks at all, taking a cold shower before your work is extremely helpful or just grab a bunch of protein bars or some other light foods and eat one or two each hour. (Also be careful with too much darkness, turn on as much light as possible, because my monitor screws me over with unbalanced lighting.)

And turn on some relaxing music, and turn down the volume to 5-8% so that it doesn't end up breaking your concentration.

Also go wash your face with cold water (logical one, but useful.)


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## Meggiepie (Jan 27, 2016)

Repix said:


> I'm extremely unhealthy with all-nighters as I do them most every other day now.. so my tips might be helpful.
> 
> You mentioned coffee, and not energy drinks.
> So try some of those! (There exists organic ones too, but my favorite is Redbull or Rockstar)
> ...


I'm going to stop by the convience store after classes to pick up some energy drinks. I didn't even think of protein bars. That's a really good idea! I'll make sure to pick up some of those too.

The cold shower and washing your face with cold water are also really good ideas. Thanks for the tips


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## Oh Dae su (Nov 21, 2013)

Just stay active. Don't lie down ever, don't trick yourself into thinking you can simply rest your eyes for 2 minutes, and then go back to staying up. Avoid anything mundane. If your reason for staying up is to do something mundane, then have some fast paced music on in the background, or something loud and stimulating. 

Just...Anything that stimulates your brain will keep you awake. Don't give it a break.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

When pulling all-nighters, don't ever tell yourself that you're doing an all-nighter. By telling yourself explicitly that you are staying up all night, you won't get anything done because you are tricking yourself into believing that you have a lot of time. 

Better solution is to write down goals that you want to accomplish in one hour. After the hour passes, write down goals you want completed in the next hour and so on. By limiting the time, you work more efficiently.

By doing this, you might get everything done with some time to sleep.


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## Kovu (Jun 18, 2013)

You can borrow my insomnia for a day. I got no sleep yesterday, did PE and weight training at school today and still don't feel tired.


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## dune87 (Aug 10, 2015)

i did that several times when i was studying and working full time. i just said to myself "oh well, i'll sleep tomorrow". when i start feeling sleepy i take a break, take a shower or do stuff around the house (eg iron my clothes for the next day). i don't eat much and dont eat foods that make me sleepy like white carbs, onion etc. if i finish what i do a bit earlier than i was expecting i DONT go to asleep if i only have a couple of hours, it'll feel miserable. i close my eyes for half an hour in darkness though. if i have 4-5 hours or so then i go to sleep normally.


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## SofaKing (May 9, 2014)

Under no circumstances should you smoke cigarettes. 

It can work, but the possible health problems aren't worth it should you get addicted.

It can happen. Believe me. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## Repix (Jan 14, 2016)

SofaKing said:


> Under no circumstances should you smoke cigarettes.
> 
> It can work, but the possible health problems aren't worth it should you get addicted.
> 
> ...


Don't smoke cigarettes in your room, do it outside..
cause when I do it at my PC I get really tired.


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## aragog (Apr 22, 2016)

Haha okay I've pulled more all-nighters than all of my friends combined, and I'll post what worked for me.

1. No naps. Absolutely. A 20-minute nap always turns into three hours.
2. Make sure that the work you're doing while staying up is engrossing enough. When you're completely focussed on something, you'll lose track of the time.
3. Check the time only to keep tabs on your work - don't keep checking unnecessarily, as you will start to feel sleepy just by looking at the time.
4. If not coffee, have lots and lots of water. Energy drinks are a bit sweet, and personally I feel they make you feel a little full after a while and then you begin to feel sleepy.
5. Keep all the lights on. If you have a roommate, that might be a problem, but adequate lighting is a must. Blue light tricks your brain into thinking it's daytime.
6. Take breaks every hour to listen to some upbeat music (heavy metal will do the trick!).
7. No cigarettes or alcohol.
8. Keep munching on a snack throughout the night. The quantity should be less, and you should make that last throughout the night.
9. If you take a cold shower, you might end up feeling awake. Beware though - sometimes the opposite effect happens, making you feel like falling asleep after the bath.
10. It's best to work on your laptop or computer rather than on paper. Staring at a screen will help you stay awake.
11. Play a silly distracting game once in a while, either on online flash games sites or on your phone.

These helped me, and I have been pulling all-nighters lavishly for years now. Hopefully this helps anyone else who wants to do it too!

P.S. I firmly believe that you must pull all-nighters at least a few times in your university years, because once you grow older, your body simply won't allow it - and it's such a different feeling to be up till sunrise, to hear other people's alarms go off, to have breakfast and then sleep! A different kind of joy!


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## The Punisher (Mar 24, 2016)

Hi I really don't recommend you to do this because the next day you won't be able to focus on class and your work will be alright.
Best thing to do is do whatever it is before the last days so you won't get anxiety and get tired.
Good luck.


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## CoatRack (Jun 16, 2015)

I crammed for my chemistry finals last year and was too impatient to brew some coffee, so I just poured hot water over the grinds and drank it with some creamer.
I sure got the caffeine boost but my stomach hated me for a while after that.

That being said have a good work space so you don't get groggy and frustrated. Keep yourself hydrated too as your eyes may feel dry from writing/typing for so long. And make sure you take 5 minute breaks every 20 minutes.

I'd also recommend concentration music but that depends on how tired you are. Skip it if you think you'll fall asleep but do it if you're fine. Sometimes I even play a "Let's play" video on really low sometimes because the background noise helps me concentrate without having to follow the rhythm of a song instead.

Good luck!


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