Surviving an All-Nighter

[Fdzzaigl]

Instead of making this thread and readin it, try to use that time for either rest or moments to calm your mind.

Try to get a few hours off earlier for work and explain that your project needs to finished. Use that time to rest, take a walk and go at it.

 

[Auron225]

Sorry, I have no advice to offer - I have never done this. However, this thread is reassuring me that it is indeed worth it (to me at least) to start revising for exams ridiculously early and only doing 4 hours per day, as opposed to wringing myself dry of all forms of energy in the name of leaving it to the night before. I know it's an essay you're writing and it's not quite the same but same idea nonetheless.

 

[Aerosteam]

Music/podcasts can help. Or videos but try not to get distracted by them.

Also, I thought it would work, but one time I covered my bed with tons of school stuff to discourage me from sleeping on it.

I woke up on my school work, some papers crumpled. :/

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I have pulled many an all-nighter and even several multi-nighters.

My pointers would be as follows:

1) Use, but don't abuse energy drinks. Moderation will take your further than overdosing - seriously. A thoughtful application of an energy drink after a break (see below) to get back at it is the best practice - continual or exclusive use is NOT recommended (heart palpitations and such are worrisome, worry distracts you from your project, productivity lessens - and it's hard on your body which is already working overdrive to keep you going w/o sleep).

2) EAT! Food is what energy comes from y'know, before Energy Drinks. Multiple small snacks (the healthier the better, to be honest, but a bag of chips will do if that's what ya got) and the little breaks they require to eat are going to be helpful to you for this endurance test. I'm not talking meals here - a Snicker's Bar, a small bag of chips, a piece of fruit and a bagel, etc.

3) Use the Food and Breaks to reward yourself. Game-ify your life my friend, you get X amount done on the thing, you get X prize. Encouraging yourself, keeping a positive attitude about your progress, and feeling accomplished will all help you stay awake believe it or not.

4) Take small breaks periodically to move around. I know time is your enemy and you feel like you can't spare it, but that 10 minutes away getting a snack and taking a quick lap around your living space to fetch it could buy you 60 or more minutes awake - it's a good trade.

5) Music - it's been mentioned, but it's helpful for your attitude and your alertness. I suggest instrumental - or non-lyrical music for working and pick a few songs you like to sing along to for breaks - engaging the music while you're working is counter productive, but engaging it on a break can give you a nice little burst of energy and feel more awake and alert in general.

Also - on Energy Drinks? don't mix what's in a can like soda (or pop if you prefer) with the energy shot drinks. For short term I'd say drinks, but for long term those shots are better milage for endurance runs - but DO NOT go over the 2/day limit most have printed on the side as a warning.

Also again - if you're really burnt already it's going to be hard heading into tonight. A power nap (10-30 minutes) between work and kicking off on your project would probably serve you well in the long run. It will switch your focus for you (and it would take that long for your mind to re-gear from work anyway probably sitting in front of your school work making no progress) and sometimes you get lucky and it tricks your body-clock into resetting and believing it's actually "morning" again to help you out.

Now, mind, you don't actually fall asleep on your power nap. It's just eyes-closed, relax, rest time, not actual sleep - that's KEY. If you fall asleep now, you're probably doomed on this whole endeavor.

 

[II2]

It doesn't sound like you've got a lot of time to prepare for this, so you might not have time to acquire some of the more reliable ways to ensure sleeplessness.

Contrary to what people are saying, refined sugars and energy drinks will just play hell with you.

Caffeine, yes, but take it as pills (wake ups) at intervals (stopwatch or timer function) complimented by constant low levels from tea or weak coffee. Eat a lot of brown and whole wheat bread. Stay away from sugar unless you know you're on the last lap. You're running a marathon, not a 100 meter dash. Stay away from anything that will spike and crash you. Regular Nicotine being an exception, if you're a smoker.

Do not masturbate until you're willing to sleep, it will release melatonin and other neurochemicals which precipitate sleep. On the flipside, when you're done your stretch, have a wank - it's quite nice in the haze of sleep deprivation and will help you get to bed once you've finally crossed the line into 'so tired you're wired'.

Do not drive or operate heavy machinery / electrical tools.

Don't freak out if you start having auditory or visual hallucinations, that's normal.

Take an adult multivitamin + mineral supplement. It'll cushion the crash.

Best luck.

 

[Call me Baz]

DRINK. WATER.

I cannot put enough stress on it. Keep yourself properly hydrated (if you need to pee really badly, you actually make better snap judgements, there was actually research done on quality of choices made correlated to need for the bathroom - might improve the quality of your work) and you won't kill yourself. Eat but a little, when you get hungry have nibbles and not a full meal, or you'll get properly sleepy (if you're a somewhat normal person anyway).

I used to do occasional all-nighters and I get what you mean about over-using energy drinks, I don't see why idiots in this thread are saying "just down more coffee and energy drinks" when you clearly said you don't want your heart to pop inside your chest.

 

[Master_of_Oldskool]

Ah, now we're in my area of expertise. Come, step into my fictional textual office.

Let's get the repeats of the above out of the way first- caffeine is best used in moderation and with plenty of water spacing it out, because it will cause you to crash and dehydrate. Loud music and keeping yourself in a cold environment can be helpful, as it's harder to fall asleep under those conditions, but at around the 36-hour mark that will cease to matter. Expect mild auditory hallucinations, and as II2 mentioned, wanking is a bad idea. Above all, do not drive under these conditions.

Now, for my part? I swear by peppermints. Peppermints are great natural stimulants, aid in concentration, and they don't make you crash. The downside is that their boost is pretty short-term- it'll last five, ten minutes after the candy dissolves. A bit of peppermint oil rubbed on the temples or jaw (somewhere where the fumes can get into your respiratory system) will also work, if you can find it.

Small, frequent snacks that are high in carbs and protein are also extremely helpful- pretzels, nuts, whole-grain cereals, what-have-you. If you ever know in advance that you have to pull an all-nighter, I recommend starting the first day with a big omelet and a bowl of shredded wheat- the heavy meal will make you groggy in the short-term, but after it's digested you'll have energy when you need it.

The 10-20 minute power nap strategy is a bit dubious- it works if you can wake up on time, but that's a pretty big "if," especially after two nights in a row. Try it if you have a roommate who you can count on to shake you awake without mercy, but if you're relying on an alarm, it gets very easy to sleep through.

Lastly, if you feel the need to take a break from your project, make sure you do something during the downtime. Do a load of laundry, tidy up your workspace, take a walk, do a couple situps, but for the love of god, don't just sit idly, not matter how tempting it is.

Good luck, and try not to make a regular thing of this.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

Instead of making this thread and readin it, try to use that time for either rest or moments to calm your mind.

Try to get a few hours off earlier for work and explain that your project needs to finished. Use that time to rest, take a walk and go at it.

I wrote it whilst at work, I'm pretty sure I'd be susceptible to being fired if I used the time to rest instead; at least I can hide my forum musings somewhat.

It's a self-funded course, so work aren't really interested in supporting it and I'm basically using it to leave and get a new job and I'm sure they are aware of that. So I doubt they'd like to help bump it along!

Sorry, I have no advice to offer - I have never done this. However, this thread is reassuring me that it is indeed worth it (to me at least) to start revising for exams ridiculously early and only doing 4 hours per day, as opposed to wringing myself dry of all forms of energy in the name of leaving it to the night before. I know it's an essay you're writing and it's not quite the same but same idea nonetheless.

They always told me to revise early at Uni and I actually got progressively worse as the years went on.

My method was to note take on my own notes (lectures, seminars, reading notes) and create revision sheets for each module. They would normally last 4-6 pages. The next time I would try to shorten this down to 2-4. Next time, 1-2. Repeating this until I get it down to 1 page, which gave me a set of notes to take to read before the exam as well.

Not saying it's the best method and there isn't a 1-way method that captures everyone. It's just what I did.

Do not masturbate until you're willing to sleep, it will release melatonin and other neurochemicals which precipitate sleep. On the flipside, when you're done your stretch, have a wank - it's quite nice in the haze of sleep deprivation and will help you get to bed once you've finally crossed the line into 'so tired you're wired'.

Ah, now we're in my area of expertise. Come, step into my fictional textual office.

Let's get the repeats of the above out of the way first- caffeine is best used in moderation and with plenty of water spacing it out, because it will cause you to crash and dehydrate. Loud music and keeping yourself in a cold environment can be helpful, as it's harder to fall asleep under those conditions, but at around the 36-hour mark that will cease to matter. Expect mild auditory hallucinations, and as II2 mentioned, wanking is a bad idea. Above all, do not drive under these conditions.

I didn't even know this was a thing. How did you both manage to get masturbation into this thread? Incredible. I never heard that masturbating could lose you your degree/diploma/qualification. The more you know.

Also again - if you're really burnt already it's going to be hard heading into tonight. A power nap (10-30 minutes) between work and kicking off on your project would probably serve you well in the long run. It will switch your focus for you (and it would take that long for your mind to re-gear from work anyway probably sitting in front of your school work making no progress) and sometimes you get lucky and it tricks your body-clock into resetting and believing it's actually "morning" again to help you out.

Now, mind, you don't actually fall asleep on your power nap. It's just eyes-closed, relax, rest time, not actual sleep - that's KEY. If you fall asleep now, you're probably doomed on this whole endeavor.

I've never really gotten into napping, because I thought I was terrible at it. But if the aim is to actually be awake, then maybe I'm incredible at it. I always thought the idea was a quick sleep, which my body just doesn't do, whenever I have tried to sleep in the middle of the day.

This is all amounting to great advice, but I'm actually over the hill and on the otherside now. My project was handed in on Wednesday and I hope to not see it again.

The only thing left is my 2 further projects next month. I will try and do those properly though and not pull another one of these stints just to use/abuse these tips... maybe..

 

[ForumSafari]

I was wondering what methods people have employed to survive an all-nighter, so that could perhaps help me push through to the end of this one? Also, what has driven you to pull an all-nighter in the past? Is it common for you or does it never happen?

I've done it once and it was in a similar situation to yours, my general observation is that it isn't worth it. The extra time you have only produces work you need to recheck later so you essentially double your workload.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I was wondering what methods people have employed to survive an all-nighter, so that could perhaps help me push through to the end of this one? Also, what has driven you to pull an all-nighter in the past? Is it common for you or does it never happen?

I've done it once and it was in a similar situation to yours, my general observation is that it isn't worth it. The extra time you have only produces work you need to recheck later so you essentially double your workload.

It has really fudged me over for the rest of the week as well.

I've been tired as f*** everyday at work this week. Just yawned again while writing this.

It did get my work out the gate though. I just needed to get the finished product on the table. I'm definitely not suggesting it will be your best work, or even good, but it got the job done that I needed.

Just yawned again.

 

[ForumSafari]

It did get my work out the gate though. I just needed to get the finished product on the table. I'm definitely not suggesting it will be your best work, or even good, but it got the job done that I needed.

I feel your pain, with mine it was code so as long as it compiled and ran I knew it was alright so that minimised the amount of checking I needed to do.

In terms of tiredness and yawning try taking deep breaths and eating some food. Caffeine doesn't work (and I say this as a coffee addict) since it produces a debt that your body pays later. Your best bet is to do something that doesn't strain your eyes and to drink water and eat food.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

It did get my work out the gate though. I just needed to get the finished product on the table. I'm definitely not suggesting it will be your best work, or even good, but it got the job done that I needed.

I feel your pain, with mine it was code so as long as it compiled and ran I knew it was alright so that minimised the amount of checking I needed to do.

In terms of tiredness and yawning try taking deep breaths and eating some food. Caffeine doesn't work (and I say this as a coffee addict) since it produces a debt that your body pays later. Your best bet is to do something that doesn't strain your eyes and to drink water and eat food.

I haven't done coding in ..6?.. years! I remember that even the slightest of missteps could cause overall failure though, nightmare.

Luckily my work just involved ensuring I formed vaguely coherent sentences.

I haven't been drinking water, so I will actively start doing that! I always have my drinks at the ready, but ignored today for some reason.

As for not straining my eyes, if avoiding doing my work counts, then I'm on the right track.

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

But eat a fucking of green veg and tons of fruit

Fragment (consider revising)

Troll aside, I've not heard of binging on fruit and veg as a supplier of energy for prolonged work. I love the idea that you'd lose weight in periods of extreme work, due to excessive healthy food consumption, rather than the standard crap-eating that I do.