Wednesday, March 28, 2007

The Art of Pulling an All-Nighter

If you're in a time crunch for reading this, the first paragraph or two below every section will contain the necessary instructions. If not, look for boldface. The rest explains the reasoning. The three main sections to look at are food, napping, and stimulants. Also, if you find this useful, please share it with your friends and donate to me through the paypal button if possible. Thanks, read on!

I was not really a good student. Ever. Whether it was my ADD that got me into trouble, my ability to understand/learn new things incredibly quickly, or my decision to take advantage of the previous two things and procrastinate till the very last possible SECOND...I don't know. I don't care either - I graduated (and by the very skin of my teeth, mind you - BUT I DID!). It was messy, but I made it.

Messy enough that I, toward the end of my schooling, once pulled 3 all-nighters in a single week (2 nights in a row on at least one occasion). In other words, I know how to compensate for a lack of foresight that leaves you sweating wikipedia entries (among other things) at the keyboard.

All-nighters are a sticky, sticky situation...especially if you're a busy student. It's a pretty unpleasant situation to be facing a paper due the next morning and start typing it at 10 pm that night. There's a reason for the facebook group "College Took My Circadian Rhythm and Shot It Between the Eyes."

Before You Start

Anyway, the first thing you have to do when you're facing an all-nighter is take an assessment of a few things:
  1. Amount of available time, in hours, that you have to work on the project (realistically)
  2. Length of project (in pages, assuming it's a paper)
  3. Your average pace (typically in minutes/page...i.e. how long it takes you to type one page)
  4. Amount of sleep you've gotten over the past two nights + naps (important, will affect pace)
  5. Access to food (your sleep deprived, glucose starved brain will need it!)
  6. Access to stimulants you can LEGALLY use (more on that in a bit)
  7. How much previous preparation you've done (It's okay to laugh. I would.)
The better you know these things, the more accurate your contingency plan will be.

Why? I'll explain point by point.

#1: self explanitory. Subtract meals and classes from this time.

#2: see #3.

#3
: perhaps the most important thing to know; combines with #2 to give you an estimate for how long it's going to take you. I've known people who have gone as fast as 20 minutes per page; I have no idea hth they did that - it takes me roughly an hour to type out one page, including time spent searching out resources (and I type at over 80 WPM). If you don't know your #3, a good rule of thumb is about 1 hr/page. (post if you disagree, this is VERY important!)

#4: Will affect how quickly your brain is going to work, and how often you're going to need breaks.
This will become critical towards sunrise!

#5: Like #4 - see my post on vending machine nutrition.

#6: This is going to be very important later on at night. I say 'stimulants' and stress
legal because, in addition to caffeine, ADD/HD prescriptions fit the bill for some. I take Adderal XR for my ADHD, and it works VERY well for me (and yes, I have used it for the 'side effect' of "sleeplessness") - but I recommend against taking it if you don't have a legal prescription. There are cases out there of heart attacks - this *IS* speed, people!

#7: Laugh all you want (OMFGROFLMFAOLOLOLOLOLHAHAHAHAHAHA...*ahem*), but this can speed up #3; if you're VERY well read in your subject, it *could* potentially
double your typing rate. Chances are, though, that if you did that - you wouldn't need to be reading this. ;)



How to actually pull it off.


Before getting to the heart of the matter, I just want to start off by saying two things. One, I'm a total fanatic of naps. I LOVE naps, and have been able to use them to full advantage. Two, I don't drink caffeine very often...I usually 'save' it for emergencies such as these - so it also tends to have a more potent effect on me. Plus, caffeine reduces the effects of prescription stimulants (as noted by Dr. Daniel Amen in many of his books).

Now that you know all of this, it's time to get into the routine. Do whatever you normally do - music, no music...whatever. The keys here: 1, 2, 3, and 7 are fixed by the time you start typing; so there isn't much you can do about those. However, 4, 5 and 6 (sleep, food, and stimulants) are not, and can either grind you to a snoring halt or help you make it to the end. Careful management of these three things can keep you constantly productive for 8-10 hours or longer. Also, I recommend doing your project in a public setting - a lounge or a computer lab.

Food

If you've read my Vending Machine Nutrition post - you'll understand that sugar (High GI) - for a long period of concentration such as this - is a big mistake. You definitely want to get as much protein and low GI foods as possible. If all you have are vending machines, Snickers bars or nuts are your best bets. If not (or you're allergic to peanunts), try some other sources of protein; hard-boiled eggs, yogurt (plain if possible - use cinnamon to spice it up [according to You, The Owner's Manual, cinnamon actually helps insulin do its job, a bonus in this case), cheese, raw almonds. There are others, but those four are my absolute favorites. Beef jerky would also be a decent source (minus all the preservatives).

You don't ever need to feel full, but do not let yourself get hungry under any circumstances.
If I start to feel sleepy, it's a good indication that my brain is starved for energy (in the form of glucose). Grazing on any source of protein will help you stay alert FAR longer than if you had sugars...I am hypoglycemic (my blood sugars dip too low), and my body is *very* sensitive to this. Protein helps a TREMENDOUS amount, and is released into the bloodstream far more slowly than pure sugar. All you need is a few cubes of cheese, a spoonful of yogurt every 15-20 minutes (or more), etc.

In addition, I have also heard that Vitamin C also helps. I have no clue how, but when I find out more I'll add the info. Emergen-C has been recommended to me.

Naps (Sleep)

Ok. This is a point where some of you may disagree with me. Many times I've advocated naps and many people tell me, "Oh, that doesn't work for me," or "...if I dare take a nap I'll fall asleep for hours!" I could use some more information on this from the nay-sayers of napping - because I don't really understand what's so difficult about taking a nap. My concern to you: if you're falling asleep within *five* minutes...you seriously need to be getting more rest! Ideally, it should take up to 20-25 minutes for a rested person to fall asleep. Americans just DON'T get enough sleep, period - and it's killing our ability to be productive (The Ingenuity Gap, don't know the author).

The way I typically do things:
With some form of alarm in place, I will:
  • take a 5-10 minute nap every hour at the beginning of the night
  • take a 10-15 minute nap every hour through the end of the night
  • take a 45 minute nap every 4 hours for a BIG boost in alertness
The true goal of a nap is NOT falling asleep; it's just to give your brain a little rest. From many different sources (none of which I can remember), the ideal nap is anywhere from 10-45 minutes in length; NEVER LONGER. Exhausted, I've gone into a nap and just shut my eyes for 15 minutes and open them feeling absolutely amazing. You'd be surprised how LONG 15 minutes can feel.

Ideally; taking a nap is just shutting your eyes for a while. Occasionally, I've started dreaming, but when I've limited the time to under 45 minutes, I don't remember ever missing my alarm. Even 15 minutes is plenty. Now - you may be screaming at me right now, "ARE YOU CRAZY? THIS IS CUTTING INTO MY TYPING TIME!" Yes, it does - for now...but carefully managing your sleep at the BEGINNING of the night is going to grant you a minimum of 4-6 productive hours
later.

According to You, The Owner's Manual, a stopgap measure in situations you *can't* sleep in is to sleep 15 minutes every 4 hours. This can be done for up to four days without trouble.

Just make sure you've got an alarm. I typically don't fall asleep, and sometimes my thoughts will drift during the entire nap, but that's totally okay. It's even better when, as you relax, you can feel your mind go fuzzy for a while. Those naps are SUPER energizing. The only requirement is that you close your eyes for the whole nap. If you fear you'll fall asleep, lie down on the floor with a jacket/bookbag as a pillow or something - just don't crawl into bed. It's better if you're in a public setting (just make sure you save your work before you nap so the labs don't log you off!), because it's harder to get *too* comfortable.

Stimulants

Ahh...chemical sleep in a can/pill/mug. Nectar of the gods! Basically, because stimulants increase your metabolism of food, you need to watch your food intake more closely when you use them; particularly caffeine, which crashes blood sugars, causing fatigue. My best guess is that energy drinks - some of which also contain caffeine - are the same way. Basically, my rule of thumb here is NO STIMULANTS BEFORE 2 AM.

While caffiene causes some positive feedback loops in the brain (I don't remember where I read this, but these effects can be felt up to 10-12 hours), it actually lasts only about 3 hours in the system. You're best off waiting as late as possible to start in with them. Once you've used them, DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR NAPS. Your heart will pound (especially if you've combined caffeine with prescription stimulants), but the nap will still do its job.

Prescription stimulants (for those with legal prescriptions) are a slightly different story. For those who have them: it's up to you when to use them. I've 'used' my prescriptions late at night for their main purpose for focus (because it's silly to work w/o them), getting the side benefit of staying awake more easily (though I have fallen asleep while on them, lol).

The Following Morning (the aftermath & recovery)

The familiar bloodshot, bleary-eyed aftermath... I can only imagine that you're absolutely exhausted after this ordeal (hopefully it'll take a few hours after you're done to catch up with you, if you've managed your naps right). Continue eating as much protein as you can into the day - just doing that alone has helped me stay surprisingly alert for the following day. If you have to (or can), nap in the afternoon...but try to do it before 4 pm or you *might* have trouble sleeping that night. If you can, exercise in the late afternoon or early evening - that'll finish the knockout blow you need to recover.

Disclaimer: You take this advice at your own risk. You recognize that these methods do carry certain risks; I will not be responsible for any damage/harm caused by using the methods described above. These are meant to be applied in worst-case scenarios if you have no other choice, and can lead to serious long term consequences if abused.

That being said, I wish you all the best of luck with your projects! Leave comments and suggestions (and donations if possible) ;) about what worked and what didn't work for you. I will likely create another post to specifically ask about napping strategies and habits. Take care and good luck!

24 comments:

J W 'Gigawood' said...

I totally agree with you - the type of paper you're writing DEFINITELY matters...and starting in advance is definitely ideal, haha. Good luck with getting to that point, and thanks for the compliment!

Ida Ellen said...

That was all amazing advice! All this talk of "no stimulants before 2am" just makes me so incredibly sleepy, though! I think it is highly advisable to at least have a cursory familiarity with the subject a few days in advance but in worst case scenarios, this makes for a very good survival guide.
Thank You!

Anonymous said...

Hey! Great Post! I don't fall asleep very fast at night, so somtimes I get only about 3 hours of sleep even if I give myself 8 hours time. But... I also LOVE naps! If I am tired and have to go to work, I'll lay down for 15-30 mins and honestly, when I wake up Im TOTALLY awake. All you have to do is keep your eyes closed and let your mind drift wherever it wants. Sometimes I feel like I've been there for hours. Although I try not to procrastinate, your post did help me for the times I do! Thanks =)

Unknown said...

WOAH u r AWESOME

Anonymous said...

Why do you need stimulants if you can just get energy drinks? They'll make you feel shitty after but they'll help keep you up and won't have as bad sidafects as stimulants. But I have seen commercials for a stimulant thats all natural, gives you 5 hours of awareness, and doesn't give you the ending result of caffinated drinks which could be the answer to everyone's problems. I forget the name though...

J W 'Gigawood' said...

Actually, energy drinks DO typically have stimulants in them...it's why I mentioned them under the stimulant category with caffeine and prescription medications.

Red Bull, Rock Star...I don't know of any marketed 'energy' drink without some form of stimulant in them. Not all stimulants require a prescription to use - caffeine and other stimulants used in energy drinks (I believe taurine is one that gets used frequently?) are THE prime example of this.

Like caffeine, they'll rev your metabolism for a few hours; once they wear off, though, your body is going to be sapped of its energy because it has burned it off. I use caffeine as a main example because I've read specifically about it, but I doubt others are much different - especially the ones that leave you feeling drained.

Caffeinated *sugary* drinks are an especially bad idea. Not only does the sugar itself go right through you, but the caffeine compounds the blood sugar drops - leaving you feeling doubly exhausted.

Thanks for commenting on this - I need to add these points above. This blog is a constant work in progress - and your comments help me refine the information! :)

J W 'Gigawood' said...

Here's a link to some more interesting 'stay awake' news:

http://www.brainbasedbusiness.com/2006/09/what_happens_to_the_brain_in_t.html

J W 'Gigawood' said...

I discovered that someone linked here from digg.com; please go there and digg this!

Here's the link to it on digg:

http://digg.com/offbeat_news/The_Art_of_Pulling_an_All_Nighter

Anonymous said...

It all sounds like great advice! Here is a few things from my experience. I don't have ADD but I kicked ass at all nighters.

1. Don't eat TONS of food in one sitting at any point during the all nighter. You might thing that you can stockpile a bunch of energy by filling your gut, but I find that it backfires. After a big meal all the blood rushes to my stomach and I get very, very tired. Think Thanksgiving.

2. CHECK YOUR ALARM TWICE WHENEVER YOU SET IT. Don't you hate it when you set PM instead of AM? It's a real waste. Plus when you are tired you might make the mistake of setting your alarm to ten minutes before you start snoozing. Always double check. If you tend to hit snooze too much, put your alarm on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed to shut it off.

3. This one particularly works for me, but I don't expect it to work for anyone. But you could try it if you are feeling adventurous. Pick a CD or combination of CD's and listen to it... over and over and over again for the whole night. If I listen to music I am unfamiliar with I find I am distracted by it. But when it's the same music over and over again I fall into a sort of rhythm. Eventually I associate that music with doing work, and off I go, sprinting down the page. It makes for good background, but I've heard it so many times that I'm not distracted by the particulars of the music. In short, an album can become your mantra. I once spent twelve hours writing an essay on Basque history for my sociology final while listening to Pink Floyd's "THE WALL" on repeat. It was glorious.

"You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move, but I can't hear what your saying."

4. This may seem a bit crass but I'm gonna say it anyways. When I pull an all nighter and I find myself distracted by the idea of playing a little 5 on 1, I go ahead and do it. In other words, go ahead... masturbate. With the internet at your disposal constantly it may occur to you to look at some porn while you are looking for ways to avoid doing work. Well guys (in this case), let me tell ya something. It can suck that you lose interest in sex after ejaculation, particularly when you are with your partner, or that movie you really wanted to watch hadn't finished downloading yet. But in this case it works to your advantage! After the deed is done that same thing will happen, you will most likely lose interest in looking at or thinking about sex. Your head will be crisp, and free of that tantalizing distraction. Plus you will have just taken a break and you will be ready to get back to the grind... so to speak, and with your heart rate will be up from all the excitement. As far as distractions go, it's one that has a definite end, unlike many online games. As long as you don't make a marathon out of it you will gain back in long term productivity what you lost in the short term. If this works for the ladies too, then all the better.

5. Do what works best for you. Sometimes I find I actually work better on an empty stomach! Somehow the hunger makes me feel more alert to my surroundings. But then sometimes I need to feel the brain too. I think what it comes down to is BE AWARE OF YOUR BODY. And some times, the best naps are right there in front of the computer screen.

Hope that was helpful!

You can check out my blog at biblec2c.blogspot.com
A secular man reads the Bible from page one to page done. Here's what he has to say about it.

Anonymous said...

GLORIOUS POST!!!!!
Excellent Ideas!
Now i know hoe to survive IB...
Thanks so much!
Love ya!

Anonymous said...

I wish I had read this sooner, although I still became a master at all nighters (personally - definitely couldn't have written out a guide like you, you're amazing!!)

However, my disagreement is with the Naps. From personal experiance the longer it's been since you've recieved a good amount of sleep (5-8 hours), the longer a nap you are going to need. For me, if I ever limited myself to a 30 min. nap, I knew I would wake up unfocused and with a headache - eventually falling back asleep. I always, after checking how much time I have to work the amount of work and its difficulty level (am I making a slide show or writing a 10,000 word essay?), would decide how long I'm going to leave myself and plan to take a 2hr. nap. Then I'd relax for an hr to think about the assignment and shake off the tired feeling you have after waking up.

This helped me to work faster because I'm not as tired and am more focused. Maybe that's just me, but I recommend 2hr naps.

J W 'Gigawood' said...

Yes, that's EXCELLENT advice - especially in preparation of an all-nighter. Generally, the less you've slept (total, including naps), the more nap time you're going to need. I totally agree with you on that.

Sarah said...

As for setting alarms for naps, I would recommend setting two, offset by about a minute or two, with different sounds (cell phones are great for this) and/or different snooze times so that you actually have to get up.
If you feel like your fingers are moving across the keyboard more and more slowly, try listening to music with a faster beat. I find that I tend to type to the tempo of the music (sounds weird, I know) so faster music helps me type faster, which is probably also somehow related to how fast your brain processes info.
Also, if you get distracted easily and procrastinate a lot, it is sometimes better to temporarily uninstall or hide all those computer games (freecell, minesweeper, solitaire, etc). I find that when I cant focus or am bored, I subconsciously start playing spider solitaire and I'll already be in mid-game before I realize what I'm doing. If you hide these from your desk-top and start menu your brain will realize you aren't doing what you are supposed to be much faster when the game isn't easy to get to. unfortunately, online games, IM, and other internet stuff is harder to temporarily block from yourself. I've heard of friends using two different web browsers, one of them specifically for doing homework, (the other for when you feel like you have plenty of time to procrastinate) from which they block all those nastily distracting sites like yahoo games and addictinggames.com and even blogger and facebook, etc.
I find when pulling all nighters my biggest problem is not with falling asleep but staying focused and not letting my mind wander to pointless, time consuming things.

Anonymous said...

Chicken broth is good "stay awake" food for me, though I don't know about other people. It's easy though.

I keep a stock.

Anonymous said...

I'm an IB student, this is my first year so I wasn't entirely up to date with all the suffering I might have in this program. Anyway, about a week ago I had to go through my first all-nighter, and it was.... horrible....
Now I've read your post, I see that my effects were normal and deffinitely, next time I'll do that, hopefully not too soon, I'll follow some of your advice

Anonymous said...

Nice advice. When I try to take naps I end up falling asleep but I've been taking them on my heated waterbed so next time I'll take them on the floor. :) Thanks. Also I find excercising for short bursts helps me stay awake.

Anonymous said...

Awesome help.

I've had many an all-nighter, especially when my Extended Essay Draft was due!

Anonymous said...

good advice. im an IB student and so far ive had to pull 2 all-nighters in a row (with school in between) before. if anyone is in the IB, thise internal assessments are deathluckily enough, the weekend came up right after them, so i was able to get some sleep. those 62 hours without sleep just destroyed me from inside. i went through about 5 600 ml bottles of coke, like 3 gatorades, and every bit of sugar filled snacks i could find. I tried eating raw coffee beans too. They were terrible, but they gave me enough energy to just continue working. if you have about 1/4 tablespoon every 45 min, it prevents your brain from getting a caffine overload. this method works with occasionally eating some heavier foods.
music works well, specifically something death metal or in-your-face thrash.

Anonymous said...

Ah, the All Nighter.

I did my share of these, though I preferred Two-Nighters which I managed most of the time.

The Naps thing is probably the most subjective, because if you have previous years of experience with mastering naps, great. Someone who tries this cold after living a "normal" life usually tanks.

I disagree with the Public thing however. If you're disciplined enough to do an all-nighter at all, then chances are if you're a quiet person to begin with the effort of filtering out people will *hurt*. I preferred to sprawl about all over the floor, which is usually frowned upon in public places.

Looking back now, I have only done one all nighter for work in 15 years, because unlike skipping classes, you could lose your job on the crash the following day if you simply bailed. I've done several Late Nights, and written off that nothing useful will happen in the last 3 hours anyway, so might as well make that a hard recovery sleep bloc and hope to hang on the following day.

--TaoPhoenix

Anonymous said...

this was great. i recommend you change the title though - it was much more of the SCIENCE of pulling an all-nighter, rather than the art XD

Hannah said...

That was amazing. I'm also an IB student (not for much longer, though!) and...in my 4 years of high school, I've never pulled an all-nighter. I've pulled endless late nights, but I've always gotten at least three hours of sleep. I've also found I can do two a week and still be perfectly fine.

I never use caffiene (beyond what is in black tea...but that's not much and I'm so used to it it doesn't affect me...because seriously, it's not much) primarily because it gives me a hardcore headache, so it is not essential. Also, pre-planning has saved me more than not...if I take 15 minutes to write out a basic outline of my paper, it saves me at least 45 minutes of writing time. As such, I've been able to write 1000 word essays in roughly 40 minutes at midnight...and get a B at least.

Also, music. I find I can only work to techno or instrumental piano...piano is better for earlier writing, when I need some inspiration. Techno is down and dirty get it done music, and best for late night when I'm tired. It works WONDERS.

Anonymous said...

I'm also an IB student and I've pulled two all nighters this year, both with only the use of caffeinated energy drinks.

Got out of bed at 4:30am the other day though to do work and had a very concentrated dose of coffee. It gave me heart pains, nausea, headaches all day and kept me awake until 1am the next morning. Two days later and I'm still suffering the after effects.

Totally unhealthy, so next time I pull an allnighter I will try out what you have done, thank you!

Anonymous said...

Pulled a couple of all nighters in my time. I found out the hard way that energy drinks are BAD. I drank 2 regular sized red bulls throughout the night and whilst they did keep me awake, for the whole next day i felt as if i was about to vomit. I find that chicken and rice are both good snacks for all nighters. Great guide!

Anonymous said...

Here's what I've learned after pulling MANY all-nighters:

1. Without prescription stimulants, it's hopeless. (And I have a prescription, don't worry.)

1a. Caffeine is important as well, and staggering doses of prescription stims with caffeine can make a big difference in ensuring you actually get through the night successfully.

2. Don't nap. The chances of sleeping through the alarm or feeling too groggy to function after the alarm goes off are far too high for the (modest) boost in wakefulness you get from it. Plus, if you've taken adequate doses of stimulants you shouldn't be tired enough to fall asleep anyway.

3. Gum chewing helps maintain wakefulness immensely - especially if it's mint gum. (Indeed, peppermint extract has been found in some studies to have a stimulant effect.)

4. Hot caffeinated drinks (e.g., coffee or tea) seem to be much more effective than colder caffeinated drinks (i.e. energy drinks). Not sure why this is, but it's something I've noticed repeatedly.

4a. Tea > coffee, and white tea > black tea > green tea. White tea has a strongly positive effect on wakefulness for me, whereas green tea actually tends to make me more sleepy.