How to stay up all night and still get work done

Well, it’s that time of the year again. And no, I’m not talking about Christmas.

December is the month when some teachers realize that they have spent too much time telling personal stories during
class time instead of teaching. Or that they just haven’t been teaching anyone anything at all. To compensate for their actions, these teachers will plan conspiracies with the other teachers to smother the students in as much work as possible within a limited time range. They do this so that no single one of them will come across as the Grinch of the holidays. Unfortunately, being at the bottom of the ladder in the high school system, we, the students, are the ones that suffer.

If you are student that may not have been planning your time quite wisely these past few weeks and that paper/test/quiz is tomorrow and you haven’t even looked at the material since two weeks ago when the teacher first assigned it to you, the all-nighter may be your last lifeline. Now, before I go into the details on how to pull a successful all-nighter without being completely knocked out the next day, I would like to clarify that I am definitely NOT a proponent of this method as a way to get homework done. Despite this, it is important to acknowledge that there is a certain science to pulling an all-nighter. If you don’t know what you’re doing, chances are that you won’t get any work done and would have been better off sleeping anyway. With all this in mind, here are some of the key tips to getting through that sleepless night:

1. Try your best to avoid caffeine and sugar.

No, I’m not joking. While both of these substances will give you a temporary high, it will be extremely difficult to get through the crash stage. Instead, eat protein-rich foods such as cheese, smoothies, and sandwiches and drink a glass of cold water every 30 minutes. The coldness of the liquid will keep you awake as well as cause you to feel the need to urinate every so often, thus reducing your chances of nodding off at the table. However, if you feel like you must consume caffeine, take a small sip from an energy drink or coffee every 30 minutes or so to prevent yourself from crashing.

2. Don’t stare at the computer/book for hours on end.

When your brain is tired, focusing on any given thing for more than an hour or so at a time will prove to be extremely difficult and you will get sidetracked. So, plan an hourly schedule – for example, studying for 50 minutes, and then resting for 10. Then, during your 10 minutes of rest, do something active – dance around the room, stretch, do push-ups – anything to get your blood flowing again and possibly induce an adrenaline rush. Additionally, tone down the brightness of your computer screen to reduce eye-strain.

3. Don’t underestimate the powers of the cold.

This shouldn’t be too hard if you live in Calgary. If you’re feeling sleepy, open the door or window and let cold blast of air jolt you awake. It is also fairly difficult to fall asleep if you’re cold. Or, take advantage of that automatic ice cube maker in your refrigerator and rub your face with a piece of ice. You can even take a cold shower if you’re really feeling out of it. Either way, stay away from being in a warm, cozy environment at all costs because your eyelids will start to droop and you’ll find yourself waking up with the alarm signalling for you to get to your exam.

4. Study in a suitable environment.

If you’re easily scared, try watching a horror movie to keep you on your toes. Play some hardcore metal music in the background. Turn on the news channel if it helps you keep your interest level up, but turn it off if you find that you’re too distracted.

5. Nap with caution.

If you really don’t think that you can go any longer, it’s alright to take a nap. However, do not nap for longer than 20 minutes. If you go over this mark, you’ll most likely enter a stage of “deep sleep” and will wake up feeling even more groggy and tired.

6. Have a backup system.

As you’re nearing those wee hours of morning and there’s just one more chapter that you need to go through, set your alarm clock to go off every 20 minutes or so. This way, just in case you nod off, you’ll be jolted awake by the lovely sound of your alarm.

And this is how you should pull an all-nighter. Though I will reinstate my previous point – only resort to this method if there are no other options available. At all. And please, do not make a habit out of this unless you want to become a living zombie. Until then, I pray that we all make it alive through the next three weeks of school.