Most nights at four in the morning, Nicholas Kostreski, a sophomore aerospace engineering major at the University of Maryland, College Park, is fast asleep in his bed. Usually, he’s dreaming of rock climbing or riding around campus on his unicycle—two of his favorite hobbies. But this night is special. Kostreski has something very different on his mind: space flight dynamics. And he’s about to pull an all nighter.
“I’m probably pulling an all-nighter tonight,” said Kostreski one Monday night in April, when he was constructing a miniature airplane. “Sometimes it’s just something you have to do.”
But is the all nighter really going to help Kostreski pull off a passing grade?
This all-too-common study habit plagues most students at one time or another, who suddenly find themselves unprepared for an exam or assignment that seems to creep in out of nowhere.
During an all-nighter, one stays up the entire night to study for an exam the following day or to finish a project that is due. All-nighters can be fueled by sheer will or unhealthy amounts of caffeine—found in sodas, coffee or, in dire situations, a Red Bull Energy Drink. Fortunately for Kostreski, long nights turn into a sunrise viewing only a couple times a semester. Others in the university’s A. James Clark School of Engineering may not be as lucky.
“The program is rigorous enough to weed out the weak,” Kostreski said, blaming the need for all-night studying sessions on poor communication between professors, who seem to schedule all their exams on the same day. “But to be able to survive, it’s not that bad.”
Some students like Gary Jon Martin, a business major, have never had to experience the dreaded all-nighter. “I manage my time wisely,” Martin said. “I always go to my lecturers and stay up with the material…I usually only need to study the day before a test for three hours.” Though Kostreski may call his marathon study sessions “the engineer’s all-nighter,” the ritual is not exclusive to engineering majors.
“I’ve pulled an all-nighter when i had to write a 10-page paper,” said Marc Gimbel, a sophomore government and politics major also from the University of Maryland. “It was almost a pre-planned thing. I put it off…I just procrastinate on everything.”
Student workload management experts warn that most all-nighters hinder a student’s ability to retain any of the information they ingested that night. This could create an even bigger problem when final exams roll around, they said.
“People do get themselves in a crunch, but [the all-nighter] is a lousy use of time,” said William Holliday, a university researcher and lecturer on learning techniques. “I know students are very busy, and they have a heavy social and academic life… but you’ve got to allocate your time.”
But Shirley Browner, an academics skills counselor at the University Counseling Center’s Learning Assistance Service, concedes that an all-nighter can sometimes help students pass a test.
“Cramming can work,” Browner said. “It’s not going to stay with the person over time for any length of time, but people can pull it out at times…but it’s not something i would advocate. It’s not a healthy thing to do.”
David Yager, a neuroscientist who teaches classes on sleep and biological rhythms, said staying up all night before an exam is “a terrible idea” because the brain more permanently retains information during the body’s idle period.
“Sleep is required for learning, and a substantial amount of sleep after studying will increase your performance,” he said. “Also, be sure you get up at least an hour before the exam, preferably an hour and a half, because it takes you at least that long to shake off the sleep, called ‘sleep inertia.’”
Browner and Holliday suggest students keep a schedule of tasks due in all of their classes, and study notes for an hour or two before and after lectures. By doing this, students will actively learn the material, instead of just memorizing it temporarily. When all hope is lost in the hours leading up to a test, students have one last option. “Engage in some hoping and prayer,” Holliday said. “They say that prayers will never be outlawed as long as we have exams.”
A Slacker’s Schedule for an All Nighter
10:00 pm Denial
11:00 pm Freak out about your unwritten paper
12:00 am First paragraph finished, checking Facebook
1:00 am 10 minute power nap and then productivity
2:00 am Red Bull break
3:00 am Ask friends in the class how far along they are and complain to one another
4:00 am Productivity
5:00 am Beat highest Snood score
6:00 am Save paper five times in a row
7:00 am Printer doesn’t work! Panic as the sun rises
Mark Millan > University of Maryland College Park > Sophomore > Journalism
*Originally published in College Magazine’s print publication, Fall 2007 issue.
The Dos and Dont’s of an All-Nighter
Written by Jenna LaConte, junior, communication and English, Boston College
Classes have begun to pick up and midterms will be here before we know it. While ideally students will prepare weeks in advance, let’s face it—it wouldn’t be college if you weren’t procrastinating. As you get back into the swing of things, bear in mind the following essentials for those times when an all night cram session is in order.
1. Determining a location
Do: Choose a place that you have spent enough time in that you will be able to find the nearest outlets for your chargers, bathroom and vending machine without wasting too much time or having to decide to move due to inconvenience.
Don’t: Expect to be able to pull an all-nighter in your dorm room. While this may work for some, your bed will be calling your name all night.
2. Arriving fully equipped
Do: Think ahead beyond your textbooks and laptop. The second you notice that your lips are chapped and you didn’t bring any chap stick, your motivation will go out the window.
Don’t: Count on other people for things like chargers and pens, especially into the wee hours of the night.
3. Allowing time to eat
Do: Eat a sufficient dinner late in the evening. This should be able to hold you over until breakfast, with the help of a small vending machine snack break (or two) as the night goes on.
Don’t: Convince yourself that you can’t afford a 15-minute dinner break and try to make an entire meal out of vending machine food. Your hunger will only distract you further, and man cannot live on Oreos and Doritos alone.
4. Caffeinating appropriately
Do: Stagger cups of coffee, tea, soda, etc. with food and water.
Don’t: Over-caffeinate to the point where you will crash, shake uncontrollably or have to pee every five minutes.
5. Choosing a buddy
Do: Look for someone who is up for the challenge. He or she does not need to be studying for the same class as you, as long as you are both devoted to the cause.
Don’t: Let it get you down if your study buddy calls it a night early. Not everyone is cut out for the all-nighter lifestyle.
6. Dressing for the occasion
Do: Dress comfortably. At 3 a.m., a tight pair of jeans that doesn’t allow any wiggle room will become your worst enemy.
Don’t: Wear pajamas. Pajamas mean bedtime; all-nighters mean no bedtime.
7. Avoiding social media
Do: Remember that this is not the time to be distracted. Social media is for every other day of the week when you can afford to procrastinate.
Don’t: Make your friends change your passwords. An occasional social network break will keep you sane, and the time you will spend begging your friends for your password will hinder your productivity.
8. Listening to music
Do: Come prepared with a playlist, including but not limited to a Pandora playlist that won’t get repetitive.
Don’t: Try to procrastinate by making a playlist while working. This will suck you into a whole new project, making it too tempting to escape from your work.
9. Strategizing a nap
Do: Plan for a power nap. This can be from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., after your classes in the afternoon, or into the early evening. Be realistic about how long you will last before napping.
Don’t: Try to take a nap from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. or convince yourself that you can stay up straight through to the next night. Naps are the light at the end of the all-nighter tunnel.
10. Recovering from your all-nighter
Do: Get yourself back onto a normal sleep schedule. Try to limit yourself to a couple all-nighters per semester, if that.
Don’t: Make a regular habit of all-nighters. Getting your body used to that sleep cycle takes much more effort than, well, getting your work done in time.
Thinking of pulling an all nighter?
Don’t go into the depths of the night without a game plan. Read “How to Pull an All Nighter for Finals Week” to prepare your mind, body, soul and snack bag for what your night will need.
And without an almost distraction-free zone to study, you can kiss your passing grade goodbye. Finding the perfect study spot for your all nighter will make you a cramming champion. College Magazine writers and readers across the country know all the hidden spots on campus to crack open your books. Find out where you need to set up study camp at your campus:
- Adelphi University: 10 Adelphi Study Spots to Help You Land that 4.0
- Boston College: Find Your Scholarly Nook: Secret Study Spots at Boston College
- College of William & Mary: 10 #Perf Places to Study at the College of William and Mary
- Florida State University: 10 Secret Study Spots at Florida State
- Luther College: Top 10 Study Spots at Luther College
- Northwestern University :10 Study Spaces at Northwestern for Every Personality
- Oberlin College: Top 10 Places to Study at Oberlin College
- Pennsylvania State University: The 15 Best Places to Study at Penn State
- San Diego State University: Top 10 Places to Get Your Study Jam On at SDSU
- Tulane University: 10 Places Tulane Students Study When They’re Not Partying
- University of Florida: The 20 Best UF Study Spots
- University of Georgia: Do You Even Study, Bro? 10 Best Study Spots for UGA Dawgs
- University of Michigan: Top 10 Go-To Study Spots at the University of Michigan
- University of Wisconsin-Madison: Ready to Pull an All-Nighter? 15 Best Study Spots at UW-Madison
- Vassar College: 10 Vassar Study Spots To Watch Lectures, Not Cat Videos
So you survived the All Nighter. Get your sleep schedule back on track.
*Updated July 18, 2018 to include College Magazine resources on how to pull an all nighter, where to study and how to get your sleep schedule back on track.
*Updated July 18, 2018 by Jenna LaConte to include “The Dos and Don’ts of an All-Nighter.”
