How to Pull an All-Nighter

This is for the people who are past the point of being lectured to on how sleep is absolutely necessary. You are at the point of no return, time is short, and you need to pull an all-nighter! Follow my advice and you will make it like I did.

Avoid caffeine and energy drinks, drink lots of cold water

The caffeine in coffee may help you stay awake, but test this out prior to all-nighter night because it may hinder your ability to focus. Soda and energy drinks contain a huge amount of sugar, which will keep you up for a while, but you'll then feel like crashing due to your body's breakdown of the massive amounts of sugar (which is bad for you in the first place). Lots of cold water is a better alternative. You will have the urge to urinate constantly, which will help prevent you from falling asleep.

Snack

I'm not saying to eat a meal because you don¡¦t want the ensuing food coma. Snack on things like peanuts, tangerines, etc. The purpose is so you're constantly doing something and getting your body moving and working, as your stomach has to work to digest the food.

Move around

Every 30 minutes or so, stand up and do jumping jacks or another exercise that involves moving most of your body to get your blood flowing. The last thing you want to do is just sit or stay in the same position for an extended period of time. Try to always be moving something, whether it be your hand playing with a pencil or shaking one of your legs.

Listen to music

Use loud, blasting music initially to excite yourself, then turn it down a notch so you can concentrate on whatever you are trying to do. Monotonous music is not going to help because it doesn't stand out. Music that sounds different at different parts, or constantly changes rhythm is good. But you also want to make sure that the music isn't so distracting as to distract you. Consistency and patterns must be avoided.

Take powernaps

Believe me when I say that powernaps make a huge difference. If you are at the point when you are fighting just to keep your eyes open, you need to give yourself a break or else you're body will not function properly. All the studying you try to do will just be counterproductive if you don't at least take a nap. Depending on how much material you still need to cover before the time of the exam, try to give yourself at least one solid hour since your brain needs sleep to function normally.

Have someone call you

Most people will not be lucky enough to have a friend agree to pull one with them, but if possible, this is a great way to make sure you¡¦re successful because you can monitor each other with hourly phone calls. My good friend and I called each other about every hour to monitor each other's progress, which made it fun as well. If not possible, at least have a friend, family or acquaintance call you at a certain time to make sure you're still up.

Make yourself uncomfortable

Open the window for some breeze. Actually, this may be comforting, but the point is to let the breeze chill you, keeping you awake. Make sure you are not in a comfortable environment with a bed and pillows nearby. Don't sit on a big, soft couch. The point is to be so agitated that you can't fall asleep, but not so much as to distract your studying.

Good luck and have fun!