Seeing as I just endured MY biggest all-nighter spree, I decided it was appropriate to make this guide NOW. 3 nights in a row, I gave up sleep to do my uni work...although I did get an hour or two in during one Monday afternoon.
Still, it's a painful process.
So here's a guide to all those aspiring to break my record...(I'm sure many of you have but whatever).
PS: Forgive me if I make errors...I'm writing this with 3 days worth of no-sleep...so bare with me :D
Amy's Guide to All-Nighters
1)
The first rule to all-nighters is...KEEP YOUR ROOM AS BRIGHT AS POSSIBLE!!! I found (from experience) that I was less inclined to want to go to bed when all the lights in my room is open. I guess the brightness sort of tricks my brain into thinking it's only 10:00pm or something like that. But this really works, at least for me anyway!!
2)
You need at least 2 cups of coffee (WITH NO SUGAR) when you start your all-nighter!! Energy drinks like V and Mother can never replace a good cup of coffee. Best results (for me) comes from coffee with no sugar and as little milk as possible. I find that whenever I drink something that's too milky, my body starts to shut down. Probably because milk helps people get to sleep.
3)
Don't eat anything unless you're hungry. When you're on a full stomach, you body will try to sleep. That's why they say you tend to fall asleep faster when your stomach is full. Your body will feel so content that it won't bother trying to stay active. You're more alert when you're hungry after all :)
4)
Find moral support!! If you're pulling an all-nighter due to an assignment, chances are, so are a lot of other people. So hop onto facebook (not too much of course), create a status alerting everyone who is going to sleep late that you'll be available throughout the night. You can then share your all-nighter pains with those who are suffering just like you.
5)
Don't wear too much clothes! Wearing lots of clothes = warm bed + blanket. When you're all warm and cozy, it's almost a given that you'll want to sleep. So the best thing to do to keep yourself awake is to wear as less as you can tolerate. But I don't recommend short-sleeves and shorts in the middle of winter. You should know your limits. Don't get too comfortable but not so uncomfortable that you get sick.
6)
Make sure there's lots of fresh air! Open your windows to get fresh air circulating. Your body shuts down (sort of) when there's lack of oxygen. You tend to be more drowsy when you're inside your stuffy room than when you're outside. Fresh (preferably cold) air wakes you up immediately.
7)
Wash your face!! This is something one of my friends told me to do and it works! When you feel like all your energy's been drained from your body, take a small break and head for the bathroom. Washing your face (preferably with a towel and warm water) will relax but wake you up at the same time. I don't recommend using cold water...because that'll make you feel sick in the long run. Warm water is the best way to go.
8)
Don't think about things like "I think I'll sleep for about an hour then get up to continue my work". Seriously? An hour? Believe me when I say it'll make you feel more tired. Plus it'll give you really bad dark circles. Once again, from experience, I find that the dark circles don't appear on my face if I DONT SLEEP AT ALL. Rather, if I slept for 2 hours and then wake up, the dark circles will be pretty visible.
9)
If you need to stay constantly alert throughout your all-nighter, it's best if you drink a cup off coffee or similar every 2 hours. Yes, it is bad for you if you do it ALL THE TIME...but I'm suggesting this only if it's an emergency. Don't go for energy drinks...they're fizzy and makes you want to burp all the time. Coffee kind of gets rid of your hunger as well.
10)
Finally, it's bad to pull all-nighters all the time. So don't do it unless you have to. Yes, I'm such a hypocrite. But I really don't RECOMMEND all-nighters to anyone who's younger than 18 years of age unless they're in their HSC year. Even so, unless you do art, design and technology or similar and have your major work DUE...then its a bad idea to study math (or whatever subject you're doing) through-out the night. Chances are, you won't absorb much, then you'll be sleepy for your exam.
So yeah, that's all. It's 7:00am in the morning now. I wasted about...40minutes typing this up. Probably will have lots of mistakes but I'm too tired to check them. Will do so later.
Gonna get ready for uni in about 2 hours...or less.
Bye for now. Happy sleeping :D
