You’re considering it, aren’t you? I can tell. You totally want to pull an all-nighter this upcoming finals week. Or maybe you don’t want to, but you feel like you might have to. You’re going to. Well, don’t! Stop that! I don’t mean to preach, but I thoroughly believe that pulling an all-nighter will do much more harm than good. A solid few hours of sleep do a world of difference for your mental, physical and emotional health. I see you’re not completely sold. Well, let me walk you through the damage you do to yourself when you pull an all-nighter.
If you’re running on no sleep, you are mentally impaired to a point that is similar to being drunk. And you wouldn’t take an exam drunk, right? Right? (I sincerely hope I am right.) So don’t take it on zero hours of sleep. Your concentration will dwindle, your attention span will shorten and focusing on a single exam question or a paragraph of an essay will become way harder than it otherwise would be.
When you’re a finals-week zombie, post-all-nighter, your creativity is practically turned off. So are your problem-solving skills. And aren’t those both essentials to almost every task we’re assigned in school? Sleep deprivation also wreaks havoc on our short-term memory. And this totally defeats the purpose of your all-nighter; you crammed overnight so you’d remember all these little details, and then you’re so tired your brain can’t recall any of it.
I’ve got one last consequence to seal the deal: all-nighters destroy your mood. Irritability goes up. Depression and fatigue plague you. And most of all, your cortisol hormone levels spike, which leads to heightened anxiety. Don’t we already have enough anxiety around exam season? And now you’re telling me you want to add more? This has to be a joke. Ellen, where are the cameras? (Oh, sorry. Ellen is long gone, along with my desire to ever pull an all-nighter).
Look, I understand that sometimes it feels like the only way you’ll feel properly productive is if you spend a whole night cramming. Sleep feels like a waste of time. But you will do better work when you are well rested. Try to avoid getting to a point where all your work is left for the last minute. Block out your time and manage your tasks. Start preparing over a week in advance. Fight procrastination. Be smart with your work and time. And whatever you do, get your rest. Your body needs sleep to power through the end of this busy fall quarter!