Staying awake all night

[martin]

I have a lot to do tonight, and it's rare that I do this but my best option seemss to be staying up all night and getting done what I need to get done. When I finally fall asleep, I'll have been awake for about 39 hours, which doesn't seem that bad... Any suggestions on how to still be productive even when you're tired?

[Addict]

It's definitely difficult and it requires a lot of willpower. I used to pull an all-nighter about once a week during my first sophomore semester.

-Eat a light dinner before you start. Heavy foods will make you tired. In my experience, high carb meals make me terribly exhausted.
-Be careful with sugar. Either avoid it or keep taking it continuously or you will crash.
-Use caffeine in small doses.
-If you're just having a hard time concentrating, get up and take a short walk or do some jumping jacks.
-Don't get comfortable. Don't even look at a bed, ever. Set alarms if you need to.
-Of course, it helps if you have a partner to keep you going.

I guess this advice is mainly on how to help you stay awake, but being awake is definitely the first step to being productive.

[Ilya]

Well, you will not be productive. But sometimes, a few additional unproductive hours can be helpful.
In addition to what people have already stated, try to have music playing in the background. Ideally, it should be energetic classical music - it doesn't have distinct rhythm, but won't bore you. But use your musical tastes as a judgment. If there is some music that helps you do mental work, use it.

Also, shaking up your body is good. Physical exercise is obvious. I've used to take regular showers through the night. They do not have to be extremely cold or hot, the feeling of water on the skin is enough to break the sleepy state for a while. Keep the bright lights on. Dim ones can make you sleepy.

Hope this helps.

[ella]

I take cat naps in 9min cycles. Or if I'm studying, I read one module (about 100 pages of non-fiction) and sleep for one hour. Wake up. Repeat.

I find that forcing my body to stay wake when it needs some down time just kills my productivity.

[Ilya]

Originally Posted by ella

I take cat naps in 9min cycles.

Is it 9 or 90 minutes, ella? Seems to me that is is 90.

I was going to suggest that martin would take regular naps like on polyphasic schedule, but he should have started that from the morning. By the evening the tiredness will accumulate so it will be useless. But yes, if you can afford some naps and make sure that you wake up after them, it can make things easier.
I, more then once went for a short nap only to wake up 8 hours later.

[NotesMaeve]

I'm a believer that you're better off being fully rested and half-prepared rather than being fully prepared and half-rested. I can BS great if I've had enough rest. If I'm exhausted, it doesn't matter what you've taught me.

[4Mind4Life]

If you know that you're going to be pulling an all-nighter, get a solid amount of sleep the night before. While pulling the all nighter, keep focusing on what it is that needs to be done. For example: if your on your computer, don't be searching about irrelevant things or listening to music while typing a paper. Just focus on the paper and what needs to be done.

Set a goal before you pull the all-nighter and tell yourself that you will try to get it done in a certain amount of time. Be somewhat realistic with this time goal and take conscious steps to ensure completion of this goal.

Have some energy drinks around to drink while working on this paper to keep yourself alert. Don't just power down the whole energy drink @ once, drink sips as needed.

Be prepared for the next day to be very long, dizzy, and unfocused. It will be tough to get through, but you WILL make it.

I've pulled several allnighters and stayed up for @ least 48 hrs. straight before. Though I don't think that they are very healthy, I think that sometimes when you procrastinate, they are necessary and can actually be more productive than working on a project during the day. Your body and brain will recover after some good, quality sleep the next night. Just don't make all-nighters a habit!

[ella]

Originally Posted by Ilya

Is it 9 or 90 minutes, ella? Seems to me that is is 90.

I was going to suggest that martin would take regular naps like on polyphasic schedule, but he should have started that from the morning. By the evening the tiredness will accumulate so it will be useless. But yes, if you can afford some naps and make sure that you wake up after them, it can make things easier.
I, more then once went for a short nap only to wake up 8 hours later.

I do 9min, set a clock and tell yourself you will be refreshed and ready to go when it goes off.

[martin]

I stayed up all night, it wasn't bad at all. During lunch I took a nap and that helped tremendously! Thanks for the suggestions everyone.