As I sit here writing this article, the clock on my phone reads 5:37 a.m. I am pulling an all-nighter for the fifth time this semester (not because of this article — I am only writing this paragraph tonight as a method of procrastination). Ever since I got to Notre Dame, what was a rarity for me at my old school has become an almost weekly occurrence; I have become as familiar with the Hesburgh early morning vending options as I am with the NDH salad bar (not really that familiar, but more than I ever would’ve expected to be).
I’m not sure if my need for near-constant all-nighters is the result of my own lack of time-management ability, the increase in my workload since I transferred here, an imbalance between my schoolwork and my extracurriculars or all three. What I do know is that participating in my back-to-back Tuesday and Thursday classes on no sleep, four Alani Nu energy drinks and the sensation of my eyes actually vibrating in my head has become an invaluable life skill and one that most (if not all) Notre Dame students need in their repertoire.
In honor of midterms, I’ve decided to share my vast all-nighter knowledge with you, my dedicated readers. Whether you’re studying for an exam or writing a paper (or whatever STEM majors do), here are some all-nighter best practices based on my extensive personal experience.
For one, if faced with the choice between one to two hours of sleep and no sleep at all, try to go straight through; the physical pain of waking up after one hour of sleep is much worse than any amount of lingering exhaustion throughout the day. The feeling of being bone-tired but facing no remaining work is far superior to the almost identical brain fog of two hours of sleep and a stack of assignments you have to finish on an exhausted brain. Stay awake for the long haul.
In my humble opinion, food is more important than caffeine throughout the night. One well-timed energy drink, combined with a late-night Taco Bell run (or GrubHub robot delivery, for the truly dedicated) will get you much further than multiple Monsters on an empty stomach. Follow it up with a coffee right before your first morning class, and you won’t even notice how tired you are until the early afternoon.
When making the ultimate sacrifice and staying up all night, there are many obstacles that can and will threaten your mission. Always remember that at this school every hour counts; you can’t afford to lose any of this newfound time to meaningless distraction. Be on the lookout for: the temptation to use your phone (hours wasted on a phone are devastating to the student in pursuit of a full night’s worth of work), an ever-yapping “study buddy” (if they’re still chatting past eleven o’clock, it’s time to cut them off) and/or any too-comfortable seating arrangement (including the Hesburgh couches — the man my friends and I found upside down and snoring in the library basement at 4:30 a.m. two weeks ago would warn you not to take any chances).
The most important aspect of pulling off a successful all-nighter is the adrenaline that comes from the necessity and rarity of the act. Already, as I feel the all-nighter becoming a more common part of my routine, I sense its efficiency wearing off. An all-nighter should shock your system; it’s your job to keep it that way. If you’re going to stay up all night, make sure that you really have to and that you give yourself adequate time to forget your last all-nighter before you try to execute another one.
My final piece of advice is new, and I learned it just last month: never, ever, under any circumstance, attempt to pull a double all-nighter. Happy all-nighting, Notre Dame; I hope to see you all in the library one morning this week.
Sophia Anderson is a sophomore at Notre Dame studying political science. She is a transfer student and plans to go to law school. You can contact her at sander38@nd.edu.
