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The all-nighter. It\u2019s kind of a rite of passage for college students, especially during finals. But even older adults sometimes need to pull one — finishing up a work project or driving through the night. Even I\u2019ve pulled a good number of all-nighters these last six years, writing up a blog post for the next day. Given the fact that I\u2019m my own boss and don\u2019t technically have any set \u201cdeadlines,\u201d I don\u2019t know if this makes me crazy, or dedicated, or maybe crazy dedicated. Probably just crazy.<\/p>\n
Pulling an all-nighter isn\u2019t the most healthy or desirable thing in the world (although it can actually produce feelings of euphoria<\/a>), and doing so should be avoided whenever possible. But even the most organized student sometimes comes face-to-face with the fact that their paper is going to require more hours to complete than there are hours left in the day.<\/p>\n To get a unique perspective on the ins and outs of pulling a successful all-nighter, we asked a group of former Soldiers, Marines, and Special Forces veterans to share the methods that got them through combat and a host of night-ops. These men \u2013 who are all currently on staff at the BluCore Shooting Center in Denver, CO<\/a> — served in the Navy SEALS, Green Berets, and the Army and Marine Infantries. (They\u2019ve asked that we only use their first names for purposes of anonymity). For these vets, staying awake through the night was a matter of life and death, but their tips apply equally well to the civilian who needs to plow through a work or school project. In addition to their advice, we\u2019ve provided tips from sleep experts and researchers.<\/p>\n The first tip in pulling an all-nighter is actually to avoid doing it whenever you can! Depriving yourself of sleep has all sorts of deleterious effects on your body and mind, including:<\/p>\n Due to these mind-melting effects, my suggestion for students is to not pull an all-nighter when you can avoid it, and when you can\u2019t, try to reserve it for writing papers. If you\u2019re cramming for an exam, you\u2019re probably better off putting in several hours of intense study, and then getting some shut-eye — maybe you won\u2019t cover as much material, but you\u2019ll have a better chance of remembering what you did study. With a paper, sleep deprivation will still cause your writing to suffer, but there\u2019s no getting around the fact that finishing it will require a certain number of hours — your paper won\u2019t magically finish itself if you leave it half-done to hit the sack.<\/p>\n Alright, so pulling an all-nighter isn\u2019t an effective or sustainable study or work strategy. But sometimes our best-laid plans go awry and an all-nighter becomes necessary. When it does, here\u2019s how to stay awake for the duration and get the most out of your round-the-clock push.<\/p>\n \u201cMake sure you don\u2019t get behind on sleep. When you know an all-nighter is coming, see if you can bank a few extra hours in advance. That makes the well deeper when you have to dip into sleep reserves. This really works.\u201d \u2013Eric, former Navy SEAL<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you know in advance you\u2019ll be pulling all-nighter, try to go to bed earlier and\/or wake up later in the days leading up to it.<\/p>\n If you didn\u2019t see your all-nighter coming, you can still fill up your sleep tank with what researchers call the \u201cprophylactic nap<\/strong>.\u201d Taking a nap of any kind boosts your memory, creativity, mood, alertness, and cognitive performance, and preventive naps have been found to be more effective at staving off the negative effects of sleep deprivation than multiple doses of caffeine.<\/p>\n When it comes to naps, longer is usually better, but in the short-term, a 180-minute nap (which gives you two cycles that include all the valuable stages of sleep) has been found to be no more effective in increasing cognitive performance than a 90-minute nap (just one full cycle). According to nap expert Dr. Sara C. Mednick<\/a>, an hour and a half is the preventive nap sweet spot<\/b> because \u201cit will take you through a full cycle of sleep and bring you out in REM or Stage 2 Sleep, allowing you to avoid sleep inertia\u201d (the grogginess you experience when waking up from a deep slumber). Mednick recommends taking your nap between 1-3 pm or 1-3 am<\/b>, as these are \u201c’perfect nap\u2019 zones, where nap cycles will be ideally balanced between REM and SWS\u201d (Slow Wave Sleep).<\/p>\n Keep in mind that the effects of a prophylactic nap have an expiration date — they only last 8-10 hours.<\/p>\n For more on what these sleep terms mean, the amazing benefits of napping, and how to optimize your naps for different situations, <\/i>check out this post.<\/i><\/a><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cCaffeine works best when you are not already abusing it. If you drink only a couple cups a day you don\u2019t need to worry. If you drink a LOT of coffee throughout the day, don\u2019t expect the coffee at night to work quite as well.\u201d -Eric<\/p><\/blockquote>\n All of the SPEC-OPS guys we talked to unsurprisingly recommended consuming some sort of caffeine throughout the night. The trick, according to all of them, is to lay off the caffeine the day before and the day leading up to your all-nighter<\/b>. Your body and mind build up a tolerance to caffeine, so if you\u2019ve been ceaselessly pounding back the coffee all week long, it won\u2019t have as strong of an effect during your round-the-clock vigil.<\/p>\n Eric also recommended mixing some sort of fat into your coffee<\/b>, like grass-fed butter (which contains more healthy Omega-3 fatty acids than the grain-fed variety) or coconut oil. He says it \u201chelps prolong the caffeine buzz.\u201d When you add some sort of fat to your coffee, you\u2019re adding in medium-chain triglycerides, or MCT. MCT may provide an extra shot of lasting energy. This coffee + butter concoction can also satisfy your hunger for a few hours without having to eat anything else.<\/p>\n Besides coffee, there are of course a wide variety of energy shots and drinks available. Whichever you choose, go sugar-free to avoid a crash. Hunter, a former Marine infantryman, recommended Rip Its — \u201ca sort of energy drink that was ALL over, over there!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve used Military Energy Gum<\/a> (formerly Stay Alert Gum) with success. Designed by Wrigley for the U.S. military, each piece of gum contains 100 mg of caffeine (for comparison, a 12 oz Starbucks coffee is about 260 mg), and through oral absorption it gets into your system faster than pills or liquids. It starts working right away and keeps you going through the long night.<\/p>\n No matter what caffeine-delivery system you choose, employ it discriminately. Instead of ingesting one big dose less often, which will lead to energy crashes, take smaller doses more frequently<\/b>. Shoot for about 100-150 milligrams every 2-3 hours.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it healthy? No. But neither is pulling an all-nighter. Nicotine has been used by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines for DECADES. It keeps you busy and keeps you awake, to a degree. But, as with coffee, if you are used to dipping a can a day, then that late night dip won\u2019t have much of an effect on you. If you are only an occasional \u2018dipper\u2019 and have a dip or two during the night to finish a project by a deadline, it can really help.\u201d \u2013Jeff, former Green Beret<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The dip tip came up a lot from the Spec-Ops guys we talked to and I\u2019m passing it along simply because it\u2019s interesting. If you\u2019re staying awake to potentially dodge a bullet, than nicotine might be the lesser of two evils. But if the only danger you\u2019re facing is getting a C in Calculus, then I\u2019d personally avoid the dip and cigarettes. Sleep experts and doctors would agree.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>A large, carb-heavy meal leads to a crash. Sometimes, even eating at all leads to a crash. You need to fuel for combat operations, so missing meals isn\u2019t a great option. But, pulling an all-nighter to finish a project at work or to drive through the night really doesn\u2019t require any \u2018fuel.\u2019\u201d -Eric<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Sleep experts concur with this advice. When staying up all night, avoid carbs and focus on eating protein and fats (nuts, beef jerky<\/a>, etc.). Keeps you full and provides sustained energy without the crash.<\/p>\n \u201cWork out, walking or even working while standing. There is a proven physiological response that follows a workout. Just don\u2019t work out too hard right before your all-nighter as this could make you tired.\u201d \u2013Jeff<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was on some type of outdoor guard duty — TCP, gate guard, fire guard, or motor pool guard — I would walk around. If I couldn’t walk around I did push-ups, sit-ups, squats or some other quick exercise. The ability to keep the blood flowing was the easiest way to stay awake for long periods of time.\u201d \u2013Rob, former Army Infantry<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019ve found physical activity to be one of the most effective ways of getting through an all-nighter. I typically try to take breaks every 30 minutes to get up and walk. And I alternate sitting with using a standing desk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jeff recommends pinching your thigh: \u201cA little bit of stimulation to the pain receptors!\u201d Matt, a former Air Force mechanic and Army infantryman, prefers to pinch his eyebrow.<\/p>\n Besides pinching, another way you can give yourself a dose of discomfort is to use cold water. When you\u2019re feeling drowsy, go to the bathroom and splash some on your face. If you really need a pick-me-up, you can even take a cold shower<\/a>. Try turning down the thermostat too \u2013 keeping your car or study area chilly will help you stay alert.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>It can also be very helpful to have some company. In the military, you could find yourself in a situation that required you to be \u2018on-watch\u2019 while others were sleeping. Often, this would happen after a strenuous day\u2019s work. If you did the watch alone, it could get boring. This could lead to sleep if you were not careful. Sometimes staying awake with someone else really helps.\u201d -Eric<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Having someone else around to occasionally chat and joke with can do wonders in waking up your brain. They can also keep you accountable about not dozing off.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were once given some form of legal\/militarized \u2018speed\u2019 but it was only used in testing. They gave it to us on base (while in Iraq I believe) and then monitored our vitals throughout the evening. We never were actually issued it for an op. I know the Air Force has been giving this to pilots on long flights for a long time (or used to). The funniest part about being on the \u2018legal speed\u2019 — EVERYONE had a PR (personal record) of one form or another while working out that night!\u201d -Eric<\/p><\/blockquote>\n File this one was under the \u201creally interesting if not (yet) practical for the civilian\u201d category.<\/p>\n The drug Eric is referring to was most likely something called Modafinil (also known as Provigil). Militaries around the world have been experimenting with it as a way to extend soldiers\u2019 ability to function without sleep. Modafinil was originally developed to treat narcolepsy, but researchers have found that it allows normal folks to go without sleep and not suffer any of the detrimental effects. In fact, many Modafinil users feel it gives them an almost superhuman focus. And unlike other stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, or amphetamines, Modafinil is less addictive, doesn\u2019t interrupt normal sleeping patterns, and doesn\u2019t cause jitters or post-use crashes. For the reasons above, the U.S. Air Force has been giving Modafinil to their flight crews on overnight missions.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a small but growing group of high-achieving civilians (Wall Street bankers, entrepreneurs, athletes) who are turning to Modafinil to give themselves a mental edge and to help them power through their busy schedules.<\/p>\n Modafinil is available by prescription only, so if you wanted to try it, you\u2019d have to talk to your doctor. But because it\u2019s primarily used to treat narcolepsy or to help those who work irregular hours, he or she will probably be leery about writing you a script just so you can sarge through a night of studying.<\/p>\n While the research doesn\u2019t show any short-term detrimental side effects from using the drug, there\u2019s very little research on its effects long-term. Scientists also aren\u2019t exactly sure how Modafinil works. They just know that it does. For those reasons, researchers don\u2019t recommend Modafinil for off-prescription use. But if you\u2019re like me, and find the subject of cognitive enhancing drugs — so-called nootropics — quite fascinating, you\u2019ll want to keep a close eye on the coming research.<\/p>\n When you accumulate a sleep debt \u2013 the deficit created when you sleep fewer hours than your body needs \u2013 you get hit with the myriad of negative effects mentioned above. Fortunately, paying back your sleep debt can erase these harmful consequences.<\/p>\n Eric said that he and his fellow Navy SEALs would have periods where they\u2019d work every night, and then sleep during the day; he admires the infantrymen \u201cwho didn\u2019t have the luxury of sleeping all day like a lot of us SEALs did!\u201d<\/p>\n You won\u2019t always have the luxury of going right into recovery mode after you\u2019ve been up all night either, as in times when you finish a final in the morning, but still have another one slotted for the afternoon. So let\u2019s first talk about how to make it through the day after your all-nighter. In addition to continuing the tips mentioned above \u2013 consuming caffeine wisely, keeping moving, avoiding carbs \u2013 try these tactics as well:<\/p>\n You\u2019re going to feel your absolute worst about 24 hours after your usual wake-up time. But your body may naturally give you a second-wind around 10 am and again between 6-7 pm<\/b>, so if you have anything particularly difficult to tackle that day, try to save it for those windows.<\/p>\nAll-Nighters: Avoid Them Whenever Possible<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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How to Pull an All-Nighter When You Must<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nGet Some Sleep in the Tank<\/b><\/h3>\n
The All-Nighter Classic: Caffeine<\/b><\/h3>\n
Not Surgeon General Approved: Nicotine<\/b><\/h3>\n
Eat Light and Lay Off the Carbs<\/b><\/h3>\n
Get Moving<\/b><\/h3>\n
Make Yourself Uncomfortable<\/b><\/h3>\n
Misery Loves Company<\/b><\/h3>\n
Over-the-Counter \u201cSpeed\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n
Recovering from an All-Nighter and Paying Back Your Sleep Debt<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Staying Alert the Day After<\/b><\/h3>\n
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