When you’re studying for a test or writing a paper at the last minute, are you going to stay awake and study into the test/write until the deadline or get a few hours of sleep? Have you had to pull any in college?
I pull them frequently, and if I can I see if I can reverse my sleeping schedule during finals week. I prefer studying for a test into the test over studying, sleeping, taking. I almost never pull them to write a paper.
I never pulled an all-nighter during my freshman year. I think that part of the reason is that I am a commuter student, so I am not in a dorm with other students and feel the pressure to pull one. I’m sure that will change when I transfer, though.
I always just made time to write my papers and study for my tests in the days prior to the deadline because I am a nervous wreck if I try to finish an assignment or study for a major test at the last minute.
I have never pulled all-nighters, though I would like to do it just once to see how it feels like.
Sometimes, my friends would ask me if I wanted to ‘study’ with them around midnight at a public study lounge in our dorm, but we would rarely actually study. Most of the time, we’d just sit there and talk or order pizza (with me successful coercing my friends into paying for me).
Ah, fun times.
Pulling an all-nighter to study is almost always a bad idea. You need sleep to consolidate information. You’d probably be better off spending those last two hours sleeping instead of studying.
I had a few nights with little sleep, but I never pulled an all-nighter in high school or in college. I feel like I procrastinate, but then I look around and realize I’m still more on top of things than most of the people around me. So that’s something.
They are a necessary evil on a few occasions, mostly during a busy finals schedule.
In middle school, I used to stay up all night for fun. My record was 72 hours. Now that I’m in college, I usually fall asleep before 3:00 in the morning. I didn’t pull any all-nighters last year.
For me, “staying up all night to do homework” isn’t very effective because I can’t think rationally when I’m tired. It’s like I start dreaming when I’m still awake, and simple tasks become intellectually demanding.
Yup. If I find myself having a hard time getting an assignment done and it’s due the next day, I’ll put it down, sleep for 4 hours, and then get up early to finish it. Way more effective in my experience, and way less stressful.
I prefer sleeping and waking up early (test at 9, I’ll wake up at 4am and study for 3-4 hours) - I used to pull all nighters in high school for APUSH and I’d feel so delirious the next day that I vowed to perfect my sleeping schedule and time management so I’d never have to do it again. I also schedule a lot of early morning classes so my afternoons are wide open so I can work on essays/study for exams then.
I will stay awake until needed. I don’t think I ever pulled an all-nighter. I’m usually a slightly better planner than that.
I will not stay up to study. Sleep is more important.
How do I feel about them? They’re terrible for you. I only ever pulled one in high school that I can remember (our AP Bio teacher assigned four chapters of Campbell Reece over Thanksgiving). I pulled one true all-nighter per semester of college like clockwork, usually because multiple class projects had coinciding due dates. I routinely took six or seven courses per semester in STEM subjects, so this is not something that most students should expect.
Looks like I’m the only one for them…that might say something about my time management skills 
I only really need all-nighters when I am writing a paper that is due tomorrow. I am slow at writing papers and I also procrastinate. For other things, it’s just too tiring for me. I would be super sleepy at around 3 AM and then find that I fell asleep for a little and wake up a little panicked.
I did one last year for a group project, never had to do one for studying or a paper. The busier I get the more I realize that wasting an extra hour or two on a Sunday morning will cost me that much sleep Thursday night, so my time management has gotten better when it needs to be.
My body works wonders during an all nighter. For some reason, I get a ton of energy and become super productive (yeah, time is limited). You get this feeling that you want to run a couple of miles / exercise.
If you don’t stay active and moving (E.G. sitting through a lecture), crash mode kicks in though. 15-20 minutes with eyes closed on the Union floor or a campus couch (I commute) does the job to extend the awake life for a few more hours and you couldn’t tell I just pulled an all nighter.
Truth. I love the 15 minute naps during an all-nighter.
I hate anything longer than 45 though. I’m afraid I’ll sleep right through the deadline 
I never did it.
I can see why people do it for things like papers. But for studying, it never works for me. After studying for a while, I reach a point where I can just no longer absorb information well. At that point, a good night’s sleep will benefit me more than to keep cramming.
I’ve known lots of people, same major same classes who studied crazily. I never did. I always managed to get stuff done at a reasonable time somehow and go to bed by midnight.
When you have clients who change everything about a project the week it’s due, you even have to pull all-nighters when you’re 50! I’ve probably had five of them the last year.
I pulled some of them in freshman year, but hated doing it. Like others have mentioned, there’s a point in time where my brain shuts down and no amount of additional studying or productivity is going to be helpful to me. Even if I take a power nap in preparation for one or pump my self full of caffeine, I still get “cloudy” around the 3:30 AM mark.
Granted, I’ve studied late into the night before, but I always make sure I get at least four hours of sleep if possible.
As for my feelings about them in general, if they are in fact helpful for someone, and the only other option is to fail an assignment/class, I’m all for a person at least trying it, but I think most of us could agree that they shouldn’t be necessary and pulling them frequently is a bad habit to get into.
Rising junior and have never done it. I have difficulty believing that anyone could be so busy that they can’t finish their essays over the weekend or study effectively during the week. shrug
@SafeFromScience - Agreed. Even if one gets hit with a heavy workload, with proper time management they should be able to get everything done on time. Pulling All-nighters is usually a result of poor time management.