The dreaded All nighter.

Micko23

So we say we wont let it happen but when it comes down to it many are forced to stay up all night for that bloody handup or tough exam. I just want to hear your stories about how people manage to stay up all nite or to what lengths you go to. I know my brother stayed up for 35 hour to complete a project and he was telling me how in his architecture course, it was common back in the early ninetees to take speed to be able to complete projects!

Tom Dunne

Nope, I could never do it.

In all the years, for all the exams and projects, I always got to a stage where I just said f**k it, if I fail, I fail, I'm off to bed.

<begin old man>

Of course, back in my day, we didn't have Red Bull.

</end old man>

Malice

I never did it myself either. I would always reach a point where I just wouildn't care any more. When I went to college it was fairly common for people to work part-time as well as study and I know that a few people in my course were sleep deprived at times. That used to just manifest itself by them missing 9am lectures

Zzippy

1996. Deadline for handing in final year thesis Friday morning 10am. Our final year class had the run of the department, our own study room, and access to a few printers and PCs (remember its 1996!) around the dept. I think 15 of a class of 18 were there all night tapping away, running to printers, hunting for more paper, making endless cups of coffee, but it was also great craic. Think nearly everyone handed in on time except for one guy whose whole project was nearly lost when a PC crashed. All went for a big slap up breakfast then but we were all too tired to talk... great memories

Snapper1

I never did it myself but have a few mates who are regulars at it.

One lad did it every time there was an exam, regardless of how many days he had to prepare. And it's not as if he hadn't studied for the test, he was just of the belief that every minute he slept was a minute he wasn't working. Kinda warped logic. His routine for a 930am exam was to pump coffee into himself through the night before, head up to college at 6am to study in the toilet cubicle (i kid you not) and then head into the lecture rooms that open at 8ish. Got his 2.1 in final year tho! You should have seen his eyes at the end of the week!

Another lad fancied the 'put sugar on plain bread and eat that through the night' approach which also seemed to work well for him!

mad men

Tom Dunne

Snapper1 wrote:

Another lad fancied the 'put sugar on plain bread and eat that through the night' approach which also seemed to work well for him!

WTF? Was that the precursor to Red Bull? Sugar and Carbs and all that?

Exams I never could do it - my fear would be to:

a) fall asleep in the middle of an exam
b) get a blank in the middle of an exam
c) just not being able to concentrate as much as I could.

In final year especially, the exams took a lot out of me so I needed the sleep before hand. I stopped studying each night at around 10pm - 12am, but then again all my exams were afternoon ones so it was kinda handy.

As for projects, in particular final year projects, I didn't mind staying up as much for these... you don't need to perform as much the next day on these, just run over and get it printed/bound I was up in college 'til 6am printing it all off (due latest 5pm next day), and then toddled over at 1:30pm the next day to get it bound. The computer rooms were full of people the night before!

Dunners

Slow and careful planning will always see you succeed!

Slowly plan from first year a clever regieme to train yourself to live extended periods without sleep. Beware too much planning though as you'll become a crazed insomniac like me!

Failing that a can of red bull would set me off for hours. I remember one project that took two days straight to complete, I survived purely on JD & Cokes, nachos & dip and 20 minute power naps - the gibbering wreck I was after it was a sight to behold. For exams I always put my faith in Green BPM for a relaxing kick in the proverbials. Green is my favourite flavour of all things.

~Rebel~

I was a lazy fck for my degree. for the second and third years i ended up not doing a tap for the weeks and months leading up to the exams, and subsequently failed a fair few first time, resigning myself to the repeats. At the repeats it was a case of the usual suspects from my class, we were all in the same boat, all repeating about half the exams. With no backup of "sure i have another go later in the year" behind me i pulled out the big guns last minute study-wise. Still did shag all for the summer, but would stay up for about 48 hours before exams covering the whole course in a sitting. Would take 1 or 2 hour power naps whenever needed, head would be a complete mess, no idea what time it was at all over the few days. Generally got about 6 hours over the 2 nights before each exam. I found it easy to just not sleep though when the pressure was on,as a well rested clear mind was of no use if there was no knowledge in it! All worked out ok in the end and for my final year i copped on a bit. Every single time i did it i swore to myself i wouldnt do it again! I had more exams for a masters this year and was exactly the same, but i managed to put those sleepless nights in the first time rather then having to repeat! Still far from ideal but i think im unchangable..

Call Me Jimmy

Going into third year and I would say 7/10 of my exams I have pulled an all nighter for. Like if I have an exam at 9am the next day, I'll do nothing until around 10pm, I'll get 2 hours kip and then study non-stop until exam starts.

I did a write up for a project where I was already two days late and needed to pull an all nighter just to get in before the third penalty and I worked all through the night and managed to get it in at 3 minutes before the 10am deadline.

It's like having too much to drink - every time you do it yer like "never again" but then when the next time comes ye just do it anyway.

Micko23

Dunners wrote:

Slow and careful planning will always see you succeed!

Slowly plan from first year a clever regieme to train yourself to live extended periods without sleep. Beware too much planning though as you'll become a crazed insomniac like me!

Failing that a can of red bull would set me off for hours. I remember one project that took two days straight to complete, I survived purely on JD & Cokes, nachos & dip and 20 minute power naps - the gibbering wreck I was after it was a sight to behold. For exams I always put my faith in Green BPM for a relaxing kick in the proverbials. Green is my favourite flavour of all things.

Surely the inability to carefully plan is why we end up in this situation in the first place! I always say I will study over time but I have an unbelievable 'can do it later' attitude.

Actually do you ever notice that there is more stuff happening around you when have to study and you become really easily distracted. All of a sudden there are endless good tv programmes on and I think I start hearing the doorbell...better go check and make sure and while im at it check the score of the match..an hour later you're in front of the T.V.

~Rebel~

I've had a plan for ages for serious last day studying i've never gotten to try, but in theory makes loads of sense.

If your exams are all on at 9am, flip your day around for the days leading up to exams. Sleep during the day and then study during the night so for the exam you'll be well rested, but still get 8 or so straight hours of cramming before you go in! Anybody wanna test my theory?

~Rebel~

~Rebel~ wrote:

I've had a plan for ages for serious last day studying i've never gotten to try, but in theory makes loads of sense.

If your exams are all on at 9am, flip your day around for the days leading up to exams. Sleep during the day and then study during the night so for the exam you'll be well rested, but still get 8 or so straight hours of cramming before you go in! Anybody wanna test my theory?

My mate did that all during college. He used to come into college at 3am to study and sleep during the day. Actually, he's doing a PhD now and I still think he does the same

On the coffee/sugar buzz keeping you awake, I never did it purely because when I come off a caffeine/sugar high, I crash very very quickly. Plus at times your mind is just too tired to take anything more so forcing yourself to stay awake isn't helping.

GSW

Me and a mate of mine were determined to stay up all night studying for an exam in anatomy as part of our nursing course summer exam in 1st year. It was coming up to 2am on the sunday night and the exam was the next day at 10.30am. We recieved a phone call from a girl outta our class looking for us to come out clubbing and saying no demoralised us so much that we cracked and decided to go out at 3am. We stayed out til' 5am and walked back to the flat semi-sober. My mate took one look at the pile of papers and old exam's sheets on the table and said "F*ck that, I'm off to bed". So I was all alone and getting heavy eyelids stairing at a BLOCK of text that made no sense.

I opened all the windows and turned on all the light and sat down...no still couldn't wake up. Throughout the night/morning, I had three quick cold showers in an attempt to wake up but nothing!!! It was 7am, 3 1/2 hours til' the exam. I made a POT of coffee, put 10 spoons of the stuff in and drank about 4 cups with three spoons of sugar in each cup with no milk. 10 minutes later....I was asleep on the couch.....I guess I wasn't destined to stay awake and the booze didn't help.

I woke up at 10.15am, no joke! I was already dressed so I ran into my mate who I thought was still asleep but was actually already gone! (wat a pr*ck!) I downed the end of an old cold cup of coffee, grabbed a pen and boomed it down the road. I got into the exam hall at 10.50am, all puffy eyed with a big red head with sweat marks all over my shirt, I was a MESS! I sat down beside my mate who looked reasonabily well (probably all the god damn "SLEEP" he got!). I got a D-, which was a fail by about 5 marks...GUTTED!!! I should have slept, that way I could have failed with dignity like my friend beside me.

stolenwine

I have been a glassy eyed, groggy, coffee fuzzed, mystery tesco energy drinking all nighter connoisseur for the past 4 years of my educational career. Alas sleep is important so I always make sure that I get a respectable 6 hours of sleep before an exam.

I did know one girl who went out clubbing the night before a nine o'clock exam and got absolutely paralytic. She managed to pass due to the fact that she attended the type of 3rd level college where they wear pants on their heads and get cheered if they can lick a postage stamp and affix it to a letter.

If you really want to increase your waking hours to improve exam preformance check out uberman's sleep theory-

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/4/15/103358/720 Just don't look at the cons!

AARRRGH

I'm doing an MSc at night.

My secret is to study a little bit everyday, and do the assignments as soon as I get them... cuts out the need for all nighters!

One Cold Hand

Yeah I did a serious amount of all nighters during my course (Architecture).
I found that getting through the night wasn't the hard thing, it was getting through the next day was the problem. I found what helped was if I pretended that I'd gotten a nights sleep, so at about 8am I'd get up from my desk, stretch, have a shower, some breakfast, and then I'd be ready for the day ahead!!

The worst one was before a handup in 4th year. I'd been sick so was behind everyone else. Ended up doing 2 all nighters in a row. Worked it out at something like 58hours straight. Not enjoyable at all!

experiMental

I've done little bits of assignments every day, but my social life suffered greatly as a result. I had no time even for a bit of chat on the MSN during a couple of weeks.

I can't really understand how can architecture students manage to produce work during a couple of all-nighters, and at the end get decent results. How do they do it? It's a well known fact that the more you are tired while you're working, the more likely you are to f!_!ck up on your task. Either they have almost superhuman abilities or the lecturers are going easy on them.

:|

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I've had a plan for ages for serious last day studying i've never gotten to try, but in theory makes loads of sense.

If your exams are all on at 9am, flip your day around for the days leading up to exams. Sleep during the day and then study during the night so for the exam you'll be well rested, but still get 8 or so straight hours of cramming before you go in! Anybody wanna test my theory?

I'm always tempted to do this for exams! The reason is that for big end of semester exams i normally have 2 or 3 weeks off to study beforehand. But during this time I slip into a cycle of waking at around 1 pm, starting study around 2/3 then finishing at 11/12, then going to bed late at night. It generally gets worse and worse the longer the break I have so by the time the exam comes my cycle is f***ed and the night before I go to bed early but can't sleep as i only got upa few hours beforehand and then am tired for the exam. Always afaraid I'll miss it!

Slightly off topic but I hate the way people go out celebrating the night exams finish, normally by this stage I am ready to sleep for a week!

dudara

Never did the all-nighter. I put my time in on a regular basis and got the work done. It meant that I could go to the pub the night before exams for a relaxing drink.

Dudess

Did it regularly for assignments. Lots and lotsa coffee and ciggies. Did it for exams too but never the night before - well, most of the time. I suppose it depends on what kind of person you are - I'm definitely a nightowl and sleep deprivation will affect me eventually but I can manage to get through a day - maybe two days - without any sleep the night before. I remember handing an essay in on a Thursday - that meant no sleep Wednesday night, then my final year project had to be handed in Friday - that meant yet another sleepless night. Handed the project in at 12, got a couple of hours' kip but had to be at work at 5. Finished work around 11, headed to the pub til around 1, went to bed, slept til after 4 the next day! And that was only cos my flatmate woke me - god knows how much longer I would have slept. Think my flatmate was worried about me...

Ah, happy days...

AlmightyCushion

wrote: »

Slightly off topic but I hate the way people go out celebrating the night exams finish, normally by this stage I am ready to sleep for a week!

This happened to me at the end of my final exams in April. We went to the pub for a few afterwards. I was going home to get food and then I was going to go up to one of my friends house to go drinking. I got home and fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 4 in the morning. I'm never pulling another all nighter again.

LiveThroughThis

I'm pulling an all nighter right now


Only a few more hours (I'm counting on one hand) to go 'til my deadline and I'm still procrastinating as much as possible.

I am my own worst enemy.

regob

had to do one on tuesday past, they are bad

Fast_Mover

Im a divil for doing all nighters.
Can't study unless im under pressure.
Never mattered if I had a month or a week off to study..would only start the night before each exam.
As LiveThroughThis said 'I am my own worst enemy'

The guy

Fast_Mover wrote: »

Im a divil for doing all nighters.
Can't study unless im under pressure.
Never mattered if I had a month or a week off to study..would only start the night before each exam.
As LiveThroughThis said 'I am my own worst enemy'

Did that for most of my exams, I would stay up till about 2 studying on a caffeine induced high, wake up at 7 dead tired but adrenaline kept me going during the exams except for the last day when I would die of exhaustion.:(

:Keith:

All Nighters were good craic. Always found apples were good to keep you awake whatever is in them.

AARRRGH

dublindude wrote: »

I'm doing an MSc at night.

My secret is to study a little bit everyday, and do the assignments as soon as I get them... cuts out the need for all nighters!

****! I should have listened to myself... Gonna be two all nighters to get this research paper done. Bollox!

King John V

It was a desperate habit of mine too, just leaving all the study till the night before. Never did an all nighter though. Would go strong till about 2am take 4 hours off. Restart at 6am, go for a good hour then get a quite nap before heading off to the exams.

experiMental

Looks like I need to pull in an all-nighter too Why oh why does DIT leave all the project work 'till the end of the semester!?

AdMMM

I'm sitting with twelve cans of Tesco kick and an empty flask of the strongest coffee imaginable beside me as I desperately try and squeeze a project that I've had 6 weeks to do into a 24 hour flurry! Only a 3 page personal reflection left to do! I just hope that I don't fall asleep and miss the deadline in the morning!

I promised myself that I wouldn't let college get like this!