All nighters

[bisulfite]

---

Members don't see this ad.

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

 

[Rafa]

Never. They aren't worth the trouble.

 

[Schaden Freud]

Having to pull all-nighters any more than once in a rare while means you procrastinate too much or are bad at planning your work.

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

 

[PZMO]

how much it affects performance depends on the person. During my earlier undergrad years (namely, during soph. organic) i pulled all-nighters frequently and performed better in organic than any other class ive taken. i dont think i could do it now though. whether thats because my body got sick of it or b.c im getting very lazy at this point... dunno.

 

[HumbleMD]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

👍 They're so overrated. I 've only done one in my entire undergrad career because I absolutely had to. Many people like to claim them as a badge of hard-work; I would challenge anyone who consistently pulls all-nighters that they have poor time-management and planning. Now in residency, that's a whole 'nother ball-game...

 

[goodoldalky]

I only pulled one (for studying purposes - ha) in undergrad. There was a huge football game on Thursday night before a big Friday exam (how about those priorities..), and I knew Thursday wasn't going to be my day to study.. So I pulled an all-nighter Wednesday, didn't crack a book Thursday, and took the test Friday. It worked out really well, but I probably wouldn't do it under any normal circumstance.

 

[Falco2525]

It is actually fun when studying with friends...people start getting goofy when they are over tired

 

[alwaysaangel]

In general they won't affect your performance - although as others have said - if you're doing all-nighters often you aren't studying well and probably won't remember much of the class you're taking. That will make MCATs and medical school that much harder.

But if you have to do all-nighters do it the night before the test. A lot of people claim to do it two nights before (e.g. if your test is on Wed do an all nighter Mon night and get a goodnight sleep on Tuesday). But this is wrong. Lack of sleep takes about 48 hrs to affect you so that is the exactly WRONG thing to do.

Goodluck.

 

[bisulfite]

Well, the library is open till 5 AM, so I'm considering coming back to my room at 5 and sleeping till 8 AM, when my first class starts. But I plan to goto the convenience store and get some coffee/energy drinks now.

I usually manage my time very well, but this is an exception and an all nighter is pretty much necessary since I have 3 exams coming up.

 

[solitude]

Having to pull all-nighters any more than once in a rare while means you procrastinate too much or are bad at planning your work.

Agreed. I have pulled all-nighters of my own volition simply because there was something fun to do, but never because I had procrastinated on my work to the point where it was the only way to finish it all.

 

[Chuckwalla]

I only did them when I was an idiot in general chem. Didn't start studying till midnight when the test was at 8AM. Miserable times, learned from them though.

 

[Rafa]

Just ignore him. It's the fourth profile he's created tonight, and the fourth I've put on 'ignore'.

 

[DrBowtie]

I'm not a big fan of the all nighter. It works for some of my friends but I always guarentee myself 3 hours of sleep. Usually from 2-5 or 3-6 I sleep so I am not a total zombie the next day.

They also work better if the class is early in the morning. Pulling an all nighter then having to stay up and alert until 2 PM is tough.

 

[HelenaP]

First semester freshman year, I had this anthropology teacher that would give us take home essay tests that required about 15 pages of typing. We had to turn them in for class the next day (this was a 7:30am class). So I would get the prompt, go to other classes all day, get home, and start working. I distinctly remember the feeling of "oh crap, I hear birds chirping, I must be running out of time." The moral of this story is that 7:30 classes bring nothing but pain.

 

[eddie13231]

Always allow yourself a few hours of sleep just to let your mind rest. Then skip all other classes before the exam and study again until it begins. This is what I did when I was a stupid freshman and it worked.

 

[stealthopts17]

Never. They aren't worth the trouble.

👍

 

[inside_edition]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

just a wild guess, is this for chordate anatomy?

 

[novawildcat]

When I was an undergrad, I probably pulled at least 1-2 all nighters per week. Jr. year I had 7 final exams in 3 straight days, and by the time it was over I hadn't slept for over 68 hours. After a certain point you just don't get tired anymore and it starts to feel like you are drunk. Honestly, pulling all nighters actually worked for me, my grades never suffered....however, who knows what kind of toll I was putting on my health.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Don't do it. It's like...worse than a hangover hah!

 

[baylormed]

I have pulled several throughout my undergrad years (I'm currently a senior).

The first one I pulled was because of a horrible chemistry class I was taking at the time. Said class had a usual average of around ~40, the exams were ridiculously hard, and the homework was impossible. I was pulling off a B and I pulled the all nighter before the final, and I managed to raise my grade to a B+.

The next one was for a Genetics final, because I was taking I think 6 sciences at the time that semester (not including my elective Religion class, which was actually pretty hard). I had had finals back to back all week. For the last 2 or 3 I was pretty much sleeping ~2-3 hrs a day and studying the rest. I don't remember very well for obvious reasons.
If you're wondering, I pulled A's in all my classes. Then I slept for 20 hours straight. 😴

And I just pulled one last night for my physiology test today, because I had interviews all last two weeks and it got put off. 🙄 I did just fine.

I must be a good crammer, because I usually perform well when I do this.
However, I try not to do it unless I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. It's not worth the feeling the next day 🙁 .

 

[defrunner]

Just look at you all sitting on your high horses....

How's the view up there?

 

[Dr.Acula]

I have pulled several throughout my undergrad years (I'm currently a senior).

The first one I pulled was because of a horrible chemistry class I was taking at the time. Said class had a usual average of around ~40, the exams were ridiculously hard, and the homework was impossible. I was pulling off a B and I pulled the all nighter before the final, and I managed to raise my grade to a B+.

The next one was for a Genetics final, because I was taking I think 6 sciences at the time that semester (not including my elective Religion class, which was actually pretty hard). I had had finals back to back all week. For the last 2 or 3 I was pretty much sleeping ~2-3 hrs a day and studying the rest. I don't remember very well for obvious reasons.
If you're wondering, I pulled A's in all my classes. Then I slept for 20 hours straight. 😴

And I just pulled one last night for my physiology test today, because I had interviews all last two weeks and it got put off. 🙄 I did just fine.

I must be a good crammer, because I usually perform well when I do this.
However, I try not to do it unless I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. It's not worth the feeling the next day 🙁 .

Nobody asked or cares...🙄

 

[Pancho Villa]

i'm a horrible procrastinator, so i end up pulling all-nighters quite religiously. it's now become such a habit that i pretty much pull all-nighters for every exam. it's a horrible habit, i know, but it's worked so far.

if it ain't broke, don't fix it. however, i know for a fact that i'm gonna have to change my ways for medschool. it just doesn't help that have a horrible case of senioritis.

 

[inside_edition]

i'm a horrible procrastinator, so i end up pulling all-nighters quite religiously. it's now become such a habit that i pretty much pull all-nighters for every exam. it's a horrible habit, i know, but it's worked so far.

if it ain't broke, don't fix it. however, i know for a fact that i'm gonna have to change my ways for medschool. it just doesn't help that have a horrible case of senioritis.

hahah, medschools should allow requests for senioritis just like they have requests for defered admission.

 

[bisulfite]

just a wild guess, is this for chordate anatomy?

I have a very big chinese test on thursday and I have to memorize 60 chinese characters, the pinyin, and their english meanings. Also, I have to know most of the grammar and in addition to that another 40 characters and their english meanings.

 

[CTSballer11]

I have never had to pull one and I do not plan on pulling one any time soon. I guess it depends on the class and how busy you are at a given time. I can see why you may have to occasionally pull one. I recommend that you get some sleep before the test.

 

[zimmie256]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

I personally found it easier to pull 2-3 semi-nighters in a row rather than 1 all-nighter. Basically just staying up very late to study, but also making sure I got a few hours of shut eye in. As Baylormed mentioned, even with this strategy, expect some crash time to get caught up on sleep after the fact.

 

[TimeResonance]

All nighters, for me, have not been worth it (unless i knew absolutly nothing about the subject). Im usually so tired that i cant think and make stupid mistakes i probably wouldnt have made with the proper amount of sleep. Good luck with the catching some sleep from 5-8. When i have tried that I have found that even 2 alarms dont work and the only fail safe wake up call is a roommate hitting you with a variety of blunt objects.

 

[TexasFool]

I used to work as a security guard from 10pm to 6 am and I'd study to stay awake or else I'd be nodding off.

 

[Orthonut]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

You might get away with it.

Or you might fall asleep during the exam, thereby using up your exam time *sleeping*

 

[zimmie256]

You might get away with it.

Or you might fall asleep during the exam, thereby using up your exam time *sleeping*

Don't underestimate this threat... I slept through part of an AP exam in high school cuz I'd been out partying the night before... Luckily someone kicked my chair to wake me up before I completely blew it... Haha, oh well, lesson learned.

 

[inside_edition]

I personally found it easier to pull 2-3 semi-nighters in a row rather than 1 all-nighter. Basically just staying up very late to study, but also making sure I got a few hours of shut eye in. As Baylormed mentioned, even with this strategy, expect some crash time to get caught up on sleep after the fact.

I did this for my exam today. I was up studying till 3 in the morning for the past couple of days. I got a 90% and I hope this test is curved because a lot of people were really messing up.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

Never again. I did it once as a freshman.... Now I realize that sleep is much more important than trying to cram it all in without sleeping. If I HAVE to cram, I'll go to bed about twelve and get up about two hours before the class/exam to resume looking over everything.

It's just not worth it. I was so physically sick that day after... never again.

 

[Rafa]

I've noticed also that I just can't study something school-related for more than half an hour at a time. I just don't care. I mean, I'd rather get the lower grade if it came between putting in 10 hours the night before or 3.

 

[dcolon_et06]

The only time I can pull an all nighter is if I'm typing up a paper. In terms of logical thinking work like doing math or chem, I've found that I waist more time being sleepy then actually getting work done. I mean like, I usually need at least 3 hours of sleep to survive the night If I try to work until 4am to wake up at 7 for class, I get waaay to tired and because of it, I do less work. If I arrange the three hours starting from about 12-3 and staying up until class starts, It feels like I have a LOT more energy to work and think more clearly, because its like I almost went to bed on time and I feel the same lazy/sleepy feeling as if I woke up after my normal 7 hours of sleep.

 

[lilnoelle]

I don't think I'm capable of pulling an all nighter. I get tired and I can't think well enough to use my time.... so I think "well, this is a waste of time" and I go to bed. Sometimes I do this in the middle of a normal day study session. I get tired and start falling asleep at my computer, so I stop studying, either go take a nap or find something else to do and then come back an hour or so later. The only time I can even stay up late and study is if I'm doing something more "hands on" than studying, like writing a paper. Oh, and I'm a med student... haven't found an all-nighter necessary yet in undergrad or med school, hope I don't have to.

 

[Law2Doc]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

In my own personal experience, the few extra points you get from material you learn in those last few hours of an all-nighter are worth about the same as the few extra points you would have gotten if you were more awake and alert by having slept a few hours. Thus it is probably a wash and you may as well do the sleep.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Pulling an all nighter to study for a test is pretty much never worth it IMHO. That being said, as an engineer, I have pulled MANY, MANY all nighters, but not for tests. The project-based nature of engineering classes/work pretty much guarantees that you will pull lots of all nighters to get stuff working (even if it is in Rube-Goldberg fashion) before the project deadline.

 

[pandora123]

Used to do it all the time in undergrad and it did not affect my grades. - it was not because of laziness / bad planing; I just never forget stuff I study between 1 - 4 am.

 

[kidthor]

I've done a few in undergrad mostly to finish assignments, but NEVER to study for a test (since I always feel dead for at least a day afterward). I've also pulled an all nighter in law school in the course of a 24-hour take home exam.

 

[RayhanS1282]

I used to do it a lot early in undergrad and trust me....it shows. However, lately I have been forced to do it with an alarming frequency and I am really worried about it. It's not producing good results.

My say is don't do it, if you can help it.

 

[somemaybedoc]

Allnighters for projects/papers all the time. Wrap up around 6 am, hit the gym, go to class. Works like a charm. Don't think it would be so great for tests though since I'm a bit less sharp the next day.

 

[Orthonut]

Don't underestimate this threat... I slept through part of an AP exam in high school cuz I'd been out partying the night before... Luckily someone kicked my chair to wake me up before I completely blew it... Haha, oh well, lesson learned.

happened once in a seapower class I was taking at military school. The LtCdr prof wrote on the chalkboard "all midshipmen not currently sleeping silently get up from your chairs, leave all belongings behind and follow me"

We left the lecture hall, all 130 of us, went down and played some good old fashioned Navy combat soccer until the exam was supposed to be over. Then we went back to the lecture hall, turned in what we had when we left, and the LtCdr gave everyone A grades...except the poor SOB that fell asleep-he'd woken up about 10 mins before the end of the exam and ran outside trying to find us, thinking we'd gone on some suprise FTX or something. I think he got an F+

 

[Looque]

Having to pull all-nighters any more than once in a rare while means you procrastinate too much or are bad at planning your work.

The vast majority of my undergrad studying has been in the form of all-nighters, as I've studied for probably 99% of my exams exclusively in this way. (I'm sure there's been an exam out there that I've studied for in advance, excluding the MCAT, I just can't recall it off the top of my head.) While it is procrastination, it's planned procrastination, and given how consistently I've planned for such methods and stuck with them, I would say my planning is quite good.

Papers also fall under this all-nighter umbrella, though admittedly collecting research sometimes must be done in advance, depending on how research-intensive the paper is. As for tonight, it's an all-nighter for a neurophysiology exam.

 

[el.harpo]

How often do you guys (med school or undergrad) pull all nighters? I might have to do one tonight I'm wondering how badly it will affect my performance...

I'm pulling one right now. It's not too bad...I just hate that disgusting taste in my mouth the next day. Usually you can do without them if you study a few days ahead of time instead of procrastinating until the night before. I personally avoid them but I've been slacking lately.

 

[Looque]

I'm pulling one right now. It's not too bad...I just hate that disgusting taste in my mouth the next day. Usually you can do without them if you study a few days ahead of time instead of procrastinating until the night before. I personally avoid them but I've been slacking lately.

Just because you're pulling an all-nighter doesn't mean you can't brush your teeth.

 

[Rafa]

Just because you're pulling an all-nighter doesn't mean you can't brush your teeth.

Hahaha...

 

[defboy]

I am easily distracted and I have 2 daughters and my wife likes her husbands(I'm lucky!) Anyhow I work 40 hrs a week and go FT school-My best time to study is midnight when I get off work and I'll go till 3-4 each morning and then I'm back to school at 7:30-the worst hours for classes but the only one open. I make up the sleep on Saturday afternoons-after all the day football and before the night game! Whoo-Pig Soooie.

 

[el.harpo]

Just because you're pulling an all-nighter doesn't mean you can't brush your teeth.

Haha, I brush my teeth often and I keep a pack of gum on me at all times. The taste is still there.

 

[LJoo83]

a few of you mentioned time management. how?
i'm extremely organized, detailed, meticulous, and try to study aorund 4-5 hours a day for my classes.
yet when test time rolls around, i find myself very lost/short on time. and this is not good, considering the intense semester i am taking.
i've taken a few shortcuts (e.g. taking neat notes in class so i won't have to rewrite them later and waste more time, or not worrying about reading every word in the book) but i'm still always short on time.
i really don't waste time watching tv either. i have it on for background noise when i'm doing something non school related.
help!