Stages of an All Nighter

Most, if not all of us, have been there. You have a huge paper to write, or a big test the next day. And what do you decide to do? Leave it for the last night possible and pull an all nighter. And as anyone who has done an all nighter knows, there are a few stages that you go through before you get to the morning. And for those lucky students who haven’t had the pleasure yet, here’s how you can basically expect your night to go.

1. Optimistic.

You’ve got your books open and you’re ready to concentrate. A Red Bull in one and hand and coffee in the other. You’re feeling good about the night ahead and you know you’ll get your studying done and be super prepared for your test tomorrow. Here we go!

2. Confident.

It’s 12 or so and you are still feeling good. You’ve written some good notes and read through some chapters and you still feel focused and ready. Or you’ve written some pages and you’re confident that you’ll finish in time to maybe even take a power nap before class starts. But wait, the night has only just begun.

3. Can’t stop now!

You’re now at that stage where you are starting to droop. You’re reading through the same line over and over and not understanding or absorbing a single word. 5 pages is starting to take a half an hour to read, or more. You’ve no one left to talk to or complain with about your work. It’s just you and your computer screen or textbook. But you have to press through it to finish.

4. Oh no, that’s it.

This is the crucial stage where you do something wrong. Worst case scenario you accidentally delete whole pages of your essay or you realize you’ve been studying the wrong chapters and have to start your notes from scratch. What’s more likely is that you find a distraction. Everyone does it, rewards their self for getting some work done, and it is important to take study breaks. But now that you’re off track, it’s impossible to get back on.

5. Morning’s almost here and hopelessness sets in.

You look at your clock and you realize you’ve spent 2 hours looking at Tumblr or watching Netflix. Scramble time! You have no hope of actually finishing studying everything you need, or you know that the ending of your paper is going to be the phrase “And that’s it!” because you ran out of time. No more chance of a nap or even a shower before class. The only thing you can do it walk to your doom.

 

As everyone is different, everyone will have different experiences with all nighters. But generally, they tend to follow this pattern, leaving you dejected, tired, and unfocused. After class you end up sleeping from 8pm to 10am the next day. Have you ever pulled an all nighter (successful or not?)? How’d it go?

 

Inspiration from here and here.

Pictures from here, here, here, here, and here.