The Lure of the All-Nighter

By CC Staff

I had a poignant moment during my very last all-nighter of undergrad:

I was finishing my very last assignments ever of my Salem College career and somewhere around 5:30 am I jumped up, ran from our camp in the basement of a different dorm, and bolted to my room to brush my teeth.

I could no longer ignore the fact that I had not brushed my teeth and they felt as fuzzy as the fleece I was wearing.

It was sick. I was sick. I had a problem. I could no longer function—or write—during the day. But I had made it to the end.

And then, I slept. For about two days straight.

To say that I mastered the all-nighter during my four years would be an understatement. I was pretty much the ninja master of staying awake for hours on end, typing furiously at my keyboard and screwing around long enough during the normal hours (until at least 3 am) to HAVE to make it until class the next day.

Damn you, facebook.

My best friend and I would down coffee, pop adderall (hey, at least mine was prescribed) and sleep in shifts. The second semester of my senior year was so grueling I was pulling at least one a week just to keep up. Writing and editing the first four chapters of a novel is no easy feat.

I basically triple majored. It was a dumb idea.

Not as dumb, apparently, as staying up all night. Because (SURPRISE!) it’s bad for you AND your GPA. Thanks for the breaking news, USA Today!

Any college student who has pulled an all-nighter knows that there are many, many unproductive hours spent during the night perusing God knows what or chatting online. You can find anything to do when you don’t want to do work. But sometimes, because of a party you HAD to go to or when you’re totally swamped, the all-nighter becomes your only option.

A recent study done at St. Lawrence University showed that students who pulled all-nighters had slightly lower GPA’s in school. Of course, I highly doubt they factored a student’s workload, extra curricular activities or overall SMARTS into the study.

We all know all-nighters are not good for your body; your health, your weight, and your performance in school are all affected by getting a good night of shut-eye.

It doesn’t take a study to understand that. Just four years of college.