Many an overworked student or worker has pulled an ‘all-nighter’ to get to that final deadline. It’s a hazard of modern working. When you’re trying to balance responsibilities with a social life, down time, household maintenance, ect. Sometimes it feels like the only way to make up lost time forgoing sleep.
Most of us know its not a good idea to pull all-nighters, but often do. We’ve put together a few reasons why staying awake will be worse for you in the long run. Then a few ways to avoid them.
What is an All-Nighter?
An all-nighter is typically when you decide to not sleep to use the extra time to do something other than sleeping. Often this will be some kind of deadline, or revising for a test for example. However, it could also include staying up all night to do something for fun like reading, playing video games, or even going out with friends.
The primary quality of an all-nighter that makes it different to insomnia or traditional sleep deprivation is choosing to stay awake, rather than sleep alluding you.
Take a Break
While all-nighters feel tempting to do, it is in our best interests to go to sleep at a reasonable hour instead.
Those extra hours in the middle of the night sometimes feel like a cheat code for fitting in what you couldn’t do during the day. However, an all-nighter is actually more like a virus, to continue the technology metaphor. In fact is has many negative consequences. Some of which can have affects long term.
Aim to prioritise sleep. There have been many studies showing how sleep is even more beneficial than you think, from improving memory to recovery time for injuries.
Sleep deprivation of any kind is no joke and should be avoided if you can.
Tips To Avoid All-Nighters
Try and organize your time during the day if you can. Fit in time for yourself and your work. If you’re doing your work at 3 in the morning, your work will probably suffer, both on that project, and then whatever you’re doing the next day.
Find ways to disconnect and make the focus of your evening sleep instead of your to-do list. Take a bath, switch out that coffee for tea as part of a relaxing bedtime routine, or even have a go at getting technology involved in a healthier way with sleep apps.
