by Maria C Collins

Created on: April 01, 2009

Sometimes life requires one to stay up all night, whether it is to finish that essay which must be handed in at nine in the morning, or something for work or revising for examinations.

If you have time, prepare for the all night stint and have a nap in the afternoon. Eat a moderately sized dinner but do not overeat, over-eating will make you sleepy. Alcohol is not a good idea either as it too will make you sleepy. Coffee will give you a boost but too much coffee will make you nervous and jumpy.

Play some soft music or switch on the radio, to keep you company, being up when everyone else is asleep can make you feel very isolated and the still quiet of the night can be a little unnerving to those used to the noisy hum of the daytime world.

Lighting in the room where you are working is also important. The natural instinct is to have a really bright light so as to keep you awake but it will make your eyes hurt. You need a bright enough light to be able to see clearly what you are working on but not a fierce light, fluorescent tubes will really make your eyes hurt.

At approximately three in the morning you will hit a low time and be really tired and hungry. It is tempting to reach for chocolate, biscuits or other very sugary food but it will raise your sugar levels very quickly only to have them plummet just as fast. A snack that contains both protein and carbohydrates, like muesli with milk, cereal bars and a glass of milk, or eggs on toast, is better to help you over this slump.

Do not try to work all the hours of the night, take a break, go for a walk or have a cool shower.

Be considerate and do not make too much noise and disturb other people who are sleeping.

After the all-night stint, do try to get some sleep and, be warned, you probably will not feel the lack of sleep that day but the next one.

Staying up all night is not something anyone should do regularly. Sleep deprivation is used as a torture for a reason; the human body is not designed to go without sleep. There are lasting health consequences from regularly going without sleep, from depression and mental health problems, to digestive and gastric problems and many other health effects, they are not pleasant and not anything that anyone should risk regularly from choice. It is far better to organize your life and work or studies so that you have no need to stay up all night.

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