Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.
How to pull an all-nighter.
christianmontoya.com — Great tutorial for those long nights of coding.
montoya- 1916 diggs
- digg it
- Jeffeh, on 10/12/2007, -62/+25nice little tutorial although never a good idea
tip #1: dont procrastinate and get work done to aviod all-nighters
Jeff - http://jeffeh.com- stanleyfeinbaum, on 10/12/2007, -3/+90tip #2: Stay away from DIGG and blogs when you have work due the next day!
- SoulMaster2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+38Tip 3: Don't take naps, by the time you're asleep, enough melatonin has been released into your system to keep you asleep for hours
- CanadianAviator, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20@ stanley...
Exactly the problem I'm having now with a final exam tomorrow. - boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13SoulMaster2: Only if you sleep for more than half an hour. A nap of 15-25 minutes can be an effective temporary pick-me-up.
- t0dd, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2I have never used but apparently Modafinil (http://www.modafinil.com/) is THE way to pull an all nighter. Anyone try it?
- florin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@t0dd
"I have never used but apparently Modafinil is THE way to pull an all nighter."
No, not really:
"For those who want more info on modafinil, it's half life is around 7-15 hours. Possible side effects include headache, nausea, hypersalivation, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, euphoria, and to a lesser extent, increased blood pressure and tachycardia.
Because it may cause psychoactive and euphoric effects, along with alterations in mood and perception, it's been classified as a Schedule IV drug." - lava, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yeah, procrastinating doesn't have anything to do with it. Sometimes you just have a crapload of work to do. I've been pulling a lot of allnighters in the last month or so, and I've been finding that they get easier and easier each time. It's a lot easier if you're doing an all nighter with someone else... you can talk and your brain stays awake.
- ihatekevinrose, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Speed, the drug, works like a charm.
- agimat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Having several ready bottles of Redbull will also help.
- bryant, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11My system:
Step one-Slug back a few cans of Jolt.
Step two-Slug back a few cans of Rockstar.
Repeat as necessary.- BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Hope you don't kill yourself.
Just in case...
http://www.gamerzplanet.net/forums/showthread.php?p=172377#post172377 - CadMasterAdam, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2slick
- burke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42 jolts and 2 rockstars literally leaves me shaking. It adds up to well over half a gram of caffeine. oddly enough, rockstar has more caffeine that one of those large-ass cans of jolt.
- synch42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Jolt I can handle. The taste of Rockstar makes me gag though. Besides, I've built up enough of a tolerance for caffeine that this method wouldn't even phase me.
- florin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Actually, Jolt, Rockstar and other "energy drinks" are atrocious. Not only the "awakening" effect is suboptimal (either not happening at all, or it gives you a bad "buzz") but repeat consumption might be detrimental to one's health.
Here's a better idea - take one of these (or two, but never exceed 3 in 24 hours under any circumstances whatsoever):
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=548437
It's a supplement made for bodybuilders, but it's designed for mental clarity and focus, not for muscular strength. Personally, I've found it way better than any "energy drink" crap. It gives you a "clean burn" that's way clearer and more focused than caffeine could ever give you. You're more focused, your mind is clear, your mood is excellent and there's no jitter to mess up your thought process.
Spike is especially efficient if you didn't have enough sleep (or didn't sleep at all) yet the following day you must be in "fighting mode". Just try and stay awake the whole night without stimulants (if you can), then pop one Spike in the morning. Or pop one Spike at the beginning of the all-nighter to keep you awake, then another one in the morning to give you a boost for the next day.
Of course, don't take Spike if you need to sleep soon after that. Duh. - Derrekito, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I prefer my secret weapon... adderall ;) lol works like a charm.
- BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Hope you don't kill yourself.
- op3ra7or, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14Anyone else think he makes this sound just a tad more difficult/epic than it really is? All-nighters aren't so uncommon or hard-core.
- nerdjesus1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I completely agree with you. Maybe he should try polyphasic/uberman sleep and then see what he thinks about an all-nighter. XD
- AnteChronos, on 10/12/2007, -5/+49This guy's "hardcore" all-nighter is defined as going to sleep after the sun's up? Hell, I do that on a regular basis. To me, and all-nighter is when you wake up, and don't go to sleep again until the *next* night. If you completely skip one of your sleep cycles, THAT'S an all-nighter. I've done my share of those, and I usually spend the rest of the week sleeping extra each night to recover.
Oh, and even when I pull all-nighters I *still* don't post blog-spam to Digg.- trooz1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Yeah, it doesn't count to go to sleep right when the sun goes up. I've pulled several in school, usually toward the end of projects (architecture). It's not fun spending an entire night in studio, then going to classes the next day after no sleep. 40 hours awake can take its toll, especially after a week of 3-hour sleep nights.
- mushoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7You guys beat me to the punch. But I would just like to reiterate the point. In fact I'm pulling an all-nighter right now. I personally avoid caffeine during the all-nighter, take a couple of bawls in the morning during classes so as not to nod off, and avoid it after wards. Can't count the times that I've overdone the caffeine and end up pulling two all-nighters in a row and end up nearly missing a class the following day.
Music also helps a lot. Specially instrumental music, I avoid music with lyrics as find myself singing along and distracting me from the task at hand. I find the Dead really helpful in these instances. Take regular breaks and avoid naps unless you're a light sleeper and can get back to the task without too much trouble. You don't want to take a quick nap only to wake up only minutes before class. Happy coding/studying/work. - ToadX, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I would say going to sleep after the sun comes up does count as an all-nighter, IF the last time you woke up was around 24 hours ago. I understand that some people wake up daily at 2 PM or even later. If you wake up at 2 PM and go to sleep at 7 AM, that doesn't really count.
- directedition, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The term "All-nighter" simply implies staying awake through the night. A full day following is not requisite.
- TheD, on 10/12/2007, -19/+1fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
- SmackAttack42, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0@AnteChronos
hell, yeah!!! - kevinrosesmom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@trooz Architecture is hard core when it comes to projects. I have some friends who are archis, and they practically live in the studio. A friend of mine spent 40 hours in studio out of 48 one weekend. 0.0 Anyone who's gone through that has my respect.
- Hyperion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm pretty young, but my first all nighter took place just a few months ago before my second semester began. I had to write some dialectical journals for every chapter/act of a book and a play, and had been given almost eight months for it (it was summer homework and my school runs a block schedule). I had done around two chapters (already had read the book) of the journals, and had around twenty left, as well as the play. So I had to deal with two pieces of literature I hated and a crapload of work. I woke up at 5:30 AM the day before the semester started and worked until 4:30 the next day. I was tired, yes, but I just put my head down for most of my first period class, and my lunch/break periods. I didn't expect it, but I actually have to say, all nighters are pretty fun.
- nugge7, on 10/12/2007, -24/+2porn.
- alexkrycek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6If you make it past 3am then you're probably over the worst of it. After that, you're kind of on cruise control and don't have to struggle so much to stay awake.
- ezkiel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2nah 3am is easy the hardest part is just before the sun comes up. I get sooo sleepy then.
- Seumas, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5Cool. Blogspam on the front page.
- RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4This guy needs to write back when he knows how to pull a "REAL" all-nighter - not just the "really-long-nighter" he's talking about. What he describes could be termed "The graveyard shift" and many people do it... every day..
It is rather appropriate that this blog spam makes it to the front page at night... So those who know what a "REAL" all-nigther is can pimp-slap it off the front page before the morning idiots digg it like ravenous wolves.- ohmar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You know, sometimes i wonder why i dont just go to sleep at a normal hour. that would make way more sense when i have class at eight.
- ohnnyj, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Caffiene IV please.
- eastbeast314, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I wish this had been on the frontpage last night. He should add "Read digg.com at around 4 in the morning. Read the comments. You will laugh so hard at a lame geek joke that you'll be instantly refreshed!"
Worked for me! - slicedoranges, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5just drink a lot of bawls, it's not that hard
- Oxygen, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23"dont procrastinate and get work done to aviod all-nighters"
As a college student i reserve the right to put off any assignment untill the night before it's due; especially ones I've had all semester to work on.- Haplo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+8"As a college student i reserve the right to put off any assignment untill the night before it's due;"
As a college student you should probably know that it's until, not untill. - Oxygen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15If I had known how to pull a proper all-nighter in Kindergarten perhaps I could have learnt how to spell correctly. :P
- duality, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As a college student he also has the right to make typing errors and not have everybody on Digg think that they're spelling errors instead.
Then again, I don't believe it, so it's technically not everybody anymore. His right has been enforced!
- Haplo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+8"As a college student i reserve the right to put off any assignment untill the night before it's due;"
- themachina, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21Stupidest post EVER, and blogspam.
Is this news to anybody? "Drink caffeine, don't go to sleep." WTF?
Check out my article, "How to get drunk." I think you'll all find it very helpful.- burke, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Really? awesome. What's the link? ;)
- TheD, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5someone posted a link to a "blog"...gasp!
fuking shoking!
now the queens that havent bitched about a blog posting can bitch about spelling.
as i said before, if your complaing about blogs or spelling in these fourms...
your get the long drawn out..fuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkk youuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
stupid ass.... - frontpage, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"your get the long drawn out..fuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkk youuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."
'your' get the lightning fast mod down
- mv10, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Medical School students know this very well :p
- apache2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I'm up every night in the summer until the sun comes out, then I sleep until like 4. Anything over 24 hours awakeness is an all-nighter in my book.
My record is 42 hours though, man it feels good to sleep after that :)- Haplo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7My record is 80+, and no, that's not a good thing to do.
- TheD, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4let us know when mommy finally asks you to move out.
- saranagati, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2i've had to do 120 hours once for a work trip in vegas. balancing out the really long day with programming, drinking and gambling really helped out though.
- lessucks, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2first off, "anything over 24 is an all-nighter" - - - *****. grow a pair. most people can pull 24 on demand.
second, whenever anyone claims 72+ hours uptime i feel respect and doubt at the same time. As someone who has done it several times too many, you lose all track of time after about two and a half days. Everything runs together and it's the closest thing to being on drugs as some will ever know. Anything claimed more than that is usually BS since you won't be able to remember it anyway. You're on autopilot until you crash into a sweet, sweet slumber.
Public service announcement: Driving tired is worse than driving drunk. Just say no.
- tabledesk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Keeping the room temperature slightly chilly is very effective as well.
- krusbjorn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I think more poeple need a tutorial of how to NOT do an all nighter, ie how to be able to fall asleep. Most times when I see the sunrise before going to sleep, it's more of a catastrophy than something to show off in front of my friends.
- Haplo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7amen to that. I never understand people bragging about how they sleep on the office floor, drink liters of coke and program for 18+ hours. I so not want to see the result of that "programming".
- mcduckov, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2indeed, screwing around with the sleep cycle is a bad idea. In the vast vast majority of cases whatever you are working on can probably wait. In the grand scheme of things--get your sleep.
- xswag, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2SPam
- economissed, on 10/12/2007, -1/+101) If you overcaffeinate and find yourself jittery, eat protein. I like mozarella sticks.
2) Complex carbs are good for long term energy.
3) Pushups are great for a boost if you need a sudden burst of clarity or energy. They also take the edge off if you overcaffeinate (something I tend to do).
4) Stare into your desk lamp.
5) Music
6) "Just one more thing" attitude. Sometimes you just need to get ***** done (because you were supposed to have it done already >.>
7) Drink water.- Fanboy88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And don't forget the sunscreen. ;-)
- Fanboy88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And don't forget the sunscreen. ;-)
- skerg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6lol this isnt hardcore or extreme. I work 3am-8:30am during the week. I had no problems switching over to sleeping after work rather then sleeping in the middle of the night. If you need a tutorial on how to stay up all night, you probably shouldnt be trying it.
- devoinregress, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Sometimes not procrastinating will still not prevent an all nighter.
I pull on average about 1 all nighter a week. I don't drink caffeine.
the number 1 thing in my book is you need to get in the zone of working. if you stop working then you are screwed.I have gone till 7am with out feeling tired and then my work started to get lighter so I started drifting.
P.S. Digg, I blame you for a majority of my procrastination. F**k you digg. - Hellomoto, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Ha it's funny b/c im pullin a all-nighter right now. good advice
digg- rhester, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Me too. Good luck to my fellow all-nighers.
Writing a Heisenberg versus Einstein paper for a philosophy of physics class.
- rhester, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Me too. Good luck to my fellow all-nighers.
- brandizzle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6My psychology teacher told us that instead of drinking caffiene a person should have plenty of b12 and fruit juice. And to eat lots of nuts. I don't know how true that is, but it worked for him.
But...6 AM is way too early for me to wake up every morning so for most of the week I stay up. Not too hard... I'd rather have a tutorial telling me how to sleep & wake up on time. - slackerbox, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Who needs tips for staying up all night? It's like a natural instinct.
- MrTea, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Perhaps "disable networking card" should be a tip.
- Yankees368, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14My tip: DISCONNECT THE INTERNET
That is the biggest distraction for me. Compulsive checking of digg, AIM, etc are a procrastinators worst nightmare.- burke, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I know. I've all but quit using MSN, but I still spend about a fifth of my day on Digg.
- mv10, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1My tip: DISCONNECT THE INTERNET
That is the biggest distraction for me. Compulsive checking of digg, AIM, etc are a procrastinators worst nightmare.
QFT - GaleForce, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4My tip; Adderal, Ritalin, Concerta, or Focalin. Not only will it keep you up but it will make you enjoy doing your work too.
- MalDON, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I have to agree, if you wak eup in the afternoon, then it should be called an all day'er. but like normal people who have to wak eup at 6am, -9am, and all nighter is satyaing up until your supposed to be waking up. but I do it alot, and its not hard.
- snoopgst1, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I always fine a game or two to help me.
_________
http://aljitech.com/ Arcade - cybertron3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My longest all nigher was waking up Tuesday morning at 9am (nap for 3 hours on thursday afternoon) and went to bed at 1:30am Saturday. The cause: Networks homework. I had to implement my own network protocols akin to tcp/ip. Boo.
- dipswitch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So it was YOU who came up with NetBEUI...
- UltravioletMars, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If you like all nighters you should be in the architecture program. 48 hours straight is par for the course...
- giveaphuk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3amphetimines work for me like they did for phillip k. dick! :)
- absurdist, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3*sigh*
This is what digg has come to? ***** blogspam like this?
NO digg. - NanoStuff, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1How unnecessarily complicated. Just take a modafinil, you'll forget the meaning of sleep.
- moofdaddy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I'll probably get buried from this but I find cigerettes to be a very effective way to keep me up. They clear my head, give me a boost and don't cause jitters like caffine
- EnjoyTheFact, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I don't know if they keep me awake or what but I do end up smoking a lot more when I pull all-nighters.
- cookedchicken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5As a graduate student I've pulled my share of all-nighters. The worst one ever was rather recently, I woke up at 6am, was in school till 5pm, worked till midnight, studied from midnight to 6am, had a test that morning, was in class till 5pm again, worked from 5 to midnight, finally went to bed around 3am. I felt like I was going to die, didn't wake up until 13 hours later. I think human beings are much more capable of enduring stress and fatigue then people think. Rarely do people push themselves beyond the limits of what they think they can do. Oh, I got an A+ on that test too, and I wouldn't of gotten it without staying up all-night, but was it worth the cost to my health? Do what you have to do, but generally, I don't recommend all nighters unless its absolutely necessary.
- Trjn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3All nighters are nothing, I've done a 6am - 3am before, and that's 3am the next day.
I've found the best trick is to have friends around. I could think of explanations why, but essentially social interaction helps, and if you're doing an all night study session before a test, the whole study group thing isn't bad either, even with assignments.
Oh, and what he said about music and food isn't exactly right, same with lying down. Many an all nighter of mine has been aided by a little Beethoven, McDonalds and little lie downs.- Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Thank you, thank you for the clarification, I thought it was 3 a.m. the same day and you were just going backwards in a time machine.
- Trjn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Tommstein, I meant instead of saying, from 6am on the 23rd to 3am on the 24th, from 6am on the 23rd to 3am on the 25th.
Because lets face it, 6am until 3am in one day is nothing worth bragging about.
- bergur1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1well Nanostuff some of us are 14 and dont really have the time or money to go buy some medicine over the counter or not
Sure I pull all nighters ALL the time its not that hard I mean I go to sleep at like 3 AM almost everyday. its only when I have homework when I dont get any sleep at all until school starts.- lessucks, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1ok you're just being a dumb high schooler or you have ***** Parents.
nobody needs to be an all-nighter til post-12 unless you're lazy.
move along, nothing to see here...
- lessucks, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1ok you're just being a dumb high schooler or you have ***** Parents.
- JLewd, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0boooooooooo
- PuyoDead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4One problem, some people are immune to caffeine, such as myself. I could drink 6 pots of coffee, and the net result would be frequent trips to the bathroom. That's it.
The earlier suggestion of lots of juice (for vitamins) and other such natural energy supplying foods would be a better course, since caffeine may have quite a downfall if you don't keep drinking it. - affinity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8dugg because guess what I'm doing right now at 2:37 am... CODING. Lol :(
Just created my first GUI program in C :)- ScoTTeh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Only 2:37am? You still have a lot to learn then ;)
- Tommstein, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2There's a technique for this? Have I been doing it all wrong?
- Areku, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Everyone's got their little tricks.
- chuck2006, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I find that after I surpass the 24 hour mark it is difficult to go to sleep. I feel like my brain has been so intent on staying awake that it doesn't want to relax enough to fall asleep. After I lay down for 10 or 15 minutes though it hits me like a train and I can literally feel myself withdrawing from reality and beginning a dream.
- Megladon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1OMG, you must be stupid to not know this common sense *****
- Pentarix, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1This is lame. Try going polyphasic, that's more practical then this "drink coffee, stay awake" tripe.
- Xtopherous, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Changing your entire way of life is more practical than just staying up all night every once in a while?
- EnhanceYourCalm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2 Large swings in your sleeping patterns are horrible for your memory, cardiovascular system, etc.
For those who haven't heard about this yet, check out stevepavlina.com. He documented daily his transition from circadian to polyphasic sleep. It's pretty detailed, and the resulting productivity gains, once he got over the "hump," (about two weeks) are enticing indeed.
The only question about polyphasic that I've never seen answered is how it affects muscle and endurance recovery from high-impact physical training. I can sort of see how the brain can adjust to three hours cumulative sleep a day, but how do skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs recover?
- fritts1227, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Just do your work during the day? Sleep at night... not too hard if you try hard enough. And where do you guys live that are doing all nighters right now... tomorrows saturday for me.
- Fanboy88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I remember as a student that it is easy to find other things to do than study. I currently work as a programmer doing contract work. I work 40 hours a week. That is it. I get my work done in that time. The regular employees work more than 40 hours a weeks and do the same amount of work. It is about priorities.
- WallaceStevens, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What has sometimes worked for me is to just chew coffee beans plain. Its what the French writer Balzac would do to keep writing. It doesn't make you feel too great but it keeps you awake.
- rl1cool, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"from the article: "You have to realize that you are extending your day to be about 50% longer"
fun with math 8hrs/24hrs= 50%?"
joshuapechter, he is correct because he is using "day" to mean the normal amount of time when people are awake. Which is usually 16 hours because 8 of the hours in a 24 hour day are used for sleeping. Therefore, 24-8=16. So if one does an "all-nighter" and increases their awake time by 8 hours, they have increased their day by 50%. 8/16=50%
Voila - dtmfdan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3i may not be a EE major at cornell but virginia tech still counts.....right...?
- aura, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I still have memories of my all-nighter in the uni comp labs. Never again will I be so stupid. Tips I have is cold water on the back of the neck, and plan food before hand.
-
Show 51 - 66 of 66 discussions
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2008 —
Content posted by