The all-nighter dilemma: is it worth it?

With midterm season in full swing, the workload of an average student is heftier and more intense. 

With more assignments and less room in schedules to fit all the studying and work, students often turn to less-than-ideal measures like cramming or pulling all-nighters in order to complete their studies and assignments on time.

While all-night study sessions sometimes do the trick and provide positive results in the form of good grades, it’s not something we necessarily advise. 

According to a 2017 study conducted by UCLA Health, pulling an all-nighter slows the functionality of your brain cells, altering the efficiency of cognitive functions like memory, attention span and problem-solving. 

Further according to the Harvard Gazette, the human brain still has the capacity to retain specific information in short-term memory while pulling an all-nighter. But in the long term, the information you studied won’t be preserved. 

So, students don’t get much out of the actual material other than a good exam grade. And even that isn’t guaranteed. 

In addition to all-nighters, when in academic crisis mode, some students turn to stimulants. 

Although only 8.1% of college students are prescribed stimulants, like Adderall for an ADHD diagnosis, it’s not uncommon to hear about students’ illegal purchasing and use for academic purposes. Along with this, energy drinks with high caffeine contents  like Celcius are sold at almost every dining location on campus and popularized among this age group. 

These stimulants may boost short-term energy and focus, but they pose a high risk of addiction and reliance,caffeine included. 

If a dependency is formed, students face a larger and more long-term issue. 

While stimulants might help students pull all-nighters, they’re proven to cause significant mental health side effects such as mood swings or brain fog after the medication or caffeine wears off. 

Stimulant addiction is an epidemic that plagues college students. 

Aside from mental health issues and overall fatigue, overuse of these medications and products can have a physical impact on the body. Many students normalize caffeine and energy drink dependencies, but, over time, these stimulants can damage your digestive system and cause grogginess.

If you’re prone to pulling all-nighters, you might be in trouble. 

Pulling an all-nighter likely only means one thing — you’re time management skills need improvement. 

As we said earlier, cramming the night before is proven to be worse for your long-term memory, and physical and mental health. 

It’s also just plain stressful.

So, it’s vital to space out your study sessions. 

Professors usually have their syllabi up before classes begin, so take note of when your exams are at the beginning of the semester, and schedule short periods of preparation a couple of weeks before the exam. That way, you’ll gradually learn the material without feeling overwhelmed the week of the exam. 

Also, make sure to rest up before exams. 

Rest is crucial to achieving the full potential of brain functionality, and it’s proven that rest provides better performance on exams and in academia overall. 

Rest is also just generally good for a young adult’s growing mind, body and soul.

If you have an exam you truly didn’t have time to study for or forgot about, leaving an all-night cramming session as your only hope for a good grade, at least make sure you’re taking ample breaks and staying hydrated. 

And if you have the time, a cat nap or two could greatly benefit your ability to work and your overall health. 

So no, the occasional all-nighter or stimulant won’t kill you. 

But, if you over-abuse these “study methods,” you might wind up facing significant repercussions for your body and mind. 

Plan ahead, manage your time and get some sleep. 

To all Lehigh students going through midterms right now — you got this!