It’s the night before an exam and you’re thinking…
“I’M SCREWED”
“I’ve got so much work to do, I’ve still got notes to take and practice papers to complete. I think I’m going to have to do an all-nighter!”
We’ve all been in this situation before. But is doing an all-nighter really your best option?
In this video, I answer this question as well as take you through the pros and cons of doing an all-nighter just before an assessment.
My First All-Nighter
Turning up to School Drunk?
Is an All-Nighter Ever an Option?
My First All-Nighter
I remember the first time I decided to do an all-nighter.
I had an exam the next day and I was freaking out!
I thought my only option was to stay up all night, study like crazy, smash out the exam and then go home and collapse in my bed.
The thing is when I got into the exam I SUCKED.
My concentration was off, I was falling asleep and my results turned out horrible!
But why did I feel this way? Surely the pros of all that study would outweigh the negative effects of my lack of sleep? Right?
Turning up to School Drunk?
Would you ever go to school drunk? I hope that the answer is no!
Well, studies have shown that if you avoid sleep for 17-19 hours you’re cognitively performing at the same rate as someone who’s above the blood-alcohol limit.
That’s right. If you decide to do an all-nighter and turn up the next day, you’re basically deciding to do your exam drunk!
Obviously, this isn’t going to be effective at all.
What we found by talking to thousands of top-performing students is a really similar story. Most students tried an all-nighter once, failed miserably and decided to NEVER do it again.
So, how are you going to apply this knowledge in your own life?
Is an All-Nighter Ever an Option?
To put it simply, the answer is no.
While you may think there are a few pros to doing an all-nighter, the reality is that you’ll perform really, really poorly the next day.
On top of this, your performance is going to be even worse if you have exams that follow each other closely.
This is because you’ll start to build up a sleep debt. As a result, you’re ongoing, long-term performance is going to be at a far lower level.
If you’re desperate you might need to lose a little bit of rest and get some extra study in. However, if you’re struggling with your studies, doing an all-nighter isn’t going to help.
If you want to ace your exams and achieve a great mark in the HSC, you need to PLAN your study in advance and make sure that an all-nighter is NEVER your only option.
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