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"Whether you're trying to balance extracurriculars with high school exams or dealing with an intense college course load, working through the night to secure a good grade can be tempting. You may feel like there's no other time to devote to studying, plus there's the bonding factor\u2014few things bring classmates closer than stressing out together during finals week. But here's the bottom line: All-nighters can ultimately hurt way more than they help. We've got the scoop on what you need to know before you burn the midnight oil.\n\nThe Real Deal with Sleep Deprivation\n\n Our bodies are naturally governed by circadian rhythms, which operate on a 24-hour clock and send signals indicating when it's time to be awake or get some shut-eye. Staying up all night messes with those patterns\u2014it's basically like jet-lagging yourself on purpose\n\nDuring high school and college, you're already experiencing a change in your rhythms that makes you feel more alert at night and less so in the morning. (Yes, there's a scientific reason why you're able to stay up super late while your parents shuffle off to bed well before 10!) Even though your body wants you to sleep later, the rest of the world still expects you to rise and shine for school, meaning it's tough enough to get the sleep you need at this phase in your life. Not so shockingly, all-nighters only add to this disruption.\n\nSo, How Will It Affect Your Brain?\n\n Let's say you stay up all night cramming for an exam. The information should be completely fresh in your mind when you take the test a few hours later, right? Nope. Staying up to study can actually lead to a worse performance the following day. A National Health Institute study found that after denying participants sleep for up to 19 hours, their performance on some tests was equal to or worse than subjects who had a blood alcohol level of 0.05%. Yikes.\n\nWhat does this mean exactly? While it might feel like you're taking in more information by staying up all night, you're actually making it harder to retain what you're learning\u2014and if you're struggling to finish a paper or project, the quality of your work is going to decline the longer you're up.\n\nAnd What About Your Health?\n\n Teens need a lot of sleep, frequently more than most adults. An ideal amount of sleep for adolescents is nine hours a night, though you're probably falling way short of that goal even on a good day. Not only does this mean you're likely to feel exhausted (and be prone to ill-timed snoozing during the day), inadequate sleep has been linked to higher levels of depression and anxiety.\n\nMoreover, sleep deprivation affects guys and girls differently. Some research indicates chronic sleep loss puts women at a much higher risk for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions later in life. (There's also another study that suggests that sleep-deprived men are much more likely to assume that women are into them, and a campus overrun with romantically overconfident zombies certainly sounds like the stuff of nightmares.)\n\nThe Verdict: Avoid All-Nighters at All (or Most) Costs\n\n Now that you've got the (sort of scary!) facts, how can you ensure that all-nighters are a rarity (or, better yet, a foreign concept)? While not revolutionary, it's all about time management. Procrastination is a tough habit to break, but planning ahead for big tests and assignments is important, as is being realistic about how much you can truly handle at once.\n\nThere's no shame in taking something off your plate or even asking for an extension if you anticipate an all-nighter is in your future. The key is to make these arrangements well in advance of your deadline or test date so you're not scrambling! Also, don't pay attention to the tortured geniuses bragging about staying up until 4 a.m.\u2014by adequately preparing so that you didn't have to sacrifice sleep, you're being far smarter than they are.\n\nBut If You Must...\n\n Procrastination will probably get the better of you some point in your academic career. If you know you have plenty of after-hours studying ahead, there are ways to minimize the negative effects of an all-nighter. First, avoid loading up on sugary and salty snacks while you hit the books. Drinking plenty of water and eating well-balanced meals will help you to feel a bit more normal the next day.\n\nAnd perhaps even more importantly, get back on a normal sleep schedule as quickly as possible! Though it may be tempting to take a 12-hour nap right after your exam (whether that means heading back to the dorm or cutting your high school day short), you'll be further hindering your body's ability to resume a normal sleep pattern. And you wouldn't want to do that\u2014trust us.\n\nReproduction, including downloading of Man Ray works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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