
Ask HN: How do you pull all-nighter+dayers - jmtame
Would be interested to hear techniques people use to stay awake for extended periods of time..
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st3fan
I don't. I think it is extremely unhealthy and unproductive to stay awake and
work for such long periods of time.

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mechanical_fish
That's right. The correct technique for pulling an all-nighter is to realize
that you're making a terrible mistake and not to do it anymore. Your brain
really doesn't work very well without sleep. You may learn to pretend that it
does, but that's not helpful.

Having said that, back when I didn't understand this I did figure out that it
was a waste of time to stay up _literally_ all night. At 3am or 4am you should
go to sleep for two or three hours.

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pasbesoin
Actually, tiredness can attenuate some AD(H)D symptoms. I sometimes used to
procrastinate until the last minute, then put in an incredibly productive
night/morning to wrap up a project. And I cranked out some pretty good stuff.

But, I was young, then, and those projects were relatively limited in scope. I
didn't know at the time that ADD existed; this was just the way I'd found to
get such things done. (And I hated all the fear and dread it put me through.)

So, it may not be an optimal approach, but in some circumstances, the all-
nighter can perhaps be enabling.

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Shamiq
I'm not sure if it's the tiredness. The impending deadlines push me into
overdrive, which I use to finish work.

But if an all-nighter is truly the only option, then 20 minute naps every 2-3
hours works well combined with a cup of coffee.

Method: Drink a cup of coffee, immediately nap for 20 minutes, wake up and
work for 2-3 hours. Rinse and repeat.

~~~
pasbesoin
I don't have a reference at hand, but I recall reading somewhere that the
tiredness attenuates some of the distractibility. Perhaps the mind is a bit
less "agile"; it therefore foregos so readily jumping from topic to topic.

There is the counterpoint of hyperfocus. Something that is intensely
interesting -- whether due to the topic itself or consuming pressure to get it
done (NOW!) -- also lessens distractibility.

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pasbesoin
This would seem to argue the contrary, and I'm not finding an online reference
to what I seemed to recall in my previous comment.

<http://www.physorg.com/news93623459.html>

So, take my comment with a good grain of salt. If I find a relevant reference,
I'll follow up.

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brk
Concentration and motivation from the task at hand. Most of my all-nighters
have been unplanned and were reactive to a software upgrade gone bad.

A memorable one was a software upgrade to Cascade switches at AADS. Turns out
the new firmware consumed more RAM than anticipated and we ended up with 10's
of thousands of circuits down throughout their network of ~250 backbone
switches. I spent 3.5 days straight with nothing more than a couple of two
hours naps and LOTS of pizza, coffee, soda, etc. The magnitude of the
situation pretty much prevented me from sleeping. Had a couple of other 36 and
48 hour shifts during that same job. Every time I've done any marathon
sessions, it was always unplanned and urgent.

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rms
Can't speak from personal experience, but from I'm read this is near ideal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil> Don't get the Indian generic, it is
reportedly not equivalent.

And don't pull all-nighters, you're much better off getting _some_ sleep if
not a full 6-7 hours.

~~~
pasbesoin
Also, there was a Canadian medical advisory recently that a rash can indicate
a potentially severe reaction to modafinil. It sounded quite unusual, but
something to remain cognizant of.

<http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/219836.htm>

<http://www.napra.ca/pdfs/advisories/Health-prof-Alertec.pdf>

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agentcoops
I find coffee to be terrible for all-nighters. I find the best method to be a
combination of 15-20 minute naps and either lots of strong black tea or small
sips of sugar-free energy drinks.

Of course, as most posters point out, actually sleeping is always best, but
sometimes it just has to be done.

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cmos
fear tends to work well.

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Raphael
Have a snack every couple hours and drink lots of water.

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gtani
goog polyphasic sleep instead: 2-4 hours/day

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Shamiq
I think the evidence surrounding this technique is mixed in terms of brain
functionality.

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gaius
BCAAs. Tho' I second st3fan's advice.

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trapper
Got any research links for this? I haven't seen any that would point to BCAA's
as a solution for tiredness - I am interested.

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parenthesis
Take some naps.

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viggity
booze, lots of it

