Late nights in the library are seen as a trademark of student life. If you’re cramming before an exam, or rushing to meet a deadline, working through the night fuelled by nothing but coffee and determination might seem like a quick fix. But what if those all-nighters aren’t the answer?
Why does sleep matter?
We all know that sleep is important. But when you’re juggling studies, work, a social life and always-on access to the internet (is ten more minutes on TikTok ever really ten more minutes?), it’s often overlooked.
On average it’s recommended that a healthy adult gets seven to nine hours of sleep, although the amount of sleep we actually need varies depending on our circumstances.
Getting those hours in matters because while you’re sleeping your body works to restore itself in several ways:
- Tissue repair and growth – Sleep releases hormones to help your tissues grow and repair damage.
- Memory consolidation – As well as helping with focus and concentration, sleep helps you register and reorganise memories, essential for learning.
- Immune function – Sleep supports your body’s ability to fight of disease and infections.
- Emotional regulation – ‘Sleeping on it’ can help you to solve problems and also makes it easier to manage your emotions.
The impact of all-nighters on academic performance
Research shows that sleep deprivation has an immediate negative impact on your ability to think. So even one all-nighter can make it harder to learn new things and retain information – not ideal when you’re revising or have deadlines to meet. Lack of sleep can also make you less alert and impair your judgement and decision-making skills, which you’ll definitely need on an exam day.
Last minute cramming during an all-night study session is likely to be a waste of time, you need deep sleep to consolidate memories. Instead of pushing through you’re actually better off going to bed, knowing you’ve done the best you can, and turning up to your exam feeling refreshed.
When you don’t have an exam the next day and just want to tick things off your to-do list, it’s tempting to work through the night. An off day might feel like an easy price to pay for the extra hours of productivity, but the effects of just one all-nighter have been shown to last a week. That means you’re setting yourself up to find it harder to focus in the days following.
Longer term health impacts
In the longer term, lack of sleep comes at a cost and can impact both your physical and mental health.
Over prolonged periods, sleep deprivation can even increase your risk of developing heart problems, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also impact your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and illnesses when you want to be feeling your best. A study from the University of California found that people who sleep less than six hours a night during a week were 4.2x more likely to catch a cold.
You probably know that a bad night’s sleep, or no sleep at all, can leave you tired and irritable. That all-important ability to emotionally regulate is disrupted and everyday stresses feel harder to manage. In turn, this can have a knock-on effect on your social life, as you might not feel like seeing friends and family.
In the longer term, sleep deprivation can exacerbate mental health challenges and even lead to increased anxiety and depression in some cases.
How to sleep well
Don’t panic! If you’ve already had a few late nights and are looking to get your sleep schedule sorted for assessment season try these tips:
- Have an evening routine. Going to sleep at the same time each day can help you fall asleep easier.
- Unwind and relax. Set aside time in the evening to do something that relaxes you, like reading a book or listening to music.
- Limit your screen time. Make use of downtime or bedtime mode settings to limit notifications and put your phone away to limit blue light exposure an hour before you go to sleep.
- Try mindfulness. If falling asleep is hard because you’re worrying, making a to-do list for the next day as part of your evening routine might help. You can also try listening to guided mindfulness sessions.
Check out our tips for balancing your workload and wellbeing and top tips for tackling the assessment period, to help you stay productive without the need for an all-nighter!