Mastering the “All-Nighter”

The all-nighter is something that many people (particularly creatives and nerds) find themselves having to contend with. I prefer to work at night; I find I get more done in the hours of 12pm – 5am than I will most days. No phone calls, no emails, no meetings. Silent. Bliss. Having pretty much mastered the art of the all-nighter over the last few years, I figured I’d share some pointers. Here’s my Official All-Nighter Survival Checklist:

1. Drink loads of water during the day: Water keeps you more alert and stops that dozey feel kicking in around 2am.

2. Go to the gym: Go late, around 8 – 9pm, to get the blood pumping so you feel energised when you get back in (this may also have the opposite effect but it works for me).

3. Refrain from instant coffee: Drinking copious amounts of instant coffee through the night simply results in you being wired and freaking out amidst bouts of energy crashes.

4. Drink real coffee: Drinking the proper stuff (fresh coffee) seems to work better; more consistent and mellow, less erratic energy bursts.

5. Eat some green stuff: Snacking on the odd apple/grape/carrot/[insert healthy fruit or veggie type thing here] works a treat!

6. Demolish junk food: Back the green stuff up with plenty of junk food to satisfy those twilight cravings. Befriending your local pizza delivery person for out-of-hours sustenance is often the ideal solution. Failing that, Haribo is a winner everytime; 1 pack of Tangtastic can have you awake for days!

7. Go for a stroll: Always a bit weird walking about at 4am but if it’s cold outside, or the police stop to question your reason for wandering around at such an odd hour, then nothing wakes you up quicker.

8. Don’t watch TV: Guaranteed you’ll get sucked into watching re-runs, or shows that are too rubbish to be shown during the day, and achieve nothing. More often than not the end result is falling asleep on the sofa, fully clothed and face down on your laptop. You then have the shame of appearing at work the next day with QWERTY embedded into your forehead and all for nothing.

Surviving without sleep differs from person to person but this stuff works for me. I intend on updating the list with any new and notable advice so if you have any pointers, please feel free to leave a comment.

[Please note the time of this article - 2.07am on a Thursday morning].