A few short months ago, I was the person that was appalled when someone hadn't slept in 36+ hours. I loved sleep too much to fathom why anyone would take that beautiful non-awake time for granted. Now everything's changed. This semester has been my favorite semester. I've actually made friends and I've tried way harder this semester than I have any other semester. Since I'm the kind of person that works up until the last second, no matter when I start, and since I'm slower than molasses, I have perfected* the art of staying up late.
- Listen to "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" on repeat and connect to it on a level that you never have before.
- Run mostly on adrenaline. I don't particularly like coffee and energy drinks don't seem to work. (I tried to use sugar-free redbull to keep me awake during film class last Friday and I still slept through almost all of Macbeth.)
- Avoid driving as much as possible, but when you do have to drive somewhere, sing along to everything. It doesn't matter if you've never heard this song and you have no idea what the words are; sing along. Because for some reason, singing and talking helps you stay awake.
- Don't nap. If you do fall asleep just know that you will be asleep for a while because your body has no alarm clock and you will sleep through everything important. Napping also uses up valuable work time.
- Try not to be concerned about how weird your body feels. Remember that you will eventually sleep and you will feel normal again.
- Laugh at your lack of restraint when you are speaking. You might become a huge smart aleck when you haven't slept in a while. I know I do.
- It's okay that all your days blend together into one long one. The differentiation of days is not that important.
- Consign yourself to the notion that you smell like BO. For some reason, sleeplessness affects antiperspirant effectiveness and so when you hit the 24 hour mark and onward, you will be stinky. Plan accordingly. Use plenty of extra deodorant and add in some body spray for good measure.
- Have a ton of things lined up that you have to do. Make sure that only a minute of mediation is all you have time for because you're so busy getting things done.
- Remember that your emotions are elevated because of lack of sleep. Everything will make you cry. Good things. Bad things. Doesn't matter. Crying will happen.
- No matter what happens, time will still move forward. Sometimes it's comforting to know that this too shall pass.
- Realize and think about how you're not alone. You're not the only person to ever pull an all nighter. It'll be okay.
*I use the word perfected loosely.
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