While many students spend the late night and early morning hours in their beds dreaming, others thrive through the night, catching up on some homework in the campus libraries. These night crawlers have formed a culture knee-deep in energy drinks, late night snacks and napping.
On any given night, one could walk into Capen Library and find many students burning the midnight, or 3 a.m., oil.
"I stay up all night at least twice a week," said Lisa Gromlovitz, a graduate student of the School of Social Work.
For some students all-nighters become a routine part of college life: go to class, eat, shower, spend the night at the library.
"I've never stayed up the whole night," said Nicole Brini, a senior pharmacology and toxicology major. "But I usually spend a few nights a week staying up until the early morning hours."
For some, the need for all-nighters might be out of procrastination, while other students might just have that heavy of a course load and the feeling that there are just not enough hours in the day.
"For me it's a combination of both," said Gabriel Miller, a senior business major. "Sometimes I just have too much to do and other times I just put it off until the last minute."
For whatever reasons students impose these late hours on themselves, staying conscious and coherent is really important to the cause. While some students are able to just push themselves and force their eyelids to stay open, others need a little help.
"I drink energy drinks to keep myself awake," said Meredith Yannace, a senior pharmacology and toxicology major. "I also know of students who take Adderall to help themselves function."
Adderall is a central nervous stimulant, commonly used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to Sherri Darrow, director of Wellness Education Services.
"Nationally, college students abuse these drugs to a greater extent than non-college students of their age," Darrow said. "The question isn't whether a dose of Adderall will help someone without ADHD to have more energy, mental alertness, and stamina to study for exams, but whether the risk is worth the benefits."
Either through unhealthy practices, or simply late hours, staying up all night takes a toll on students physically and mentally.
According to Miller, pulling an all-nighter or staying up really late always leaves him feeling sick the next morning.
Aside from feeling ill the day after a late night, getting no sleep can leave students feeling exhausted the next day.
"I take one or two naps the next day to get my energy back," Brini said.
Between late hours, and daytime naps, one could argue that students' internal clocks get a little bit mixed up with all these conflicting hours.
"Staying up late or all night definitely has a bad affect on my sleep schedule," said Eric Knapp, a freshman civil engineering major.
Even with naps, students are likely to feel a little off during the daytime hours, Darrow said.
"A night without sleep can alter cognitive ability including ones ability to concentrate, a students working memory, mathematical capacity, and logical reasoning," Darrow said. "So, staying up all night to cram for a test may put someone at a reduced ability to take an exam."
Perhaps when writing a paper, or doing a project the extra hours are beneficial, but when it comes to preparing oneself for an exam, the extra hours take a toll on the brain, according to Knapp.
"I don't think my brain is functioning at 100 percent at all, after a late night of studying," Knapp said.
With the end of the semester and finals right around the corner, Capen is sure to be packed with plenty of both.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
