Almost all of us have experienced the horrible feeling of coming home late from a practice or other extracurricular, having to shower, eat dinner, and study for the four tests you have the next day. Sound familiar? It definitely does to me, and to so many other high school students. Staring at the piles of papers and textbook readings can make students feel as if they have no other option. And for some, the common solution — that “only option” — always seems to be pulling an all-nighter. 

But is it really worth it? 

I don’t think so. For starters, it is proven that getting no sleep can entirely mess up everything positive that you initially wanted to come out of the all-nighter.  That “A” you wanted so desperately that you were convinced the only way to get it was by sacrificing sleep? The harsh truth is that you simply cannot get that perfect score if you don’t have enough sleep to fuel your brain; so the smarter choice is to pick your cozy bed over your cluttered desk. “Sleep deprivation affects your cognitive performance the next day. Your brain and body are hardwired to expect sleep,” Dr. Arathi Ram, a neurologist from Houston Methodist, who specializes in sleep disorders, said.“It’s a time when restorative systems in your body get to work, and the other systems rest. Forgoing sleep can affect everything from your mental performance to even your mood and physical performance.” 

And missing even just one night of sleep can mess up your body for days, or even weeks, on end. After a long, exhausting day, the one thing your body wants is sleep, and giving it up is essentially setting yourself up for failure. “Know that an all-nighter throws your entire schedule out of whack — particularly your sleep schedule,” Dr. Ram added. 

There is more that you are losing from pulling an all-nighter than just your physical health. You are, more importantly, sacrificing your well-being. At its core, pulling an all-nighter is a fundamental form of self-sabotage. Not getting enough sleep can ruin your entire day. A person who stayed up all night is shown to have a worse mood than those who slept the night prior. Pulling an all-nighter will undoubtedly result in you being absolutely exhausted the next morning. And, ironically, by the time you take the test, all the information you attempted to absorb the night before will feel like a blur. All the effort you had previously put in is proven to become useless if you do not have enough energy to retain it. That energy comes from sleep. Everything you studied while pulling that all-nighter may be erased from your mind, and each word on the test paper will seem to blend into the next. Moreover, a night of sleep is proven to result in increased forgetfulness, excessive fatigue, and reduced focus—all symptoms that will not only minimize your performance on the exam, but also lessen your stamina for a much longer period of time. Both academic and athletic performance may subsequently be impaired. And running on energy drinks with an unhealthy amount of caffeine to “replace” your rest hours simply will not suffice for the benefits of a night’s sleep. 

Choosing to swap sleep for studying is a recipe for disaster. So the next time you see piles of homework on your desk and feel like you have no other choice than to stay up all night, know that there is something better you can do: sleep. Because would you really be willing to give up your sleep—and therefore your wellbeing—for a simple test? Definitely not.