Surviving a night on campus

I’m no stranger to 4 a.m. at Thode. In fact, I’m no stranger to 6 a.m. either. Despite countless times that I’ve heard all-nighters don’t help anyone, I ignore the advice and continue to power through pages of readings with the help of coffee, music, and comfortable clothes.

Sleep is important during exams, I know that (and you should too), but I’m the kind of person that gets really anxious about sleeping before I feel fully prepared (or as prepared as I can be) so I tend to stay in the library until the wee hours of the morning and then go home and sleep for a few hours.

In order to make sure that I don’t burn out or fall asleep face first during my exam, I follow a few personal rules. The first is that I’m in bed by 1 a.m. whenever I have an exam the next morning at 9 a.m. It doesn’t help anyone to be completely sleep-deprived before an exam.

Also, make sure you check the bus schedules. There’s nothing worse than being stuck on campus because you live too far to walk or being forced to make arrangements and a plan at the beginning of the night so you know when you’re ending your studying and packing up to go home.

Also make sure you have enough food or enough money to buy food. I always spend way more money during exam times because I have to order food or walk to Subway and get food because everything on campus closes as of 11 p.m.

Staying on campus is not for the weak. The Hunger Games seems like a Disney holiday special when you’ve experienced late nights at Thode. People start mowing on food, sleeping on desks, and snapping at anyone that talks above a whisper.

If libraries aren’t your thing, you may like the Student Centre instead. There are plenty of couches, floor space, and sparse amount of people after night falls. That way, you can also take naps in between chapters, which is very important.

If you’re going to be spending the better part of a day studying, take a power nap. Twenty minutes of shut-eye will make all the difference of absorbing that dense textbook you didn’t open until exam period. Just make sure that you’re not napping more than twenty minutes if you want to power nap. Longer naps of an hour to an hour and a half are okay if you have that much time to spare.

The last thing to consider is what to wear to all night study sessions. Sure, you can be that person who wears a full fashionable outfit to the library to study, but you may not be comfortable enough to stay in it for hours.

Think sweatpants, loose fitting pants, and comfortable sleepwear, like Snuggies. That’s right, I said it. Although Snuggies aren’t super practical to take to the bathroom, they do have the benefit of allowing you to work while being fully blanketed.

Another option is the onesie. This is practical to wear to the bathroom, although it takes some maneuvering unless you have one of those buttflaps.

If you want to spend late hours in the library, there are many advantages that include study space, lots of outlets, and it is generally quieter. However, make sure you’re prepared for it. Eat well, sleep well, do well. Grab your Snuggie, your sweatpants, or your onesie, and I’ll see you in Thode.