The claimEvidence A · guideline-tier
Young people are fine after an all-nighter
The evidence
Feeling recovered is not being recovered. When participants rated themselves as adapted, their reaction times still sat 30-40% below baseline (Van Dongen 2003).
The mechanism, in brief
The popular beliefs about all-nighters fall into two groups by where they go wrong: illusions about subjective versus objective, and illusions about short term versus long term.
Sources (5)
- Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M., & Dinges, D. F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep, 26(2), 117–126.
- Wesensten, N. J., Belenky, G., Kautz, M. A., Thorne, D. R., Reichardt, R. M., & Balkin, T. J. (2002). Maintaining alertness and performance during sleep deprivation: modafinil versus caffeine. Psychopharmacology, 159(3), 238–247.
- Spiegel, K., Leproult, R., & Van Cauter, E. (1999). Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. The Lancet, 354(9188), 1435–1439.
- Rupp, T. L., Wesensten, N. J., Bliese, P. D., & Balkin, T. J. (2009). Banking sleep: realization of benefits during subsequent sleep restriction and recovery. Sleep, 32(3), 311–321.
- Knowles, O. E., Drinkwater, E. J., Urwin, C. S., Lamon, S., & Aisbett, B. (2018). Inadequate sleep and muscle strength: implications for resistance training. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(9), 959–968.