Can college students pull an ‘All-Nighter’—staying up the entire night to cram for a test—and have their brains function close to normal the next day? The majority, of course, think so …

But several studies clearly show brain function takes a big hit after an all-nighter. Memory systems and frontal lobe function especially suffer. [References 2-6 below]

Take a look at the title of this article published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine [Reference 1 below]:

Moderate Sleep Deprivation Produces Impairments in Cognitive and Motor Performance Equivalent to Legally Prescribed Levels of Alcohol Intoxication

According to the article, after 19+ hours without sleep, performance on cognitive tests reached levels equivalent to those associated with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of 0.1 percent. In the majority of states, a BAC of 0.08 percent is grounds for a DUI—an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol! This means that if you pull an all-nighter, you don’t have enough brain function to legally drive a car.

As mentioned above, memory systems and frontal lobe function markedly suffer after an all-nighter. The functions of memory systems are obvious, but what do the frontal lobes do? They are brain regions important for:

• Verbal fluency (how well you speak, read, write, and understand)
• Creativity (how original, imaginative, and resourceful you are)
• Executive function (planning skills and problem solving skills

Frontal lobe function is therefore particularly important for:

• Exams in math, physics, chemistry, or economics, or in any other test that requires not only recall of information but application of recalled knowledge to new situations and problem solving
• Oral presentations, debates
• Essay tests in literature, history, social sciences, art

Frontal lobe function is less important in these:

• Multiple-choice tests that emphasize rote memorization
• Short answer tests that don’t involve much problem solving; that is, plain recall

However, it is worth repeating that after an all-nighter, all types of memory recall will be impaired regardless of the type of test you take.

ADDENDUM: If you’re a medical student or medical resident still suffering through crazy call schedules, you may want to print out the articles below and take them to the dean of your medical school or head of your residency program and tell them to stop being such hypocrites.

References:

1. Williamson AM, Feyer AM. Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication. Occup Environ Med. Oct 2000;57(10):649-655.
2. Jones K, Harrison Y. Frontal lobe function, sleep loss and fragmented sleep. Sleep Med Rev. Dec 2001;5(6):463-475.
3. Kim DJ, Lee HP, Kim MS, et al. The effect of total sleep deprivation on cognitive functions in normal adult male subjects. Int J Neurosci. Jul 2001;109(1-2):127-137.
4. Halbach MM, Spann CO, Egan G. Effect of sleep deprivation on medical resident and student cognitive function: A prospective study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. May 2003;188(5):1198-1201.
5. Forest G, Godbout R. Effects of sleep deprivation on performance and EEG spectral analysis in young adults. Brain Cogn. Jun-Aug 2000;43(1-3):195-200.
6. Dahl RE. The impact of inadequate sleep on children’s daytime cognitive function. Semin Pediatr Neurol. Mar 1996;3(1):44-50.

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