Absolutely go to sleep.  You're not going to remember material nearly as well if you're sleep deprived.  When I was in college and law school, I pulled all nighters and it was never good for me, physically or mentally.  I understand that you feel that you need the extra time, but you really will be able to use your time so much more efficiently if you're not sleep deprived.

I also know that the advice of simply "going to bed" doesn't help, because it just isn't an option.

I hear you OP... and to others who are saying she should go to sleep, yes of course that may have been an option before but at this point it may not be. my advice would be to try to manage your time better NEXT time (thats my advice to myself, too!) and for now just try to get through the night as best you can. it's VERY hard to stay on a 1400 calorie budget when you are up for so long..believe me I know. Basically just decide which is more important right now, your school work or your diet. I would choose your school work. So eat and work, but try not to go crazy. It's good that you are spreading it out.

what gets me through all nighters is sugar free red bull (10 calories) sugar free hot choco (25 calories) popcorn mini bags (100 calories) and nuts (100 calories per portion). I also will have a real meal type food if I am getting physically hungry. But nothing too huge because that will surely put me to sleep. also keep some ice water nearby as that will help you stay awake. good luck and thank god the year is almost over. :)

ps. you have the 'strange amount of energy' because you've gotten over that weird 16 hour hump. DON'T lay down because it will be all over then!

by manage time better I mean don't leave things until the last minute. I'm glad that you're an amazing super student but a lot of people find it more difficult or are just not as practiced.

the thing is, I'm an english major. this means, ahppily next to no tests.

unfortunately, it means doing a lot of reading in a short amount of time and forming a lot of analysis and comparing of different ideologies and authors and theories, etc.

so, yes, in a typical test situation, i would absolutely have been able to be better prepared for the test with time management. but with the nature of my essays, I have to RE read the stories through skimming and take out the elemnts of the author's idea of a concept (such as in french postructuralist theory) or their devlopment of a chacracter and how this relates to naturalism or realism in the nineteenth century.

this is much more time consuming than simply KNOWING the material to be tested upon once. this is an active engagement and devlopment of it, and it is on a time limit. so, while i would absolutely have given the same "go to bed" advice to anyone else, and while I would absolutely love to, Saussure and Howells await... I am fully aware of my actions and their consequences, and this is not some sick self inflicted torture. I'm sure there are many other organized individuals out there, but I have learned to work with my strengths and to manage my weaknesses, this is how I manage best, as unusual as it may seem.

thank you for your concern, I will dedicate my epic nap beginning tomorrow at 2 pm to your thoughtful and appreciated advice. I am not being sarcastic, I really do appreciate the replies, but things more along the lines of cel301's advice is really golden to me at this time. I was unaware of the sixteen hour hump, and will avoid horizontal studying, to the dismay of my boyfriend.

pgeorgian, congratulations thank you for your thoughts, but i am looking for advice, not comparison.

anyone with any constructive, rather than critical, thoughts regarding the intake of someone, not necessarily a college student, who has to stay up late for whatever reason and how to adjust their intake, if at all, please share your thoughts. I have often wondered, as I naturally stay up past twelve, and have wondered how to accunt for this in my intake and such.

*I am not suggesting people stay up all night in order to study, yes it is stupid. yes, I am doing it anyway.

I completely understand the OP point of view. I am just about to start my finals (I am studying biomedical science in the UK) and I know that in the next couple of weeks I will not get as much sleep as I would like. There is just so much to learn in such depth and although i have been working hard all year it is necessary to cram before exams.

I try and get a few hours of sleep a night and drink lots of energy drinks!  personally I am withholding my diet for the exam period as if i am really stressed or had a **** exam there is no point in denying myself pizza if it will perk me up a bit. I#m just hoping to maintain my current weight loss and not gain atm to be honest.

As iv been in your postion I can completly understand  why you are wanting to stay up all nigth to get ready for your finals. Your already doing better than I was at this time as I just said to myself rigth now my weight is no longer a priority im not going no were and I cant really do massive damage in just a few weeks so i though i will just eat when I need it.

In terms of energy food/drink I favored sugar free red bull by the bucket load but I stayed well away from sugar as regerdeless of healthy attitude I know that it drains me within 30 min of eating it and makes me feel like I want to go to sleep even more. I tended to eat allot of fish, turkey steaks, baked potatoes, granry bread for sandwhichs, frozen veg and eggs for ommlette.

Make sure you stock up on plenty of wholegrains, complex carbs and unprossed food to keep your stomach busy digesting and providing energy you will need.

Im a person who genrally gets up to 8 hours sleep every nigth but this is an exception and of course its silly to deprive yourself of sleep but its not exactly going to kill you.  I found and you may find this too, that I needed at least 4 hours so it may just be better to acount for this rather than beating yourself up about it and also get yourself out of the house just spend a little time doing something as it help to give a fresh perspective on things this is rally up to you though and only you know what your body can handle.

One more thing make sure you get a good night sleep b4 any exams or presentations, that was my major mistake and I wish I had.

Being an architecture student I pull my share of all nighters, (sometimes up to a week or so at a time) and my advice would be to avoid caffiene, and to give yourself a calorie per hour amount that you can stick to (I also maintain rather than try to lose during those times).  For example, I will have a 300 calorie meal every two hours.  Also, try to stick to healthy food and not eating impulsively.

whewee i had friends that are/were arch majors and the only way to hang out with them is go up to the arch building and watch them work on models :D

good luck on your finals op! been there, done that...am completly useless without sleep

Finals are the worst (very glad I finished mine up two weeks ago).  Being a law student I've pulled all nighters.  I went a good 4 days on next to no sleep and almost fell asleep during one of my finals.  But that's not the answer to your actual question....

Usually I do Energy Vitamin Water.  Yes it's high in sugar, but it still gets an A- on the analysis page and I just love it.  It uses vitamin c and guanine (guarine?) for the energy boost, but it's not a REAL energy boost where you'll have to worry about crashing. 

As far as food, if there's something I have to have (like if I'm craving pizza) I get it.  It's finals and I don't want to be distracted by stuff like that.  To avoid that I usually snack on filling stuff (pretzels and apples) periodically over the course of the night so that I won't get into craving mode. 

If you do end up finding time to not study, besides getting sleep you should hit the gym a bit in the morning.  The endorphins will give you a mental boost and more energy to get through the day and then you'll have burned more calories so less need to worry about what you snack on later.  I bring my outlines with me and read them while I'm on the eliptical or bike. 

Hope this wasn't too long and that maybe you got something useful out of it.  Good luck on your finals!

Thanks for all the great advice! I really do like the idea of an hourly calorie amount. and tea is also a good idea. I thought this was important, because there are many reasons people have to stay up late at night, i am usually up late all the time myself and I thought there could be a better way to do it. it is finals season, so good luck everyone and thanks for the advice! i finally get to sleep today, but tomorrow is another mess.

cheers!