I'm with you on this. There was over a decade where I regularly stayed up for days on end hacking on projects and just generally studying and learning new thin

I'm with you on this. There was over a decade where I regularly stayed up for days on end hacking on projects and just generally studying and learning new things. It's never been a challenge for me to do. If there's something engaging which I'm immersed in, the days just tick by, no drugs/caffeine involved. Had I not done those projects, I wouldn't be anywhere near as knowledgable as I am today. So far my health and fitness is great, and there doesn't seem to have been any lasting negative effects. But I make a very conscious effort to avoid pulling all-nighters now which I still naturally will tend towards if immersed in something. Before age 30 though, depending on your physiology and general health/lifestyle, I'm of the opinion that all-nighters can easily be a win. I think the biggest risk with establishing the productive all-nighter capability earlier in life is later in life when the consequences are more grave you'll still have that tendency. It reminds me of how body-builders or similarly oversized muscular folks often tend to become obese later in life when they can't sustain the physical activity of the past, but of course habitually/pleasurably persist the high intake of calories.