On the subject of all-nighters and sleep debt: You might be surprised at what a difference just a few hours of sleep + and afternoon nap can make. The downside

On the subject of all-nighters and sleep debt: You might be surprised at what a difference just a few hours of sleep + and afternoon nap can make. The downside is that it's really hard to wake up at that point (due to sleep inertia as the article calls it) and you feel really crappy- probably crappy enough that you might think "I'd feel better if I had just stayed up", and you wouldn't be wrong. However, the upside is that you will be much more clear-headed later on than if you had stayed up. My personal guess is that after about 3 hours, most of the neurotransmitter metabolite soup has been cleaned up in your brain, and the rest of the normal sleep cycle is maintenance and repair (very important, but not 100% essential to basic functioning for a typical 8-hour work period). I always ask myself whether I really need to be up all night or I could afford to spare a few hours for sleep.