As students, most of us have contemplated looming deadlines and the dreaded all-nighter.

The Optimist offers this guide for surviving a successful all-nighter. May your caffeine supply, be ever flowing and your assignments faultless.

1. Gum: When the first case of the “sleepies” hits, early in the evening, unwrap some Wrigley’s® and chomp away. The constant smacking will keep the words flowing as your introduction takes shape, and – after a few hours – lock jaw requires concentration to keep chewing.

2. Calisthenics: Exercise is a healthy part of any strapping young scholar’s life; why not cram it into a packed schedule between annotated citations? The feverish motion offers a surefire jumpstart, and burns calories along with those sources. Don’t worry about feeling faint; 10 more jumping jacks and your brain will be back on track to finish the tasks.

3. Coffee: love it or hate it, everyone knows caffeine represents sweet nectar to any practiced nocturnal scholar. The challenge: stretching the high while delaying the crash. Supplementing vats of caffeine with a lightweight snack will stave the shakes a little longer. Note: Avoid turkey and milk at all costs. You’re not kicking back to watch a Thanksgiving Day Parade, and unintentional napping does not make for a completed research paper.

4. Energy drinks: For those less fearful of heart palpitations and stomach ulcers, energy drinks offer a tried-and-true last resort. When the eyelids start to droop, pop a top and prepare for productivity. Any subsequent tremors just make for faster words-per-minute as you type those final paragraphs.

Seriously though, as unavoidable as the occasional all-nighter might remain for the striving scholar, at the end of the day, no amount of caffeine or calisthenics replaces sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation website estimates that adults require between 7-9 hours of sleep nightly for “optimum performance, health and safety.” And studies have correlated insufficient sleep with health problems like obesity, diabetes, hypertension and depression, according to the website.

So chew gum, down the occasional pot of coffee and, by all means, keep up a daily jazzercise routine. But when the sun retires for the evening, carefully weigh the cost of all-nighters and sleep delayers and consider hitting snooze.