Running on caffeine and a dream

Collage by Easton Clark, Photo Editor

Katie Ling had never tried an energy drink before finals week. The sophomore communication studies major chugged two Monster Energy drinks during an all-nighter of studying before an 8 a.m. final. What followed was not the exam she had hoped for.

“I proceeded to have what I think was a panic attack mid-exam,” Ling said. “Then, I went to my dorm to take a nap before my afternoon exam, and I had the most insane lucid dream ever. I was hallucinating shapes. I have very little desire to do it again.”

Every semester, Chapman students show up to finals week running on caffeine, anxiety and not nearly enough sleep. Habits like last-minute cramming and power naps between exams have become a part of the college experience, just as much as the exams themselves. 

Michael Hass, a professor emeritus of counseling and school psychology at Chapman, said students often lose perspective on what finals mean.

“If you start from a place where you're already anxious, you can give a lot more importance to something than it warrants,” Hass said. “(Final exams are) certainly not life-or-death situations.”

He pointed out that habits students lean on during finals often don’t translate to real learning. 

“Drink a bunch of coffee, get really caffeinated, study, study, study, go take the test,” he said. “You may do okay on the test, but you won't remember anything.”

A common thread among students is a drastically altered sleep schedule toward the end of the semester.

Freshman mathematics and civil engineering major RJ Madriaga said he sleeps very little in the days leading up to his finals, especially as a commuter.

“Almost every day for two weeks before and during finals week, my sleep schedule changes from (falling asleep at) 1 a.m. to 3 or 4 a.m.,” Madriaga said. “(Then) I have to wake up early to (drive to) my morning classes, especially if I have an 8 a.m. exam.”

For non-commuter students, some take full advantage of the Keck Center, one of the only buildings on campus that stays open for 24 hours during finals week, by pulling all-nighters or sleeping in the building.

“Every time I have an 8 a.m. exam, I will stay up the whole night studying in Keck, have breakfast at SubConnection at 7:30 a.m. and then go to my exam,” junior data science major Natalie Eng said. “I always do surprisingly well.”

Eng said that before an 8 a.m. final last semester, she took a 20-minute nap in the middle of the night to ease her nerves and was successful in both how she felt and performed.

“I felt very calm with my seven-hour straight study session, and I did feel less stressed (after the nap),” Eng said. “That was very productive for me. It was weirdly amazing; that day went exactly how I wanted.”

Likewise, senior applied human physiology and psychology double major Katie Scholle has pulled all-nighters in Keck, but to varying levels of success.

“It's a 50-50 chance whether it works or doesn't work, so it's a little risky,” Scholle said. “I have to nap the right amount. Sometimes 20-minute naps work, but I’ve also taken an hour nap before.”

Hass, who tried pulling all-nighters himself as an undergraduate, was not convinced it was worth it. 

“If I’m going to stay up all night, I’m not going to be studying,” Hass said with a laugh. “There are better things to do.”

In certain situations, however, students may avoid studying for finals altogether, either because they already have a high grade in the class or because they prefer to wing it.

“I mixed orange juice and tequila and took it before one final because I had 107% going into it,” Scholle said. “I literally did not study for that class a single second the entire semester.”

As yet another finals week rolls around, some students will inevitably fall back into their same routines. Whether diligent study guide creators or caffeine-fueled crammers, only time will tell what habits pay off.

For all students dragging themselves to the finish line, Hass has one last reminder. 

"In some sense, you have to learn to be compassionate towards yourself. If you're not perfect, you realize you're still probably going to be okay."