But with two exams Thursday, Ramijanc said he didn’t have a choice.

“Right now I’m feeling pretty drained, but hopefully this Monster energy drink and espresso shot will help out,” Ramijanc said as he studied at the Main Library. “It’s pretty hard, but if you want to get good grades, you have to study your butt off.”

Ramijanc wasn’t alone. Throughout the week, many MSU students pushed their minds and bodies to the limit, participating in late-night study sessions.

Serving espresso and energy drinks at the Sparty’s convenience store in the Main Library, Mary Myers had a front-row seat for the extended study sessions many students put themselves through.

“I don’t know how these kids do it — staying up all night,” she said.

Myers said the number of food and energy drinks Sparty’s sells during the week before exam weeks rises dramatically, especially during her 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift.

“It’s been packed,” Myers said. “One minute you look up and there’s 25 people in line.”

While late-night study sessions are unavoidable in some instances, they often reduce concentration and memory, Jan Collins-Eaglin, director of the MSU Counseling Center, said.

“You’re not giving your brain the rest it needs to do its best,” Collins-Eaglin said. “A lot of times, students will cram and not remember the material for the test.”

For journalism junior Noah Maher late-night cram sessions are the only way to study.

“It’s an advantage to me when I budget time like this because I can get things done in one sweep,” Maher said.

Still, he sometimes struggles during his all-night study sessions.

“I’m starting to get a little tired, but I’m going to get a Monster energy drink soon,” Maher said at 3 a.m. on Monday. “I planned it, so I’m here for the night, and I can’t wuss out and go home.”

Such study habits can stress many students out, Collins-Eaglin said. According the 2006 National College Health Assessment, 28 percent of MSU students reported that stress had negatively affected their academics.

When students are under stress, they are more susceptible to illness, anxiety or depression, Collins-Eaglin said.

“There’s a real issue of stress that students put on themselves,” Collins-Eaglin said.

That stress is what Katherine Dunigan tries to avoid during exam week.

The dietetics senior began studying for finals last week. Since then, she has been reading her notes and quizzing herself each day.

“I’m not a crammer,” she said. “If I do, I’ll get really stressed out.