If you’re a college student, you’ve likely pulled at least one all-nighter. You probably completely rationalized it: the deadline for that 10-page paper snuck up on you, you have a 7 a.m. final and you figure it’s easier to stay up all night studying than trying to sleep, or you finally have time to marathon the new season of “House of Cards” and you won’t let the clock tell you when to stop watching.

According to a study conducted at St. Lawrence University, 59 percent of college students have stayed up all night at least once, and two-thirds of respondents said they pulled an all-nighter at least once per semester. Unfortunately, even one all-nighter can have adverse effects on your health.

Here are four reasons you should rethink your next all-nighter:

1. All-nighters alter your brain chemistry and can lead to bad decisions

The brain’s prefrontal cortex commands personality and planning complex behaviors. Its mesolimbic pathway releases dopamine into the brain, regulating positive feelings, motivation and decision-making. After a good night’s sleep, these two areas work together to ensure you consider your decisions before making them. But after an all-nighter, the connection between these regions falls apart, causing euphoria that can lead to impulsive decision-making.

2. Your memory will suffer

In a 2015 study conducted at Brandeis University, researchers studying brain structures in fruit flies similar to those in human brains found that your brain could actually be telling you to go to sleep as your brain begins to convert short-term memories to long-term memories. Staying awake during this process means that if you are up late studying for an exam, whatever you’ve learned that night will not be committed to long-term memory if you do not sleep after studying. Also, the euphoria caused by all-nighters might cause you to believe you know the information you’ve studied better than you actually do.

3. The effects of “sleep debt” can linger even after you’ve slept 

A normal night’s sleep consists of several sleep cycles of five stages, each cycle lasting between an hour and a half and two hours. Stages 3 and 4 are the most important for feeling rejuvenated after a good night’s sleep, and not being able to experience these during an all-nighter leads to sleep debt. When you finally get some sleep, paying back this sleep debt can make you feel groggy for several hours after waking up instead of the usual 30 minutes.

4. Fatigue can be fatal

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends adults get seven to eight hours of sleep every night, and ignoring this advice can have serious consequences. Not only are adults who regularly get less than six hours of sleep four times more likely to have a stroke, but just one all-nighter doubles the risk of a workplace injury and greatly reduces alertness during the day. And at least 100,000 car crashes each year are the direct result of “drowsy driving,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The next time you are contemplating whether to stay up all night, remember all of the negative effects it can have on your well being.