Psychology Today on sleep and performance
I've always intuitively felt that all-nighters and such lead to poor performance - ever since high school actually. So it gives me a small thrill when I find some scientist waving around studies that support the idea.
In this case, Psychology Today's Kelly McGonigal shares findings that show how cognitive function is disrupted by irregular sleep patterns - not just not getting enough, but not getting it regularly can, apparently, severely inhibit performance.
Here's the executive summary:
Getting enough sleep, on a regular cycle, may make us a better version of ourselves. And even though my greatest wish is usually more time in the day, I'd rather feel good and perform well than get to be a crankier, impulsive, sick version of myself for a few extra hours a day.