All-nighters can be good for business

When the Rolling Stones recorded their great 1972 album Exile on Main Street, it was not a nine-to-five affair. Drummed out of England by soaring taxes on the rich, they shacked up in a rented mansion in the South of France with abundant drink, drugs and companionship and set to it. The story of how rehearsal sessions would begin late in the evening in the mansion's dark, sweaty basement and rumble on until morning is recorded in the superb BBC documentary Stones in Exile, released earlier this year.

The Stones are not the only ones capable of genius during the hours when the white-collar world is asleep. Winston Churchill did much of his best work at night, as did Marcel Proust and James Joyce. Carl Icahn, the American billionaire and corporate raider, is famous for rising late and staying up until 2-3am. When laying siege to a company, he arranges for negotiations to peak just as he is at his freshest and his opponents are pining for bed.

Rock bands, authors and corporate raiders, however, are not the only ones to thrive when night falls. Technology companies have long known the virtues of allowing their staff to go for it when the phones fall quiet. The programmers' offices at Google hum with activity throughout the night.

A popular phenomenon during start-ups is the all-night "hackathon", when engineers put in all-nighters to solve a particular problem or even come up with solutions outside their usual job description. The idea is to generate the intensity of a student essay crisis or corporate deadline, but with an element of anarchic fun. Such events not only produce ideas, but also a sense of camaraderie.

The allure of all-nighters is particularly intense for the recently graduated, who may have become used to doing their best work in highly caffeinated darkness. This insight led to the creation of a group called New York Nightowls, who gather at 10pm every Tuesday night in borrowed office space and stay until the rest of the world wakes up. The concept has already spread to other American cities and is creeping beyond. Allan Grinshtein, founder of the Nightowls, told The New York Times: "At home, I fall asleep, procrastinate and don't get anything done. I thought, there has got to be someone else out there doing the same thing."

Sure enough, there was. The events are free and the spirit collaborative. Programmers come and work on pet projects they cannot get done at the office or amid the distractions of home. People trying to get companies off the ground come and seek out help. The mood is subdued but harmonious. And best of all, there are no meetings to attend nor office politics to deal with. The person looking over your shoulder is more likely to be looking for help than trying to steal your idea.

In terms of productivity, provided you can stay awake, the night hours can be turbocharged. The email box does not beep, the instant messengers are silent, and the internet is less crowded and primed for speed.

It is not something you want to do every night. Working regular night shifts has been shown to have negative effects on people's mood and health. Night workers tend to live less healthy lives — but every now and again, a few all-nighters are just what is needed to make that long-simmering project come to a boil, which will be enough to make the daytimers jealous.