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I think Arizals statement must be qualified in two ways: 1. If you learn the entire night without wasting any time at all 2. If you don’t endanger yourself, through stupidity, that year.

Is staying up the second night is real thing, is there a source for this custom?

The source for the second night seems to be the Shelah in Mesechta Shavous

Not enough has been written in sefarim about NOT staying up on Shavuot night if you wont be able to daven properly.

If on Purim, where getting drunk is a mitzva, one should not do so if one will not be able to bentch/daven maariv later on—how much more so should one forgo the *custom* of staying up all night if one wont be able to daven properly.

It is certinly a hallowed and revered custom, but context is everything.

Ari Enkin

Re; Ari’s comment about staying up and davening properly - I think this is something that is definitely for the youngsters. If one can pull off all-nighters before taking a morning test, handling davening should not be an issue. I do think that people hit an age where that would just not be doable. I think my age limit was 25.

btw: if one is irritable after staying up, than I would think that would not qualify as being able to daven properly.