Your fave methods of staying alert when you're not?
 

I got an hour of sleep today. So, my question is, how do you stay alert when your body and mind want to go to sleep so badly??

(Besides caffeine http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif)

My body and mind are fighting me! I desperately want to sleep but I have to finish a paper.

P.S. Is there any cure for headaches besides taking pills?


[This message has been edited by newbie (edited May 29, 2001).]

They say peppermints have something in them that keeps people alert, so you might want to try gobbling down some Altoids.

When I was in school, I routinely pulled all-nighters to finish papers. Not the wisest move, but what can you do? My trick was to take frequent breaks (about every half hour or so) and take a quick walk around the block. This worked much better during the winter months, because the cold weather would wake me up (I didn't wear a jacket when I was walking). Unfortunately, we're now in the end of May. But you never know.

Thank you Chief! Peppermints it is, then. Yeah, all-nighters are the worst. It's interesting on how bad they are compared to getting an hour of sleep. I feel much better getting a few minutes of sleep rather than no sleep at all. Then I walk around like a zombie!

Also, I have no problem with getting access to cold weather http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif. Here in foggy SF, the weather in the early morning gets downright chilly! Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by newbie (edited May 29, 2001).]

Thanks localsororities, thankfully I have OJ in my fridge today!!

I sing or hum. LOL. Unfortunately you cannot do that in class but it's sure to keep ya going if you do it while just standing around at work like I do sometimes.

------------------
What do you get when you cross an Alpha Omicron Pi and a Sigma Phi Epsilon? A beautiful Chi Omega!!!
Zeta Delta Chapter of Chi Omega
http://www.unomaha.edu/~comega

when ever I start to feel sleepy I would turn the radio on and dance around and sing
http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

It's not a favorable method, but a cold shower will wake you right up!

The shower idea is good. Also drinking a lot of water and Coke helps. I'm speaking from experience. I had about 6 hours of sleep between Friday and yesterday. So many parties, so little time! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif What can you do? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

thats a good topic Newbie,
when I need to stay alert, like if I am on a long drive home or something ok these are silly but they work for me:
I count out loud to 100, and then i pick certain numbers to stop at and and do something that many times, like 5, then I 'll name five colors, then I'll go to like 20 and name 20 people. It's long and silly, but it's gets my brain moving and then I forget about how sleepy I am . lol, i know I am a goofball, but hey wahever works right *
http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/other/yup.gif
DGPhoney~

Thank you all for your responses! Please keep them coming!

DGPhoney, LOL, I love your method...that sounds very interesting, and perhaps it will work the most?!! I will keep you posted! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif Oh, also, I left a message in the baseball thread before regarding Derek Jeter http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif hehehee.

[This message has been edited by newbie (edited May 30, 2001).]

Vitamin R!!!

Well, about a month ago, my boyfriend and I decided to go to New Orleans for the evening (about 90 miles from Baton Rouge). We ended up getting on the wrong interstate on the way home and had to cross Lake Ponchartrain and go around the long way, through our hometown and everything...

Well, around 3 AM or so, we were dead tired, and Josh had to stay awake. So we kept trying to name all 50 states. We never did name them all. But it kept our minds occupied and alert. Also, we sang really loudly to the radio/CDs...that got us alert too http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Oh yeah, at least 75mg of vitamin b-complex. That's some good $h1t, it's like a drug!
But, make sure you don't have liver or kidney damage!

try drinking a ton of water... really chug it.

You'll definately stay awake then! Or, wet the bed! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

Do a few shots.

Thanks you guys!!

DGPhoney--I tried your mehtod--and it worked!!! THANK YOU!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

Ha COOL, I am so glad it worked for you, see ya'll I am good for something,lol. It's a cute method that keeps your brain going , it's like playing the license plate game in the car(or the state game)
http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif
DGPhoney~

1) You control your body. Don't ever forget that. You can easily stay awake if you really want to. Make sure you do eventually get some sleep though.
2) Cycles work best. If you do something, do it again to make sure it doesn't stop working and leaving you tired. Caffeine is disruptive to concentration work. If you want to stay awake in class...go for it. I recommend against it for cramming large amounts of work or writing papers. If you only want to stay awake and not really concentrate, then a better alternative are ECA stacks. I use them for a couple months out of the year for working out, but they're caffeine plus ephedrine extracts (not pure eph since that was banned because of misuse). However use discretion in regards to this since it comes with a warning label for people with faint hearts (but then again so do caffeine pills like vivarin and no doze). The only stuff known to help you concentrate and stay awake are adderal and ritalin. Just remember both are controlled substances and against the law to abuse. Should you feel more daring, I'm sure you could become a speed addict.
3) Eat. No matter what you do, eat and drink. Don't eat anything that'll make you sleepy. This means no heavy dinner of turkey and wine. I tend to play with carb levels throughout the day, and make sure I keep a high intake of them. For example, eat lots of complex carbs the whole day and at night go for some orange juice and a couple granola bars for snacks. Sugar will just spike your energy levels and leave you drained. If you're hungry, eat more. If you're not hungry, still keep eating.
4) Don't waste time. Listen all of us know that when you cram, you don't just study the whole night. You keep goofing off and taking "breaks". They're wasteful.
5) Work on a schedule. If you write down when to take breaks, study, and then go to sleep then your brain deals with it better.
6) On your breaks, don't check your email or talk to a friend. Instead walk around a bit...maybe do a couple of jumping jacks. Don't exert yourself too much since your marginal benefit will decrease after a certain point.
7) Play with your comfort levels. Obviously it will be harder to fall asleep knowing it's cold in your room. If you're in class, wear something uncomfortable (not recommended for an exam but only a discussion).
8) Take a power nap. This nap should NOT last longer than 20 minutes. There are no excuses to this because if you do extend it just a "bit more", you could end up going into a sleep cycle that will leave you groggy and not refreshed.

Thanks Rudey and DGPhoney!

Rudey--haha, I think I will stay away from speed http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif. Not a big fan of drugs here!

DGPhoney--what is the license plate gaame like?

What was the question again? Yeah I'm listening http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

DGPhony: We used to play the license plates and the state games all of the time http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif Did you ever play road trip bingo? It is something where you had to fill your card up of things that you would have to look for on the road. For example, motorcycle, vw beetle, etc.

haha thats so funny, we soo used to play that, I used to think my fam was looney for making me play that when I was younger but it's actually a cool game

Yeah, Rudey. Stay away from Adderall and Ritalin! That stuff will mess you up. I know that from taking Ritalin for 4 years and Adderall for 2 years, not recreationally, but for theraputic reasons.

If you have trouble concentrating and staying awake here's to remedies:

*Drink Hansen's Energy citrus soda, it has all the good stuff to "hype" you up, such as, 80 mg. of caffiene, b-vitamins, ginseng, taurine, etc. If you don't know what I am talking about, it's in a tall green soda can,
by the health food section, it's a little expensive ($1.99), but it's worth it.

*Run bitch run! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif When you exercise, your body releases chemicals like dopamine, adrenaline, endorphins, seratonin, etc. That can help concentration, but don't over do it or it will get worse!