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.
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