All-nighter tiredness tips

by 1224591

Tiredness tips: How to successfully pull an all-nighter and make it through the next day with this rather helpful advice to combat tiredness.

You procrastinated with a paper. You partied way too hard (in which case, you might also want to read our hangover cures. Or maybe you just goofed off playing Resident Evil and then realized it was 5:30 in the morning and you had work/class/life at 9:00 AM. Eek.

I've so been there.

Now, I'm not saying this sort of feckless behaviour is healthy. Let's all be realistic here - it's not. Your body needs sleep, and it needs it regularly.

But sometimes, we find ourselves in a situation (hurrah!) where getting sleep is simply not an option.

These tiredness tips will help you make it through the night and ensuing day without crashing... at least, not until you reach the comfort of your bed that evening.

I'm sure there are different methods that work for everyone; these are the all-nighter tiredness tips that work for me. I used to have a hard time with doing this, but I've figured out what works for myself and now pull it off like a pro.

Caffeinate.

This is unfortunately not so optional. You will need caffeine in a consistent and strong supply. It doesn't get much better than coffee. Yerba Mate is also excellent. Strong black tea and green tea are also good - more anti-oxidants, but less caffeine. If you must, you can use energy drinks which include huge amounts of caffeine and (unless you're a US citizen where it's banned) taurine, but these energy drinks don't strike me as very pleasant. Also, an energy drink may give you too much caffeine in one sitting. If we can avoid being jittery, we should.

If you're in a situation where you know you'll be having to stay up ahead of time, start caffeinating early. Start sipping some coffee that evening and make yourself a few cups of tea/coffee throughout the night.

The key to this is going to be staying caffeinated without overdoing it, so that you're awake but not full of caffeine nerves.

Eat.

A lot of caffeine on an empty stomach is not a good scene. Food will also supply you with much needed energy. Eat whenever you're even a little hungry and make sure it's something with healthy carbs to give you a good energy boost.

Hydrate.

Drink water regularly. It helps, I promise.

Move.

Sitting in one place doing nothing is conducive to alertness. If you can take a short walk or simply stretch where you sit, it'll snap you into being less likely to drift off.

Don't get bored.

You know how people fall asleep in lecture? Yeah.

Power nap.

Speaking of falling asleep in lecture, I remember many times when I'd be sitting in class with no sleep, drifting off... I'd be fighting it, but inadvertently my eyes would shut for a couple of minutes a few times in the class. And you know how I felt after doing that several times? So much better.

Power naps work. I know they don't technically count as 'staying up' but if you can manage these, you'll be doing yourself a favour.

If you know you can set an alarm/wake back up/do this successfully without falling asleep for several hours, try to grab about 10 minutes of relaxing with your eyes closed, sleeping or not. Once you get up, have a nice cup of your caffeinated beverage of choice. This helps things significantly for a lot of people.

And now you can read our wake me up tips to shake off that tiredness on a sleepy monday morning!

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