WAKE UP! *slap*
 

What do you do during the day to keep yourself awake and alert? Does a hot cup of coffee do the trick, or do you take an occasional walk to get some fresh air?

Unfortunately for me, caffeine has no effect on me (actually, it makes me drowsy). Are there any other substances that help to keep someone awake?

My mind is kind of weird. When I have something to focus on and/or that something is an Item or subject that I am interested in (sometimes it can be a mandatory thing like Walking), Then I can easily stay awake and follow it (unless it is near the end of the day in which I desperately need sleep).

However, if I can't focus on it (which is rare) or I don't find it interesting (which is less rare) then I automatically go to sleep. One of the things though is that If I find myself getting tired, I can't help but go to sleep (Like in one of my math classes oh so long ago).

I don't need to do anything to keep me awake once I'm actually up. I'm with Dekoa, though, in that things that I'm not interested in completely suck the life out of me.

The only time I struggle with keeping awake is if I've been sleep-deprived for a while, and I'm in a car more than 15 minutes. I start nodding off while driving - it only lasts a split-second, but that's long enough to cause a terrible kaboom. The only way to keep myself from dozing behind the wheel is singing. Loud music doesn't cut it by itself - I have to be singing along at the top of my lungs.

i like to slap myself.

nah, i don't really know how i do it. i don't sleep much at all (been about 3 hours a night for the last few months), but i don't drink coffee or energy drinks much. i had some red bull sometimes in college for some all-nighters just as an "insurance" but i doubt i really needed it.

maybe it's because i can't sit still and i get fidgety or something. or maybe it's my breathing since i do some deep breathing exercises sometimes. i do some regular stretching too which i think helps. but for the most part, i think it just comes down to keeping busy and staying interested.. and i got plenty of interests to keep me awake... (take THAT out of context :p)

edit: just wanted to mention that i'm usually hyper all the time too, though i've calmed a bit over the years (just bringin it back for this throwback week)

I just sit on the computer to keep my mind on at least something.

I usually slap myself in the face a few times to try and stay awake. However if I'm really not interested at all on what's going on, forget about it. I'm down for the count. I find it the more I fight it, the more tired I eventually become though. Coffee only works sometimes, though. Of course it may help if I were a bit more active like I used to be. :tpg:

I am NOT a morning person, expectedly. I have a hard time waking up when the alarm clock goes off, and I am completely reliant on my sleep button.

When I get into the office, I usually have a cup of coffee in hand. If I don't have that coffee, I am liable to drag all day long.

But taking a shower first thing out of bed always helps. Though I am notorious for just standing in the shower, half-asleep, enjoying the hot water, I can get my ass in gear in a matter of minutes.

On another note: I've had to pull all-nighters on the road while the passengers all slept. This is a very difficult task, as I need to stay nice and quiet and drive nice and smoothly while everyone gets their sleep for the night while I stay alert enough to drive in the dark on abandoned highways. It gets really....really hard to do.

I find that coffee usually won't help too much in these situations, so I stock up on Red Bull. I am rocking the night away when I have Red Bull for some reason. The drink is made of almost pure sugar in itself and tastes like shit, but it keeps me up and alert while driving through the night.

I take nothing. If I am tired, I have a nap if I am not doing anything. If I am busy doing things, then it keeps me awake. I don't study much, but when I do, I make sure that I get enough sleep beforehand so I don't die on myself. On the RARE occasion I have some coffee. Otherwise, it might be an apple, or some carrots.

I don't ingest any coffee in the morning. Usually the walk to and from my lectures does the trick. Any unusual weather (snow, rain, sleet, etc.) I encounter keeps me alert. The walk is also substantially long, so I use up enough energy to wake up from a mid-morning slump.

If I do wind up dozing off in the middle of a lecture, a sharp pinch wakes me up for long enough. It's less conspicuous than a slap across the face.

A cup of coffee in the morning does the trick. By the time that cup is gone I'm parked and semi-wired. It's a rare occurrence that I'll be in a state of fatigue after one cup so I usually don't need more than that.

Saturday nights are another matter entirely though and I'm sure that's a topic that belongs in the Sewers. :p

I stretch alot whenever im bored or tired. Not sure why, but it keeps me occupied, and takes my mind off sleep.

I don't drink coffee, can't stand the stuff. But a can of Coca-Cola does the trick quite nicely, though I try not to drink it everyday. Not healthy to be drinking just that first thing in the morning.

I'm fine with the morning. It's not like I spring out of bed at 5:45, but within half an hour I'm fully awake and ready to face the day. My problem is in the afternoon, when I've run out of energy and am ready to doze off at my desk. I work an office job with not a lot of opportunity to get up and stretch, so something like coffee or soda would be ideal, if it didn't make me sleepy.

I am not a morning person so I have a really hard time waking up in the morning.

To try and keep myself awake though I try to do something that I have some interest in to keep me focused, but that isn't easy at work. Getting some fresh air sometimes helps matters.

This only happens to me when I'm being lazy and doing nothing. If working or doing anything else Ineed to be alert for I'm pretty good to go unless I didn't sleep enough the day before or somehow poisoned.

I'm not a morning person at ALL. I have to set my alarm clock up across the room to make sure I get out of bed to turn it off, otherwise I'll hit snooze a couple times and then turn it off, falling back to sleep.

As for totally waking up, I find that I drag myself around until I get my contacts in. Because I put contact solution in the contacts before I put them in, my eyes get flushed, and it really wakes me up... mostly because its cold. ^^;;

I get out, run a lap around my neighborhood (they're used to it) and come back panting, but wide awake.

I'm usually able to stay awake and interested in what I need to do when I'm under pressure. During finals week at school, I never seem to feel too tired at all. Drinking coffee or energy drinks don't help me either, and I try to stay away from those anyway.

But during boring days, listening to music or calling someone help keep me awake.

I have insomnia so I don't really have a problem with staying up, it's making it so the next day I'm not a zombie. Usually I use my coke'n'coffee technique, it's disgusting as hell but I just put instant coffee granules into coke. It works as a very good pick-me-up much better than pro plus. Although my bodies immune to those buggers now.

Depends on the situation. I'll close my eyes a lot during a lecture, and magically feel refreshed after a single instant that comes at an unexpected time. I can never force that instant, and I know it's not that I've slept since I can remember each part of the lecture and I look at my watch to make sure.

I'll make myself touch cold objects otherwise like a metal chair in an attempt to keep myself awake if I'm writing a midterm/exam which I didn't sleep properly enough for or is just plain boring.

I tend to sleep late, but I need to wake up early... Not really a good mix.

I usually just buy some coffee before school and drink parts of it during the day to keep the caffeine levels up. I especially need it during the my 3rd block stretch... My teacher is boring as hell. T_T

Once I'm awake I'm awake until I'm done with all the important tasks. If I'm tired AND there's a bed nearby I may take a nap, but chances are I won't.

I don't have to worry about staying awake, it's just the initial waking up that's hard. :p

I just move around alot. If I feel like I'm getting sleepy I'll go out and ride my bike somewhere or something. No rest for the wicked.

Coffee doesnt really work for me to keep me awake, it just makes me all jumpy and shakey.. All I need in a day is a cold shower and i'm all good.

Then again, a can of coke or sprite does great justice than coffee :o

If I have to stay awake, being around other people is pretty much needed for me to stay up. I've fallen asleep standing while leaning against things, and I've fallen asleep kneeling before. There are also times where I'll be in the middle of doing something, and I'll fall asleep without realizing it. I've also fallen asleep on the toilet and in the shower. So I'd say having someone there to keep me up is the only sure way.

A few years ago I used to supervise packing machines in the factory I work in, a very easy and boring job. Occasionally there would be a chair to sit on watching the products roll by. And every other week I would start my shift at 6:00am. And I'm not a morning person. Can you see where this is heading...?






Yes.









Sleepy time.

I dunno about you guys, but my Internal Body Clock is VERY strict. Everyday, I will automatically wake up between 8:00AM - 10:00AM (without any alarm clock) and I won't get sleepy until about 10:00PM - 12:00AM. I don't take any naps in the afternoon, nor have I ever had to, and I don't think I ever will. It works perfect for me because I won't fall asleep unwillingly until I pass the 12:00AM mark. But if I really need to do something, simply attempting to do it will keep me awake. (aka school projects, homework, whatever).

BUT, if I ever felt somewhat tired, a cup of coffee would keep me awake. In the event that coffee is not available, some fresh air will do the trick.

If you are really really tired...try biting into an orange (skin and all). Trust me, that would wake anyone up! If I'm driving at night I always have one in the glove compartment.
On the whole though, I'm used to wandering around in such a state of heightened concentration at college and at work that tiredness doesn't hit me until I relax at home.

I have to write to keep awake. Jotting notes in class, scribbling in my journal, stuff like that. If I'm just sitting there, it all goes downhill. (Also: COFFEE. Honestly, I'm not sure it really helps... But it tastes so damn good--once you fill it with enough stuff to mask the actual coffee taste.)

If I actually need to pull an all-nighter to study, nothing in the world beats Adderall. With that, I'm fully awake, and more clear-headed and ready to study than I could ever be without it. It truly saved me during midterms.

If I really need to wake up, I drop a shot of Jagermeister in a glass of chocolate milk and glug it.

Try it before you call me crazy. It works wonders.

Chocolate milk = yes
Jagermeister = fuck yes

Together = wtf

(Intrigued.)

I don't really need waking up throughout the day. I'm awake, I do what has to be done, I sleep. Well, most of what has to be done. Actually I spend most of my time in a groggy haze, but I get things done shabbily nonetheless ^_^;

Coffee doesn't work, nor do energy drinks like Lucozade or Red Bull. I just have to force myself, else I'd be on the sewer route mentioned earlier...

I usually try to listen to music with attitude (i.e. Guilty Gear soundtracks and stuff). If I know I'm tired, I run to the nearest soda machine for Mountain Dew. I'll consume two 20oz. and see if that works. If that doesn't work, I'll slap myself. If all else fails, I give up and fall asleep. :(

man morning time, what the hell is that? I'm not usually up till noon then I go to classes. honestly though I find that just falling off my bed does it. that or having a really loud alarm clock.

I usually just listen to music (not those smoothing / good-for-sleep kind of music :P) and it keeps me awake most of the time.

Without my morning shower, I'll never wake up. Hell, I live for that shower. Just standing there half-asleep and enjoying the hot water. After standing there for 15 minutes, I make a cup of coffe (if I have the time, which I almost never have). Then I'm set.

3 words: Ice, Cold, Water!

Turn your faucet to max cold and splash that stuff on your face till you start to cry! It never fails!

You're one of the few lucky ones left to have a prescription for Dexedrine, Nachos. The one time I tried the stuff it just seemed above and beyond the high I usually associate with Adderall. Good stuff.

Hmm, I'll have to see if one of the three pharmacies within my colony have this stuff. If not, I'll check with the two thousand NO PRESCRIPTION NEEDED pharmacies in the city.

It's also a really good drug if you feel like being anorexic for a while. I swear to god it's near impossible to eat when you're first starting out on it.

I am constantly moving to keep myself awake. I have to multitask or I tend to fall asleep. Caffeine tends to make me drowsy but I need it to get my heart racing so I can hold still. I've noticed that I tend to get up and pace for hours at a time if I start feeling drowsy or I cannot concentrate on what I should be doing.

I found Ritalin was a lot more of a jittery high than the one I experienced taking Adderall and Dexedrine. Didn't like it at all.

I know, man. It felt almost like you had taken an extreme amount of caffeine. Not too fun.

I just try to keep myself busy. If I'm in class, I'll doodle or something. If at work, I'll straighten tables of folded clothes. Anything to keep me moving.

I took a caffeine pill once, and it really messed me up. :( Never again.

I would have to say tea. At least the notion of tea will get me going (although I have fallen asleep even after drinking tea). An espresso shot or something very caffeinated would indeed keep me awake but I would have little to no concentration with my heart going berserk, so that in itself is useless. If all else fails, I take a nap and wake up earlier. The thought of not having that thing done is enough to give me a fright to wake up.

I get tired sometimes at school, and to wake me up, I try my best to pay rapt attention to the teacher; writing notes helps. In other words, actually getting interested in the work helps me.

I've had bad experiences with being tired; a few times I've slept in so long that I missed half of a school-day. Always feel like shit when that happens. Also, one time I almost fell asleep in class. I could feel myself losing control and when my head was heading straight to my desk, I fortunately woke up. The thought of the consequences if my head had hit the desk still haunt me. :)

I just listen to very heavy metal and either try to sing along or crank it so loud that passing out would be the only way of possibly getting to sleep or sing along... or both at the same time. If the setting demands that I don't bust out the heavy, then just anything that I can sing along with usually will suffice. Usually playing guitar at excessive volumes will also get the job done.


Basically my aim is just to make it impossible to go to sleep, no real willpower involved here.

When I´m doing something I´m passionate about, sleep is not really problem. On the second night I´ll usually break, and then there is nothing that can stop sleep.

I just let myself go to sleep. If I'm feeling tired, it means I need sleep.

J-Man, just let someone watch you and wake you up every time you fall asleep. They call that torture in some parts of the world, though.