Stay Awake At Work

I recently got into a gig that requires me to work in a different timezone. It's an online project so I get to stay at my home-office. Nevertheless, for the past 2 weeks my body is still adjusting from the flipping of my body clock. Now, my AM is PM and vice-versa.

Nowadays however, this sort of thing is as much commonplace as an email address in a business card. Today's businesses and jobs exposes us all to the possibility of compromising our sleeping routine at one point or another.

The question therefore is how do you stay awake at work? Not unless you have Morvan's syndrome, it may need a little bit more than just a cup of coffee. Before trying to self-induce insomnia, know that sleep deprivation carries with it serious health risks. That said, here are some known practices for staying awake.

1. Get enough rest. This is a no-brainer. You want to stay awake? You've got to get enough sleep prior to your scheduled waking hours. The day before my first graveyard shift, I dropped my previous afternoon routine and just went on a sleeping binge. Slip into comfortable pajamas. Darken up the room to fool your mind into thinking it's nighttime. Make sure your room is quiet. Either that or employ a source for "white noise" - the buzzing of an electric fan for instance, or a recording of whale sounds. A cup or two of milk can work wonders. Just make sure that you take the horizontal position for six up to eight hours before you're supposed to be awake.


2. Eat less. A full stomach triggers most people to rest mode. By eating less, you'll probably be "too hungry" to doze off. Also, what you eat determines your sleepiness. No to carbs. They fill up more. Sugary bites helps. Chocolate bars can give you that push of energy during your night shift. Spicy food tend to keep you hot enough to stay awake but a study also shows chili helps you to sleep better. Personally, I take in a chili rich soup during the last leg of my shift; it keeps me on my toes then later, when I do need to hit the pillows, helps me to sleep soundly and makes me feel more energized when I wake up.




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3. Learn to Power Nap. Short 15-minute to half-hour naps helps in keeping you up in the long haul. The object is to get that benefit of feeling rested without actually dozing off to deep sleep. With this strategy, your alarm clock is your best friend.


4. Exercise your butts. Sleep requires inertia too, meaning you have to be in a position conducive to sleep before you actually snooze off. So take short breaks and get in motion. Do stretches, push-ups or even lift some weights. The spike in adrenaline caused by the exercise will power you up for your shift.
   

Now here's a video that gives more pointers for the sleepyheads out there.



Do you know other sound advice on keeping awake? Send in your suggestions.