What keeps you awake?

[Baron Kurtz]

What keeps me awake?

Right now: fireworks. Normally nothing can wake me up, but those things are loud when exploding just outside the window ...

bk

 

[Dixon's Dame]

I seem to need quite a bit of sleep, and I nap just about every day on my lunch hour from work, I drink mugs of tea right before bed, and I still fall asleep without any trouble at night. I've never been able to pull an all-nighter; I simply can't make it, even when I've tried. Sometimes, I'd really like to, particularly when I'm on a project, but it just doesn't happen.

Oddly, what will keep me awake is if I have to set an alarm clock to get up early for some reason. I don't use one, never have, hate them passionately (I have pets -- they function as my daily "alarm clock"). So on those occassions where I have to use one to get up earlier than normal, I wake up about every half hour, throughout the night, until I can turn it off before it goes off and get myself out of bed. Setting one guarantees an absolutely sleepless night. And, of course, as everyone else has mentioned, heavy stress or worry will keep the brain from shutting down.

 

[Caledonia]

Lots of things ringing a bell here, which would oddly enough keep me awake!
Colleency - I'm the same when hubs is out, but only at home and only the first night. After that the absence of snoring is total bliss.
I've also had the 4 hour alcohol effect, almost on the dot. I read that it's not just the sleep cycle, but your blood sugar, and that goes for when you've not been imbibing too. If your blood sugar is low anyway then after about 4 hours there's not enough in there and you wake up. You're supposed to eat a biscuit or something before going to bed, but I didn't find that made any difference, but then maybe you're not supposed to dunk it in a glass of wine...

 

[colleency]

Dixon's Dame, I can't set an alarm either. I lay awake watching it. I have a fairly good internal alarm clock. I just tell myself what time I need to be up, and I wake up about 5-10 minutes before that.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

What keeps you awake?

Thinking about long term goals, "where do you want to be in 5 years" kinda stuff, when that gets stuck in my head it's a bear to get out, have to leave the radio on overnight sometimes to get to sleep. But then that's also usually when I've gotten my best ideas on the subject so far! (Well, guess I won't really know that for another 5 years...) Always have a pen & "things to do" pad by the bed.

Swing High,
- Cousin Hepcat

 

[Tourbillion]

How to Stay Awake at Work (long post)

by Tourbillion

I have a very boring job. I am required to do routine, menial tasks (even though they know I am not stupid) to fill up my day so that I am never idle. I also got all of the work that no one else would do, i.e. it is A---'s job to do the filing, but he never does it so lets give it to Tourbillion. The orders need to be put into the spreadsheet, and well the high school dropout doesn't get it done one time, let's give it to someone with a college degree, hey Tourbillion! You get the picture.

So, here is what one does when the sandman calls at work:

1. Talk to someone. It is hard to fall asleep when you are laughing at a joke, arguing politics, discussing your bosses latest screw up, etc. If you are alone, call a friend.

2. Get up and walk around. It is also difficult to fall asleep when you are walking around. In fact, going up and down the staircase works even better, you get at least 30 minutes to and hour of invigoration.

3. Have a snack. A small one. The extra blood sugar may help your metabolism. Also, getting up to find a snack is more interesting than working, and you might get to talk to someone.

4. Goof off. If you can do something interesting, like web surfing, or reading, or playing computer games that is the best, you can't fall asleep if you are really interested in what you are doing.

5. If you can't goof off, try working. Get a task that is mentally demanding, like trying to correct your bosses mistakes, like my bosses latest one, placing a PO for over 70,000 cs instead of 70 cs (yes I had to explain to our supplier that they did not have to produce 70,000 cs of product in one month, several million dollars worth, in fact. Before you ask, no, this isn't the first time, and no she won't ever be fired, if anything happens it is my fault for not catching her errors).

6. Caffeine is useless, if you can't tolerate speed (due to it's being illegal or just because it sucks, well those are my excuses), talk you to your doctor and beg for something for narcolepsy. Maybe you can even convince your doctor you have narcolepsy if you fall asleep at work. Here are the meds:
Stimulants:

Cylert® (pemoline)*
Ritalin® (methylphenidate)
Dexedrine® (dextroamphetamine)**
Desoxyn® (methamphetamine)**
*my mom used to take this one for narcolepsy, it works, but causes liver failure.
**These are "speed", as I mentioned they suck.

Wake-promoting agent:
Provigil (modafinil)***

***This one is great, but it neutralizes the effects of birth control pills. So, ladies, unless you are planning for a family it is best to avoid this one.

Well that leaves Ritalin, for the ladies and Provigil for the gentlemen and ladies trying to start families (but not yet expecting) and post-menopausal women. Ritalin can also be prescribed for people with insomnia who can't stay awake during the day. ****

****Note to self, discuss Ritilan therapy on next appointment with doctor.

7. Try taking a short nap on your break. Actually, if you are sleepy enough you might get a short nap while working. If this happens to you here are tips on not getting caught (Thanks to M.A. at work for this one).

-face away from traffic areas.
-if you have a computer, sit in front of it, put one elbow on the desk and hold up your chin. Put a pen in the other hand. Put a stack of papers next to the pen. Put the computer on a spreadsheet or database, or something that looks like something you would be studying if you were working. Nap until someone calls you or startles you.
You can get between 1 minute to 30 minutes sleep with this method, I've seen it done. Make sure you hold your jaw shut so you don't snore.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

What keeps me awake?

The Fedora Lounge! Dang, I need to get some shut eye! lol

 

[Caledonia]

How to Stay Awake at Work (long post)

by Tourbillion

I have a very boring job. I am required to do routine, menial tasks (even though they know I am not stupid) to fill up my day so that I am never idle. I also got all of the work that no one else would do, i.e. it is A---'s job to do the filing, but he never does it so lets give it to Tourbillion. The orders need to be put into the spreadsheet, and well the high school dropout doesn't get it done one time, let's give it to someone with a college degree, hey Tourbillion! You get the picture.

So, here is what one does when the sandman calls at work:

1. Talk to someone. It is hard to fall asleep when you are laughing at a joke, arguing politics, discussing your bosses latest screw up, etc. If you are alone, call a friend.

2. Get up and walk around. It is also difficult to fall asleep when you are walking around. In fact, going up and down the staircase works even better, you get at least 30 minutes to and hour of invigoration.

3. Have a snack. A small one. The extra blood sugar may help your metabolism. Also, getting up to find a snack is more interesting than working, and you might get to talk to someone.

4. Goof off. If you can do something interesting, like web surfing, or reading, or playing computer games that is the best, you can't fall asleep if you are really interested in what you are doing.

5. If you can't goof off, try working. Get a task that is mentally demanding, like trying to correct your bosses mistakes, like my bosses latest one, placing a PO for over 70,000 cs instead of 70 cs (yes I had to explain to our supplier that they did not have to produce 70,000 cs of product in one month, several million dollars worth, in fact. Before you ask, no, this isn't the first time, and no she won't ever be fired, if anything happens it is my fault for not catching her errors).

6. Caffeine is useless, if you can't tolerate speed (due to it's being illegal or just because it sucks, well those are my excuses), talk you to your doctor and beg for something for narcolepsy. Maybe you can even convince your doctor you have narcolepsy if you fall asleep at work. Here are the meds:
Stimulants:

Cylert® (pemoline)*
Ritalin® (methylphenidate)
Dexedrine® (dextroamphetamine)**
Desoxyn® (methamphetamine)**
*my mom used to take this one for narcolepsy, it works, but causes liver failure.
**These are "speed", as I mentioned they suck.

Wake-promoting agent:
Provigil (modafinil)***

***This one is great, but it neutralizes the effects of birth control pills. So, ladies, unless you are planning for a family it is best to avoid this one.

Well that leaves Ritalin, for the ladies and Provigil for the gentlemen and ladies trying to start families (but not yet expecting) and post-menopausal women. Ritalin can also be prescribed for people with insomnia who can't stay awake during the day. ****

****Note to self, discuss Ritilan therapy on next appointment with doctor.

7. Try taking a short nap on your break. Actually, if you are sleepy enough you might get a short nap while working. If this happens to you here are tips on not getting caught (Thanks to M.A. at work for this one).

-face away from traffic areas.
-if you have a computer, sit in front of it, put one elbow on the desk and hold up your chin. Put a pen in the other hand. Put a stack of papers next to the pen. Put the computer on a spreadsheet or database, or something that looks like something you would be studying if you were working. Nap until someone calls you or startles you.
You can get between 1 minute to 30 minutes sleep with this method, I've seen it done. Make sure you hold your jaw shut so you don't snore.

lol That's funny, and with some serious 'must try' tips in there!