There are times when your body is forced to stay awake longer than usual; whether you have to complete a school assignment that must be submitted the next morning, talk all night with friends at a university farewell, or for some other reason. Forcing the body to stay awake longer than usual is not as easy as turning the palm of the hand (and if done too often, can have a negative impact on your health). But if you really need to stay up late, read this article for easy and simple tips so you can stay awake longer than usual at night.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Preparing to Stay Up late
Step 1. Take a nap first
Short naps are believed to be able to increase your energy at night. Avoid taking long naps (more than two hours), or you'll feel even more lazy, tired, and powerless at night. According to experts, it only takes you 20-30 minutes to get a good, quality nap.
Napping can be a powerful way to save energy intake before staying up late. Find a comfortable place and lie down. If the situation doesn't allow you to lie down, simply lay your head on your arms and close your eyes. Set an alarm to go off 30 minutes later, play some relaxing music, and go to sleep. You can be sure you will feel refreshed when you wake up
Step 2. Go to bed early the night before
If you're too tired from staying up late the night before, you're more likely to be sleepy and have a hard time staying up late. Get enough and quality sleep for at least two days before your late night.
This tip also really depends on what you have to do when you stay up late. If you stay up late to do something physically draining, sleep deprivation the previous night usually won't have much effect. In general, as long as you're not used to staying up for long periods of time, your heart, lungs, and muscles will still work well; it is your brain and cognitive function that is declining in performance. If you are required to think clearly when you stay up late, make sure you maintain the quality of sleep the night before
Step 3. Avoid eating too heavy a meal before staying up late
Foods that are too heavy will make you sleepy more quickly, especially because your body is struggling to digest the food you just ate. Avoid eating complex carbohydrates before staying up late; as much as possible, eat only low-fat meats, fruits, or vegetables so that your plans to stay up late are not disturbed.
Protein is able to stimulate the neurotransmitter orexin which can help you stay awake longer. The hormone orexin is able to pump a person's ability to stay awake, so eating steak before staying up late is the right choice. However, do not eat too full because the digestive process can make you sleepy. Just eat steak or other low-fat meat in small portions
Method 2 of 3: Awake Naturally
Step 1. Do something you enjoy before staying up late
A person's chances of staying up late will be greater if they were previously busy doing fun things. Try playing your favorite game, putting together Legos, or doing some other hobby you really enjoy before you stay up late. The more active your body is, the more likely you are to stay up late. After all, you can't be sleepy when you're busy scoring goals on your computer screen, can you?
Don't play games for too long non-stop; once in a while, rest your eyes
Step 2. Exercise
Running around the complex or lifting weights before staying up late can naturally pump oxygen throughout your body and brain; as a result, it will help you to stay awake longer. Although exercising when you're exhausted feels impossible, but believe me, exercise can really pump up your energy afterward! Research even shows that walking for 10 minutes can increase a person's energy intake for almost 2 hours.
Exercising before staying up late is indeed powerful; but the results will be much more effective if you do it in the middle of the night
Step 3. Eat a healthy snack
Avoid eating sweets or other foods that are high in sugar. For a moment, sweet foods can indeed make you feel more energized. But 10-15 minutes later (or when the sugar begins to leave your system), your body will feel much more tired. Eating too much sugar before staying up late is feared to actually risk thwarting your plans to stay up late.
Step 4. Communicate with others
The chances of drowsiness or falling asleep are drastically reduced when you are conversing with other people. Busy conversing will also increase your awareness of your thoughts.
Engage in conversational topics that challenge and trigger your brain to think. The more challenged your brain is, the less likely you are to fall asleep. In addition, playing puzzles or scrabble is also an activity option that is worth trying
Method 3 of 3: Forcing Yourself to Wake Up
Step 1. Consume caffeine in moderation
Make no mistake; drinking energy drinks or strong coffee will not keep you awake. In fact, your body will actually be forced to use up all the remaining energy in a short period of time. After all that energy is used up, usually you will immediately feel extraordinary fatigue. Instead of drinking glasses of coffee or energy drinks, try consuming them in small amounts (1 – not 2 – spoons of instant coffee, or cola instead of energy drinks). Throughout the night, drink coffee or cola little by little. You also need to balance your caffeine intake by drinking water, especially since caffeine alone can make your brain dehydrated and tired easily.
Step 2. Set an alarm
If you really can't help but feel sleepy, set an alarm to sound every 5 minutes. If you share a room with someone else, have them pinch you every now and then so you don't fall asleep.
Step 3. Avoid comfortable sleeping areas
Sit in a chair that is so hard that it is difficult for you to fall asleep. Staying up late on a soft mattress or sofa will almost certainly thwart your plans to stay up late.
Step 4. Do not turn off the light
If your nights don't feel like “night,” you're less likely to fall asleep. Don't stay in a room where the light isn't too bright or you'll fall asleep soon after.
Step 5. Chew on something uncomfortable to eat
Besides being able to send signals to your brain to stay awake, chewing will also make your body aware that you are eating (in other words, your body is active). This will release the hormone insulin that should be able to help you stay awake.
Chewing ice cubes is a good choice, but make sure you don't end up damaging your teeth or numbing the nerves in the walls of your mouth
Step 6. Surprise your body with cold water
Of course you don't need to flush your whole body with cold water. Even a little splash of cold water on your face is actually enough to force you to wake up again. This solution isn't permanent, but it's worth a try to keep yourself from the occasional drowsiness.
If you stay up late because you have to drive at night, open your car window. A gust of cold air has a similar effect to a splash of cold water. In addition, the sound of air passing through the car window will also help you stay awake longer
Step 7. Listen to fast-paced music
When going to stay up late, don't play music that is slow and soothing; You will actually feel more tired and sleepy afterwards. Fast-paced music can increase productivity and help you stay awake longer. Research also shows that playing music that matches the rhythm of your activity can help improve your awareness and concentration. Music that has a high BPM (beats per minute) also automatically prompts you to nod your head or shake your body when you hear it.
Tips
- Do activities that force your brain to keep thinking; thinking is the best defense to stay awake and not sleepy at night.
- Play games that force you to stay focused and sober. Games that require you to compete with other people are the right choice.
- Don't just drink caffeinated drinks. To maintain your health, consume caffeinated drinks alternately with water.
- Whenever you start to feel sleepy, splash cold water on your face.
- Don't get used to staying up late. Besides being able to cause dark circles around your eyes, staying up late can also threaten your long-term health.
- Never go without sleep at all for days. After 3 days of no – or very little – sleep, you may begin to hallucinate.
- Although drinking caffeinated beverages can help keep your body awake, always consider the side effects and proper consumption limits so that you can achieve your goals without jeopardizing your health.
- Don't turn off the lights.
