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How to Reenergize After 24 Hours of No Sleep

irain

irain

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2005
141
0
I've been up for 24 hours; shoot me. I guess that's the price you pay for having a fun-filled night with a bunch of friends.

Anyway, I have a road lesson today at 11 in the morning and I have to go on a date an hour after that! I'm meeting up with friends for lunch and shopping after that. It's now quarter of 7 in the morning.

Please, someone tell me how I can go from a deranged caveman to an alert s.o.b. within 4 hours. Don't suggest a nap... if I take a nap, I'll be out cold for the rest of the day.

So... any ideas?

Thanks.
 
Have a few glasses of water, set your alarm and have a couple of hours of sleep. You'll feel better for it.

Or you could take a leaf out the Southeast Asian long-distance bus driver's handbook and take a load of Amphetamines to keep you awake. (I wouldn't recommend this.)
 
When it comes to taking tests and exams, anything really important You need sleep. I go with out sleep a lot. but that is because sometimes I will be at work for over 24 hours. Once a 35 hour day. I would stay away from the energy drinks as they will only give you a little bit of energy and then you will crash, hard. Eat a good breakfast, have some eggs drink some juice. you will need to give you body what it needs to keep going. Drink water.
 
ninja

Put an alrm on your computer. If you have big speakers, it will help. Crank up the volume.

Ask you neighbour to wake you up. Or start waking you up when you have had 3 hours of sleep just so that you dont over sleep. They can pour a bucket of water over you. Cold water.
 
irain said:
Please, someone tell me how I can go from a deranged caveman to an alert s.o.b. within 4 hours. Don't suggest a nap... if I take a nap, I'll be out cold for the rest of the day.
Click to expand...

NO! Take a nap. :p

Don't take one for more than 30 minutes. You don't realize how much a 20-30 minute nap will help you when you're exhausted.

If you take a nap for any longer than 50-60 minutes, you run the risk of feeling more tired afterwards.
 
Abstract said:
NO! Take a nap. :p

Don't take one for more than 30 minutes. You don't realize how much a 20-30 minute nap will help you when you're exhausted.

If you take a nap for any longer than 50-60 minutes, you run the risk of feeling more tired afterwards.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. When I'm up for days at a time, even the smallest amount of sleep (30 mins like said) really gives me a boost.
I also agree with drinking plenty of water, juices, maybe even a gatorade as well, and eating healthy food (fruits, veggies, and breads)
 
Abstract said:
NO! Take a nap. :p

Don't take one for more than 30 minutes. You don't realize how much a 20-30 minute nap will help you when you're exhausted.

If you take a nap for any longer than 50-60 minutes, you run the risk of feeling more tired afterwards.
Click to expand...

Yup! Is that to do with REM sleep? I've noticed it too.

to the OP - don't try the obvious and eat sugary foods and caffeinated drinks (unless you can sustain it whilst out). You'll crash afterwards. Don't take any medication that will make you drowsy. Have a cold shower, stay in there on the coldest setting for as long as you can.
I find a short runs help loads. Maybe it's me, but after I've done a bit of strenuous exercise I can't sleep.
 
I suggested you at least cancel you time with your friends and SLEEP because you will not really enjoy it. I will say around 1-2pm you are going to crash but some how I think you are going to try to make it so I figure I put in things I have done when I pulled the all nighter and the one where I was up for over 36 hours running on only 3 hours of sleep.
First thing is you can not allow you mind to slow down and you have to be doing something active with you mind at all times like play video games, talking with friends or in my case I had to go do my mentoring thing in the morning and turn around and go to class and then finish up a group project follow by yes video games. I was tired all day long but I was doing pretty well.
The mentoring thing for me personally was easy but that was also being 11am which I am general good for after I cross 24 hours. The group project part in the afternoon I was fairly awake for but at times I was just a little hung up by be tired but not feeling like not slept for at that point over 30 hours.

Sum it up just make sure you keep your mind active and you can easily keep going. Reenergizing is just not going to happen. All you can do is really just keep going. Oh and 5-10 min cat naps here and there do help.
 
Abstract said:
NO! Take a nap. :p

Don't take one for more than 30 minutes. You don't realize how much a 20-30 minute nap will help you when you're exhausted.

If you take a nap for any longer than 50-60 minutes, you run the risk of feeling more tired afterwards.
Click to expand...

I am curious to know what he ended up doing (of course, that may have been posted in another thread).

In the future though, if he has the time, I'd disagree with you slightly. The 30 min nap would help a lot, but if there is time for a 3 hour nap, sleeping between 2 and 3 hours should give him enough energy to keep going for the rest of the day and he wouldn't wake up tired. It's that in between time that would leave him just as (if not more) tired.
 
just like some other people said, like a thirty minute nap. For some people (like myself) energy drinks do not make you crash, if your like me, have one. Good luck :p
 
The longest i've stayed awake is 34 hours because i was talking to a guy all night then realizing a project is due the next day :eek: i just drank coffee, kept myself busy, and made it through the day. It's going to be hard by the afternoon though, so you have to make sure that your friends are extra chatty. Some people say you crash after you drink coffee and alike, but i never do so i would suggest you do drink some if that's the case with you. Good luck!

Edit: oops, didn't realize the OP posted yesterday :eek:.
 
teflon said:
The longest i've stayed awake is 34 hours because i was talking to a guy all night then realizing a project is due the next day :eek: i just drank coffee, kept myself busy, and made it through the day. It's going to be hard by the afternoon though, so you have to make sure that your friends are extra chatty. Some people say you crash after you drink coffee and alike, but i never do so i would suggest you do drink some if that's the case with you. Good luck!

Edit: oops, didn't realize the OP posted yesterday :eek:.
Click to expand...

yeah I saw the same mistake 2.

I have to say the all nighters are always harsh. I don't the all nighter studying for a test at 8am. Took it went back home and proceeded to sleep though my next to classes hoping we where not meeting that day (found out later that neither class met)

As for the one in my first post it was because of a stupid paper. I had be at a Jr high at 945am and I think I finish the paper round 7am. I hated that paper because at 5am I realized I had written it wrong and started over. Had class at 12 and after that had a group project and that nice group project was the reason I was up all night because their was no way in hell I was going to finish the paper otherwise. But yeah I work on that project until 5pm turn it in and went back home to discover a smash brother game was going on and that lasted until about 1am. At about then I think I crawled into to bed and got up at noon the next day. Oddly enough it was not to hard to stay awake only because I was active the entire time.
 
One time, I didn't sleep for 3 days. Was wide awake. After 24 hours, you're exhausted, then for some reason, you pep up by the afternoon. :) I feel ok. My brain feels......."not as quick"(?)....but I don't feel sleepy.

Anyway, I finished my last exam of my 1st year at uni, got into the car. Almost fell asleep driving. :eek:
 
Last weekend I was sleeping over a friends house... We were all up chatting and having a good time, and then we realized the sun was up. Heh. Kinda freaked out, seeing as I have lawns to cut that Sunday. But by about 7 AM, my girlfriend and I were able to fall asleep, and slept until 11 or so. I honestly felt fine and was up until 1 the next night with no issues.
 
Get one of those Jolt Battery Bottles and get the "red" flavor. I think they put uber amounts of caffiene in them, beccause one of those did to me what no other caffinated drink has ever done before.

In fact, it put me in a situation much like yours.
 
Plymouthbreezer said:
Last weekend I was sleeping over a friends house... We were all up chatting and having a good time, and then we realized the sun was up. Heh. Kinda freaked out, seeing as I have lawns to cut that Sunday. But by about 7 AM, my girlfriend and I were able to fall asleep, and slept until 11 or so. I honestly felt fine and was up until 1 the next night with no issues.
Click to expand...

if you can get a solid four hours of sleep in, thats great because most people's sleeping cycles are on four hour clocks. which is why 4 is better than 5, and 8 is better than 9.
 
Yeah, I've heard of the 30 minute nap thing from truckers. Not the best thing to tell me I guess when they come to me for a DOT physical, but there it is.
 
Doing this to your body is really unhealthy, and if the sole reason for depriving your body of sleep is to go shopping or out to lunch with friends, that doesn't seem responsible.

The ONLY thing that will help your body is sleep. As much as possible. Saying 30 min is better than 3 hrs is bogus IMO. Yes, you might be in a deeper sleep phase after 3 hrs - which is exactly what your body needs - and so the first 10 minutes after waking up might be slightly groggier than after the light sleep you get after 30 min. But at least you did give your body some of the deep sleep it really needs.

If it was me I would sleep as much as I could (say, 3 hrs), then do the appointment I can't get out of, cancel everything else and sleep for as long as my body needs it, and THEN reschedule the social things I have missed.
 
I work shifts, and therfore oftern find I"ve been up for over 24 hours at 8am.
I find that the abslute BEST EVER wake me up after that is to get on my sports-motorbike and pin the throttle open with the visor on my helmet slightly open. Cold wind in the face with the knowledge that you are say on a high powered, pertol filled missle does wonders for the adrenaline. After a half hour ride you'll be able to stay up for 4 or 5 more hours.
In my experience anyway.


*ps, blue bikes work better, they're faster.

*discalimer. ignore the above.* It works for me. :)

*except the bit about blue bikes being better, that of course should not be ignored and is entirely triue.
 
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