What is the best way to avoid sleepiness?

[imBaCodes]

I always feel sleepy at work . During afternoon..

[stultuske]

sleep more at night.

[<M/>]

Well, step 1 is to go to bed early. This will prevent you from getting drowsy.

Step 2 is to work in places where there is plenty of light, if it is dark, your eyes will get tired of keeping open.

Step 3, eat a good breakfast. Try to eat as many fruits as you can. they should keep you well awake and also have coffee (when it is necessary). Avoid junk foods. The best fruit to keep you awake would you be apples.

Step 4, try to avoid as many sedentary actions as possible. So try walking around or do some work outs when you wake up.

Step 5, take a cold shower... that should "shock" you and keep you awake.

I don't think i should've called them steps but hey, they all help out.

[happygeek]

Apply electric shocks to your genitals.

[ricky.subiantoputra]

Wow that's cool advice. for me, in order to avoid sleepiness. I just sleep. after that I won't be sleepy anymore. just kidding

[Agilemind]

Afternoon sleepiness is often caused by not eating a healthy lunch, try eating a lunch that is low in fat and high in vegetables and protein that will help keep you awake, also breaking up the afternoon with anything that makes you get up and walking around for a few minutes and having fruit for snack instead of fatty/sugary junk food will help too.

[deceptikon]

Apply electric shocks to your genitals.

Kinky.

[GrimJack]

Well, all good advice - my little bit of advice is to 1) do not eat carbs for lunch, eat protein; 2) document the sleepiness so that you know when to expect the drowsiness then set an alarm (something like the calendar in Outlook) to alert (pun intended) you ahead of time so you can stand up and do some stretches or juggle or touch your toes then extend your arms over your head and stand on your tippy-toes (the first few times you do this you almost fall over - it is very hard to maintain your balance); 3) set a dead-man's switch that if you don't perform some action on your computer, your harddrive will re-format (this is a little harsh but better than the above mentioned electroshock therapy).

[tinstaafl]

or the old school trucker's trick, sunflower seeds. Just the act of taking them one at a time and breaking it open and eating it is enough to keep your minnd from getting bored and putting you to sleep.

[Assembly Guy]

or the old school trucker's trick, sunflower seeds. Just the act of taking them one at a time and breaking it open and eating it is enough to keep your minnd from getting bored and putting you to sleep.

I see, that's clever because you won't be looking at the road as much as you should, and that one tightest corner on the mountain road you're driving comes up quicker than you realise, and you have to take evasive action to make the corner. Because of your high speed around the corner, some of your not-so-well-secured load topples out of your truck and down off the montain, crossing an eagle's flight path causing it to over-compensate and veer high into the sky into the path of a light plane over the airport for a training flight. The eagle hits (and gets caught in) the prop, stalling the engine and causing the plane to drop out of the sky, where it and its passengers plummet to their doom onto the wing of a jetliner on the taxi-way (full of fuel of course), causing an unreal, physically impossible Hollywood-style explosion. The massive ball of flames you see in your mirror serves as a further distraction to your sunflower seeds, causing you to veer out of your lane and have a close call with an oncoming vehicle. This shit-pants-worthy near-miss is sobering and you come to the realisation that being alert on the job is highly important and you'll never fall asleep while driving again ;)

But on a serious note, that's actually quite good advice - I find that something to fiddle with, like a piece of "blu-tack" or a flash drive with a cover that opens and closes just keeps my brain from shutting down and keeps me awake. Another habit I have is to jiggle my leg. Just seems to keep me up.

Apply electric shocks to your genitals.

Kinky.

It must feel electric, right?

[tinstaafl]

I see, that's clever because you won't be looking at the road as much as you should

Anyone with half a brain can do it while looking at the road. There's absolutley no reason to interrupt the concentration needed on the road.

[Assembly Guy]

Then there's the issue with holding the steering wheel ;) No, I'm just poking a bit of fun.

[TonyG_cyprus]

@Assembly Guy, wasn't Bruce Willis in that one? Or mayby it was Stallone?

[imBaCodes]

Suggestions are great . I'll try it sometym. hahaha

[<M/>]

You can also allow someone to slap you... it helps, trust me. I let a girl do that to me if i doze off during history and english and she just eagerly slapt me (3x). It shocks you, that is why you stay awake

[jwenting]

and what nobody's mentioned yet:

• stay hydrated
• have your eyes checked

[<M/>]

I don't think energy drinks have been mentioned, such as 5 hour energy, Rockstar, and Monster.

[Labdabeta]

Both of my parents are doctors... here are some tips that work wonders:

1) STAY HYDRATED!!!
2) Try leaning your head to the left, then right. Make your head look like this \/\/\/... do it slowly-ish. This causes your jugular veins to get compressed. The brain, fearing that something is compressing them, takes a large amount of blood in to compensate. This leads to it becoming temporarily more awake.
3) Buy a false sunlight. Especially if you live in extreme latitudes (like me) you can trick your body into thinking it is daytime by shining a bright light that simulates sunlight onto you (not just your eyes, your skin too). If you live in dark countries normally, you should do this during the day as well. Also most of these lights have alarm clocks built in... I know from exprience, it is hard to sleep through a false sunlight shining on your face! (Ill provide a link to one if required)
4) Excersize (I can never spell it right)
5) Stay away from caffeine. First of all caffeine only works if you are well hydrated, if you are dehydrated it will make you tired. Secondly caffeine messes with your circadian rhythms, making you far more likely to be tired at unusual times. Finally caffeine only works for a short while, afterwards you would need more to keep you awake.
6) Get onto a solid circadian rhythm (sleep cycle). Basically set aside a specific time where you will START to TRY to fall asleep. And try very hard to set your alarm for a multiple of 90 minutes after you go to sleep. That way you will get a whole number of sleep cycles each night, which will allow you to wake up without feeling groggy, and will keep the grogginess away all night. If you need help with the math try http://sleepyti.me/ to help you out. If you have trouble falling asleep, try to get some melatonin... it is what governs your circadian rhythms, so if you take it you will get tired, if you cannot fall asleep even when you are tired, contact a professional!)
7) Are you sure you can't take a short nap?

[GrimJack]

I would not trust the evergy drinks some of them are pure sugar and that will just cause a deeper crash.

[<M/>]

@Labdabeta, my grandparents say the same things (almost all of them) and they are also in medical (grandpa is a heart surgeon and my grandma is a plastic surgeon).

I would not trust the evergy drinks some of them are pure sugar and that will just cause a deeper crash.

Not all of them are pure sugar... some of them are just pure chemicals like rockstar, monster, 5 hour energy, red bull, etc...

[Labdabeta]

The point is that energy drinks will undoubtedly contain either caffeine or something that acts like caffeine. This will mess with your circadian rhythms, making you tired more often. Moreover, most energy drinks cause an abrupt increase in heart rate, greatly increasing your chances of getting certain heart issues, such as heart attacks!

[imBaCodes]

Labdabeta Nice .. Being hydrated is easier than i thought.

[imBaCodes]

Can Coffee Really wipe out sleepiness. I do it a lot but still i become sleepy.

[jwenting]

the best energy drink is water :)

[deceptikon]

Can Coffee Really wipe out sleepiness. I do it a lot but still i become sleepy.

Coffee doesn't make you less sleepy, it's a stimulant that temporarily suppresses the sleepiness. Like all stimulants, there's a crash when it wears off that has you worse off than before. The best way to avoid sleepiness is to get enough sleep.

[crescendo]

Coffee will help you to keep alert.
Get a good night's sleep.
Take frequent small walks.

[TSRmiyata]

Well it really depends on why you are feeling sleepy. If its because of laziness, feeling bored you should start working out, being more active, pick a sport or just go to the gym. You will feel alive after working out and have plenty of the energy.

[major_tom3]

This was a real problem for me too until I drastically cut down on caffeine. This has helped me cut down on my sugar binges as well.

[vegaseat]

Hyperventilate

[sirlink99]

Drink coffee and or another caffeinated drink, and listen to upbeat music, while singing to it as well as I can (which is sometimes difficult because I like music that isn't English). Moving my feet and streaching also helps. I also make it as bright as I can, and I try to think as much as I can to keep by brain going. If I'm just trying to stay up for the fun of it, watching an intense movie or playing a fast paced game also helps.