How do you stay awake and alert?

NewYorkCityRN · Jul 18, 2006

I am horrible with mornings! With me, the more time I give myself in the morning, the more awake I am. I get up each morning and take a semi cool shower to wake me up. If I don't eat breakfast, then there's no hope for me! I used to be a big coffee drinker, but recently I've cut back to a couple cups a week. Going for a quick walk also seems to help on the mornings where I am really dragging. There is a deli a couple of blocks away that I walk to in order to grab coffee and or breakfast. I try to stay away from those pills and energy drinks...I'm sure they're fine, but when I was a kid, I used to have a ton of energy...I just need to find it again! :) Good luck!

eandgsma · Jul 18, 2006

HEHEHE! Next semester I have to be at clinical at 5:30 am but the drive will be shorter. Last semester I had to get up at 5 am to leave by 5:30 to drive an hour to my clinical. I used to love to sleep in! Anyway, I get up, get dressed, go to Starbucks and have a double tall mocha (less milk, more espresso). That and some sugary snack (usually a muffin or scone). I know, its a terrible breakfast but I need the carbs to get going in the AM. Then I blast the music or talk show in the car on my way. I usually have a good lunch after clinical so that counteracts all the crap I ate in the AM.

It might be that your class is just boring, LOL!!! Try to get a snack during break and that might help as well. Don't bother with those energy drinks, they give you a bad crash which is probably what you are having halfway through class.

Good luck!

BBQvegan · Jul 18, 2006

The class isn't boring -- it's quite interesting. And I do have a snack at break time. But I just don't get enough sleep and hate to get up early. I don't know what else to do. I think I really need some energy pills at least for the next 2 weeks!

Spill, RN · Jul 18, 2006

go to bed earlier!

WickedRedRN, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2006

I personally stay away from energy pills and drinks. Right now, I get about 4 hours of sleep (in bed around 130AM, up at 530AM). I make sure I take my multi-vitamins every day, and get at least some exercise. Although it may not be all I wanted it to be, I at least get a short walk in. If you notice my sig line, the quote about Starbucks isn't just a chuckle....I have a venti sugar free vanilla latte with an extra shot almost every morning I have to drive. I also keep cinnamon altoids in my bag, they really wake you up!

Lastly, when I find myself on the brink of nodding off in class and shifting position just won't cut it, I get up and walk to the restroom. I hate missing some lecture, but at that point I am getting very little out of it, so it's better to make your own short break than drift away.

Califlower · Jul 19, 2006

Oh honey, you better get used to it and fast! A lot of the clinicals are usually scheduled in the early AM -- around 6AM or so! I'm a night owl too, and when I graduate, I hope to do night shift... sleeping early helps... you really have to keep waking up early for a while and let your body adjust to it.

GratefulHeart · Jul 19, 2006

Expose yourself to as much as light first thing in the morning...and I agree with the others that a brisk walk works wonders.

NoWaNrN, ASN, RN · Jul 19, 2006

Start taking a multivitamin at night. I have to take a shower in the morning to get awake but that might make you have to get up even earlier than 6:15.

shock-me-sane · Jul 19, 2006

I am a big fan of multivitamins and Monster low carb or diet Rockstar energy drinks. Also Vault is pretty good too. I stay away from the energy pills...those things mess me up pretty badly.

BBQvegan · Jul 19, 2006

Those are all very good suggestions. I can't believe most of y'all just go with a shower, a walk, multivitamins, and a double coffee. I would be fine if I had my own coffee pot with me in class for 4 hrs. Yeah, I guess I am gonna have to get used to it. For my first degree, I was able to schedule just about every class to start after 1 pm. Not so with the nursing thing. I was looking back at my notes I took in class today and they are pretty much not legible. I would open my eyes for a minute, and write down whatever was being said, then my eyes would sag heavily. I hate fighting that! And it feels like it's never going to end. I am really into natural foods and eat vegetarian, and like to get my vitamins from food rather than a pill. And I am not into popping pills. BUT this calls for desperate measures. I bought a pack of caffeine pills. We'll see how they work tomorrow.

WickedRedRN, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2006

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...I use a digital voice recorder to record my lectures, that way if I do fog out, I can always go back and relisten when I am more coherent.

Good Luck...you will find something to work for you!