What helps you stay awake?

Conqueror+, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2016

I also do boogie breaks. I put on a high octane song and just go all out for those 3-4 minutes. Gets my adrenaline pumping and wakes me up.

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2016

Thanks @Nurse Leigh! In the back of my mind I keep thinking I have to figure out what works since a lot of new grads get night shifts!! It's going to be a lot of years trying to stay awake! Thank you!

It's easier when you have to get up and go do stuff for the patients. There is that rare lull when almost everyone is asleep and you don't have anything to do so you get a little weird but night shift when you are working is so much easier than sitting and reading a book or looking at a screen.

Also, what I found was easiest for me was to actually just get up earlier instead of trying to stay awake all night especially if I needed to review the day of a test.

SFnursetobe12 · Mar 21, 2016

@conqueror+ I love the boogie breaks!!! What a great idea!!!!

Thanks @la_chica_suerte85 !! I have also been alternating waking up early on days I just can't seem stay awake at night. I think I'm more productive in the morning :)

Kitiger, RN · Mar 21, 2016

How to stay awake when you're getting sleepy and you need to study:

1. Get up and move around. Do some calisthenics. Get the blood moving.

2. Wash your face with soap and water. Use your bare hands if you don't have a washcloth you can use.

3. Drink. Don't let yourself get dehydrated.

4. Eat something crunchy.

5. Instill lubricating eye drops, especially when the air is dry. When I get scratchy eyes, I want to close them.

6. Get up and MOVE at least 5 minutes every hour.

7. Are you getting enough sleep as a general rule?

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2016

Thanks @la_chica_suerte85 !! I have also been alternating waking up early on days I just can't seem stay awake at night. I think I'm more productive in the morning :)

If you can do it then, then do it then. Don't try and mess with what you suspect already works.

Rekt · Mar 23, 2016

The thought of all the spoiled privileged classmates I had in high school keeps me up every night. "Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you."

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Mar 23, 2016

I know it sounds nuts, but my absolute favorite in school was to rub an ice cube under my eyes!

It definitely woke me up, and it was cheap, quick, no long-lasting effects (vs. caffeine) and could be done almost anywhere. Repeated as often as needed, usually once every hour or so. Especially helpful when I hit the phase of "I barely feel like I can keep my eyes open."

This will also sound really crazy, but I'd freeze half of a water bottle before tests and fill the rest with water; if during the test I felt really worn down, I'd hold the frozen part of the bottle against my eyes. Again, probably looked nuts, but it gave me a jolt!

SFnursetobe12 · Mar 24, 2016

Thanks! I feel like I have so much to try. I've heard of chewing peppermint gum while studying then chewing again for the test so your brain knows it's time to recall all that info. I wonder if the ice bottle during tests had the same effect!

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Mar 24, 2016

Ooh, would also make sure to eat a solid breakfast the day of tests (not for staying awake while studying, but to help during a test). That way you won't have a sugar crash mid-test. I always drank a protein shake on my way to the class, since it was easy, fast, and I didn't have to worry about it being 'balanced.' Whatever you do, it can help to have a routine.

I never had a problem with feeling fatigued mid-test until I started nursing school. I remember halfway through my first pharm test I started to feel totally exhausted and overwhelmed, like half of my brain had dribbled out of my ears, lol.

Good luck!

stephatron289 · Mar 25, 2016

I don't usually stay awake to study that late (not yet, anyway, there's still time to pull an all-nighter), but when I had to stay up past my bedtime, I would study for 45-50 minutes, and then either have a jam session with my headphones in or have a pump up session. Jams include AC/DC, Def Leppard, really any hair band will do. Just as long as I can head bang, which wakes me up. Pump up sessions are when I'm not understanding something, and I look in the mirror and go "who's awesome? You are. You are going to rock this test so hard, it's going to crumple on the floor." It gets my adrenaline going so I can get through another 45-50 minutes.There's usually a lot of swearing involved as well.

Purple_roses · Mar 25, 2016

I actually let myself sleep when I'm tired. My problem has been that I don't feel tired until 1 or 2! I've been getting less than 4 hours of sleep some nights. So if my body wants to fall asleep early, I let it!

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2016

The thought of failure