How to Stay Awake

It is recommended that you get at least six to eight hours of sleep each night. How many Americans actually do this? Sometimes there are certain circumstances where you can't sleep even though you would love to. Here are some things that could make or break your sleepy situation.

Caffeine is a very controversial thing. It can keep you up for a while but you can also crash when it wears off. I suggest you use your previous experiences with caffeine to decide whether or not it would help you.

Drink a lot of liquids. The more you drink, the more you have to use the bathroom. It's really difficult to fall asleep if you have to go to the bathroom every ten minutes.

Don't eat a lot of food, eat small portions regularly instead of one big meal. Big meals tend to make you feel tired and lazy. Since you will already be tired and lazy, you don't want to multiply the feeling by eating lots of food.

Don't wear your pajamas. People put on their pajamas to feel comfortable and your mind associates them with sleep. Wear something that you won't be able to fall asleep in.

Don't turn up the heat. Cold air will keep you awake, when your cold it is really hard to fall asleep. Warmth will get you in the mood for sleep, which is not what you want.

Another thing that will keep you awake is bright lights. Have you ever tried to fall asleep with the TV on? All the flashing lights tend to disrupt our sleepiness. If you dim your lights, it will just make it that much easier for you to fall asleep.

Play video games or computer games. Do something that you will concentrate on and involves slight movement. T.V. and movies will just get boring and make you tired. If your busy using your hand-eye coordination to fight off bad guys, you're more apt to stay awake.

Loud music is kind of a given. Noise will definitely help you stay awake, but make sure the music you're listening to is upbeat. You don't want to listen to slow or boring music, listen to something that gets you pumped up and makes you want to dance.