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Zed

How do you stay awake after a long time?

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Hi there, it's me again.

As some of you know, I'm a freelance translator, which means I sometimes (well, most of the time) have to cope with a non-friendly schedule (this means, staying awake for a long time). I've been trying some "solutions" to this, but it seems I can't find a definitive answer. When you have to stay awake for a long time (15-20 hours) how do you do it? I've tried coffee (not very effective, especially after 10-12 hours), weed (counterproductive), tea (same as weed), cold beverages, washing my face with cold water (with ice), etc.

Now, my job depends on delivering my work on time, but how can I do it when physical fatigue gets in the way?

PS: Procrastination is not an option... :P

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Try to get a prescription for Adderall or Vyvanse. That shit works wonders.

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It helps if the task you have to perform is physical/requires you to stay on your feet, as any army grunt can tell you.

Also, learn to sleep like a soldier: squeeze naps into any available opportunity/time slot.

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I used to be able to do it easily. Now as I get older, its just too difficult to bother.

Oh B-6 and B-12. It keeps you awake in the long run.

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Amphetamine and ecstasy will keep you running. Just kidding, try doing pushups and chin ups, listening deathgrind metal, sitting uncomfortably those tips should help you

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Maes said:

It helps if the task you have to perform is physical/requires you to stay on your feet, as any army grunt can tell you.

Also, learn to sleep like a soldier: squeeze naps into any available opportunity/time slot.


Agreed on both counts.

Getting up for a small 2 minutes walk every twenty minutes or so is good for your legs and general health, and as a translator it could actually be beneficial to your work (i.e. give yourself some time to mull over the best way to translate a particularly tricky or ambiguous part).

Perhaps try standing desks / adjustable desks. If nothing else, you could stack a few boxes under your screen and keyboard and try it out a few days to see if it does anything for you.

On another note, I find the problem itself interesting, because 15-20 hours isn't a particularly long length of time (the average adult sleeps 7-8 hours per night so they're up 16-17 hours at a time). Are you just having 18+ hours days routinely and never make up for the lost sleep? Otherwise perhaps you have sleep disorders and if possible it might make sense to consult a doctor.

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Flush your veins with the wrath of taurine and sugar, then tape your eyelids open :P

I can still do this if I really want to, but that's made easier because I follow a blatantly nocturnal schedule. By staying up until 2-3am most nights my brain is already wires up and it becomes a matter of pushing through the 6am mark.

Exercise is a great way to keep yourself going. As mentioned earlier take a few minutes out for a walk, and don't hesitate to opt for a 5 minute nap here or there. I remember one college year I stayed up for nearly 48 hours one time and had no more than a 3 minute nap in-between to keep going. I was kept busy the rest of the time from exams/cleaning/moving-out.

Caffeine doesn't always strictly do the trick - you need to keep your brain active, if not your body as well.

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Kirby has some really good advice. I remember staying awake for multiple days during college. I would watch a show, then do homework, then drugs, then go to class, then socialize, then exercise, then clean some shit. It really is a matter of keeping your brain active and not doing the same thing for multiple hours.

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try keeping a light on when you work, they say your body will assume you still need to stay awake when you have a lamp on nearby.

also, coffee is also keep for keeping yourself awake. weaker crash compared to soda pop.

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Thanks for the advice fellas.

Maes said:

It helps if the task you have to perform is physical/requires you to stay on your feet, as any army grunt can tell you.


Well, the physical part of it requires to move my fingers. A lot.

Phml said:

On another note, I find the problem itself interesting, because 15-20 hours isn't a particularly long length of time (the average adult sleeps 7-8 hours per night so they're up 16-17 hours at a time). Are you just having 18+ hours days routinely and never make up for the lost sleep? Otherwise perhaps you have sleep disorders and if possible it might make sense to consult a doctor.


Yeah, but I have to stay awake that long staring at a computer monitor, which severely punishes my eyes.

Kirby said:

Exercise is a great way to keep yourself going. As mentioned earlier take a few minutes out for a walk, and don't hesitate to opt for a 5 minute nap here or there. I remember one college year I stayed up for nearly 48 hours one time and had no more than a 3 minute nap in-between to keep going. I was kept busy the rest of the time from exams/cleaning/moving-out.


I've experimented with excercise, and it works up to a certain point. Caffeine, well, after 8 or 9 cups I start sweating, but the need to sleep is still there. And if I try to take a 5 minute nap, it easily becomes a 5 hour sleep.

reality 2.0 said:

try keeping a light on when you work, they say your body will assume you still need to stay awake when you have a lamp on nearby.


I've tried that. Sadly it doesn't work, it only helps to hurt my eyes some more.

Again, thanks for the advice. I think I'll have to experiment with some kind of mix between the various options you gave me.

Lets see what happens.

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After working overnight security duty long enough, I just became used to it. Sometimes I bring an emergency energy drink. It doesn't affect the fatigue, but it physically prevents me from sleeping.

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Take cocaine in a fair amount of quantity just warn your colleagues about the comedown.

On a serious note, I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning but I find that Irn Bru does the job despite being filled with additives and what not (pretty certain it contains B-something or other). You'll be off your tits like Russell Brand on speed for a bit.

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