Anyone have any tips for staying awake and staying focused without caffeine? I don't like tea, or coffee. Energy drinks don't seem safe to me and soda is a ton of calories with not that much of a caffeine boost. I've been having trouble experiencing fatigue for about a year or two now and wanted to get some insight. If you just drink energy drinks, what are your thoughts on them. Do they truly boost your energy levels?
I've had energy drinks in the past, although I generally prefer coffee or soda if I'm looking for a caffeine boost. Do they help? Absolutely. Caffeine affects people differently, though. Sometimes I'll drink a cup of coffee looking to motivate myself to get things done and end up completely unable to focus. My last semester of college, I drank a cup of coffee every single day and it helped when I had to be on the go all the time. You don't have to rely on caffeine, though. Eat snacks throughout the day. Healthy ones are best. Eating breakfast can also help, even if it's just something small and quick. Stay hydrated. I really like mixing sports drinks with water. I know this is easier said than done, but try to make sure you're getting a healthy amount of sleep. Keep moving if you can. I find that I'm always more exhausted when I sit down and then it becomes harder to get up again. Listen to upbeat music. And last but not least, if the fatigue is major and unusual, you may want to talk to your doctor.
Obviously you'll want to address the underlying problem if you're facing regular fatigue - whether it's about exercise, diet, meal schedule, sleeping patterns or an undiagnosed medical issue. Working towards that is most important. In the short term, try caffeine pills. You get the energy without the taste or liquid content of drinking caffeine. I use No-Doz pills when I need to stay awake for 24 hours or more at a time, though I also drink four cups of coffee a day at least and genuinely have caffeine dependency. As long as you don't overdose on caffeine (which in its mild stages just results in nausea and headaches), it's generally not too harmful as a short-term fix.
If you don't drink caffeine, even the comparatively small amount of caffeine in most sodas should give a significant boost. Just get a Coke Zero or something if you're concerned with the calories and don't like the taste of coffee or tea. Energy drinks are garbage. I can get a boost from an influx of simple carbs, like fruits and sugars. But I have a very regulated and typically low-ish carb diet. Moving around can also keep you awake. Get your adrenaline going later in the evening and it will take longer for your body to calm down. ---------- Post added 18th Sep 2016 at 10:30 AM ---------- Also, control your asleep. Force yourself into bed at the same time every evening and don't take a cell phone to bed. Then wake up at the same time, maybe give yourself an extra hour on days you don't work, but don't let yourself sleep in late and ruin the schedule.
I would say try and get a more regular sleeping pattern but if you already have that, maybe go see someone about this? Normally I can stay awake just fine without consuming anything. In fact, caffeine almost never has an effect on me unless I consume a bunch of it. I can drink something with caffeine in it maybe 20 minutes before going to bed and still sleep fine.
Staying hydrated definitely helps. When I used to box, my trainer was adamant that drinking lime cordial went a long way to keeping the body hydrated as he said the lime stuck to the impurities and was then flushed out by the water. Kind of makes sense. I've used ProPlus caffeine pills before with definite results. A good breakfast- maybe muesli with a sliced banana mixed in will give you a slow-release boost.
Don't those pills make you crash though. Surely it can't be good to take something that makes you stay awake for 24 hours.
I didn't say it was healthy, I just said it's a successful short-term fix if you need to stay awake for a limited period of time in which you'd otherwise be fatigued. They do make you crash - that's inherent in any substance-fuelled period of wakefulness. I might have made clearer that I didn't intend to recommend that as a solution for long-term fatigue. It's just a way to cope with fatigue temporarily when you really can't afford to rest due to time constraints.
Maybe a light exercise routine, even something to just wake you up in the morning. Drink lots of water, keep yourself on a strict bed routine so you're getting enough sleep. Turn the AC on in your car even if it's really cold, because that can wake you up.
