Holy Coffee Grounds, Batman I can't stay awake!
No, I have not started drinking coffee. Yes, I have been reconsidering my avid disgust with the drink. I am just so tired all the time. I mean, I don't think I have any kind of actual sickness. I know I spend my time on (the) facebook, checking my various email accounts, checking Blackboard to see if class has been cancelled, and most recently, on this blog.....all instead of doing work actually tied to the success of my career.
Two nights ago, I got about 7-ish hours of sleep which is normal compared to the amounts of sleep I got in undergrad and while working. To be honest, I know that 7 hours isn't actually a good number for me, given my sleep cycle of about 3 hours. However, with an adequate amount of sleep, along with TWO cups of black tea in the morning, I did not expect to yawn all day and be almost passed out by the time my 5:30pm class rolled around.
Last night, I also hit about 7 hours of sleep, and the same thing happened!
Now, prior to Sunday night, I had been sleeping late and waking up really late......This started about a year ago after I finished my GRE's. (Sidenote: Can't believe it's been that long.) This habit got progressively worse as I had nothing "real" to do pretty much every day. Therefore, I suppose I should cut myself some slack as this has become a 9-month long habit, right? I tried to kickstart a more normal/productivity-conducive sleeping schedule this Monday, so maybe I need to be more patient to let it take effect.
Right now, I had one cup of tea at about 10:30am as I did the aforementioned procrastinating tasks and also while I tried to read my I/O book. I was so sleepy nonetheless that I was re-reading sentences to no avail, so I decided to lay down and see what happened. I fell asleep and stayed asleep for about an hour and twenty minutes. I just drank one cup of Coca-Cola to try to wake myself up, and am contemplating another one - if not right now, perhaps as I head out the door later this afternoon.
Perhaps I should give in, but my distaste for coffee is one of the things that makes me who I am. Should this be part of my "reinvention?"
Arguments for and against coffee:
For:
- Will (theoretically) keep me awake
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain health benefits
Against:
- Gross! =)
- Will eventually lose its effect if I grow dependent
- Could make me jittery, at least at the beginning
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain negative effects on health
- There are other means of getting energy I have not yet tried
Obviously, I am biased.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I haven't tried other ways of staying energized, the main one being going to the gym. Also, the gym is about halfway between school and home. So should I go to the gym in the morning, go back home, shower, etc, and then go back out later? Or just go straight through and maybe shower at the gym? I haven't found a working schedule yet, which may also be a reason that I'm having trouble with sleep/being awake. It's just difficult for me to have class at the time when I should be winding down from class and the rest of my day. If I get home at about 8:45-9pm (assuming I leave class right away), then I only have a couple hours to do anything before it's really time to head to bed. I've already missed the 8/8:30 TV shows, still have to/would like to watch TV till about 10, then need to shower, do any catch up work, then talk to Courtney...All this with the goal time of sleeping at 12 midnight...to leave me from 7-9 hours of sleep.........
One of these I'll get it all done, most likely without coffee. Seeing as how last night at an introductory meeting I decided that one very interesting fact about me is that I've never had a cup of coffee, I think I should maintain that fact. But first, maybe another nap.
Thanks for reading,
- SA
Okay I hate coffee like you. Hence the honni badgyr status. I swear by Coke Zero. That stuff worked for me. Worked better than regular Coke I kid you not! Another thing I do when I start getting sleepy in class is: utilize highlighters to stimulate my visual cortex, suck on hard candies or chew gum, start writing notes/to do lists. As a girl who was just in your shoes those are my recommendations.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you are able, take a nap about 2 hours before class--allow for about 45minutes of awake time before class. This way you can re-energize and power up.
The gym has helped me with my sleepiness. But it has taken 2 weeks of my intenseness to get there. I find myself going to bed earlier than later. I am a night gym person because it does tire me out (I go harrrd).
Try not watching television or staring at a computer screen for 1 hour before bed--studies have shown that they stimulate you and actually keep you more awake. You can wind down during the hour. So instead trying do the phone call or even reading before bed.
All in all, your body just needs to adjust to your new schedule. When I first started with the nursing 0530 classes, it was TOUGH! Took me at least a month to adjust. But when I did, well I had really adjusted and was waking up early always. Just create a bedtime routine for yourself and stick to it--this will trigger your body into it.
<3