How to Not Feel Sleepy

Drink more water., Eat breakfast., Eat frequently., Exercise more often., Get some sun., Adjust your caffeine intake., Regulate your sleep cycle.

7 Steps 3 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Drink more water.

    A classic fix-me-up for most ailments, drinking water regularly throughout your day will have you feeling peppy in no time.

    Often times those feelings of fatigue and lethargy are due to nothing more than basic dehydration.

    Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning to start up your metabolism, and continue drinking several glasses throughout the day.
  2. Step 2: Eat breakfast.

    Rolling groggily out of bed in the morning after hitting snooze for the fifth time means you’ll probably be on your way to starting your day with a meager breakfast, if any.

    Doing so will keep your metabolism in sloth-mode, making you slow to start most anything throughout the day.

    Force yourself to get up a bit earlier if necessary, and take the time to eat a complete breakfast.

    The nutrients will energize you throughout the day, making sacrificing your snooze button worth it. , Similar to suffering from a bout of dehydration, exhaustion may be your body telling you that its hungry and needs energy in the form of food.

    Rather than complying with the socially dictated three large meals a day, try to eat 5-7 smaller meals throughout the day.

    This will keep your blood sugar levels from plummeting, and provide your body with more vitamins and nutrients that it needs to stay focused. , Getting on your feet and moving around can seem even more difficult when mid-afternoon drowsiness has a solid hold on you, but adding physical activity to your routine will limit your exhaustion.

    Work out for at least ten minutes a day, even if all you do is take a brisk walk outdoors.

    Getting your blood circulating and a breath of fresh air will have you pumped and ready in no time., There’s a reason you’re more sluggish in the winter; exposure to sunlight increases your vitamin D levels, which give you a boost of energy.

    If you’re lucky enough to have good weather, head outside for a brief reprieve from your lethargic work indoors.

    Kill two birds with one stone, and do your exercising outdoors as well! , You get hit with a wave of sleepiness, and your first instinct is to reach for yet another cup of coffee.

    But wait! Turns out, drinking more than 2-3 cups of coffee a day doesn't increase your energy any more, and doing so after 12 or 1 in the afternoon will worsen your night of sleep later in the day.

    Therefore, limit your caffeine intake to three cups or less a day, so that you get the boost of energy without the nasty jittery side effects.

    Try to do so before lunchtime, and you’ll be thanking yourself the next day as well. , So last night you went to a great concert, staying up till wee hours in the morning, and then you slept in till noon.

    Then you had to head to bed early later the following night in preparation for a 7 am meeting for work.

    With such a fluctuating sleep schedule, its no wonder you’re tired! Try to go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every morning.

    This will help your body to have clear boundaries for when sleep should occur, and reduce your sleepy feelings during the day.
  3. Step 3: Eat frequently.

  4. Step 4: Exercise more often.

  5. Step 5: Get some sun.

  6. Step 6: Adjust your caffeine intake.

  7. Step 7: Regulate your sleep cycle.

Detailed Guide

A classic fix-me-up for most ailments, drinking water regularly throughout your day will have you feeling peppy in no time.

Often times those feelings of fatigue and lethargy are due to nothing more than basic dehydration.

Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning to start up your metabolism, and continue drinking several glasses throughout the day.

Rolling groggily out of bed in the morning after hitting snooze for the fifth time means you’ll probably be on your way to starting your day with a meager breakfast, if any.

Doing so will keep your metabolism in sloth-mode, making you slow to start most anything throughout the day.

Force yourself to get up a bit earlier if necessary, and take the time to eat a complete breakfast.

The nutrients will energize you throughout the day, making sacrificing your snooze button worth it. , Similar to suffering from a bout of dehydration, exhaustion may be your body telling you that its hungry and needs energy in the form of food.

Rather than complying with the socially dictated three large meals a day, try to eat 5-7 smaller meals throughout the day.

This will keep your blood sugar levels from plummeting, and provide your body with more vitamins and nutrients that it needs to stay focused. , Getting on your feet and moving around can seem even more difficult when mid-afternoon drowsiness has a solid hold on you, but adding physical activity to your routine will limit your exhaustion.

Work out for at least ten minutes a day, even if all you do is take a brisk walk outdoors.

Getting your blood circulating and a breath of fresh air will have you pumped and ready in no time., There’s a reason you’re more sluggish in the winter; exposure to sunlight increases your vitamin D levels, which give you a boost of energy.

If you’re lucky enough to have good weather, head outside for a brief reprieve from your lethargic work indoors.

Kill two birds with one stone, and do your exercising outdoors as well! , You get hit with a wave of sleepiness, and your first instinct is to reach for yet another cup of coffee.

But wait! Turns out, drinking more than 2-3 cups of coffee a day doesn't increase your energy any more, and doing so after 12 or 1 in the afternoon will worsen your night of sleep later in the day.

Therefore, limit your caffeine intake to three cups or less a day, so that you get the boost of energy without the nasty jittery side effects.

Try to do so before lunchtime, and you’ll be thanking yourself the next day as well. , So last night you went to a great concert, staying up till wee hours in the morning, and then you slept in till noon.

Then you had to head to bed early later the following night in preparation for a 7 am meeting for work.

With such a fluctuating sleep schedule, its no wonder you’re tired! Try to go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every morning.

This will help your body to have clear boundaries for when sleep should occur, and reduce your sleepy feelings during the day.

About the Author

L

Larry Gonzalez

Experienced content creator specializing in organization guides and tutorials.

33 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: