Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with awake

Please don't suggest booger sugar

piedmont — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:28:55 -0800

What will help me stay awake without having to see a man about a horse every 20 minutes? I know sleep is the obvious answer, but I've got a moderate haul to make to get to the event, and will likely not be getting much sleep the night before. Most energy drinks and coffees run right through me. I'll be keeping alcohol intake on the low side in general and avoiding beer entirely.
It's been a while since I consumed caffeine in any form save for my morning coffee or the occasional energy drink. Will caffeine pills or those "5 Hour Energy Now" majobbers have less of a diuretic effect than a drink?
Most nights it's not a concern, but this is one of the few nights a year when I will actually want to stay up late. All legal options welcome, and all non-stimulant tricks are also welcome.

Why isn't the process of waking from sleep pleasant for most?

wackybrit — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:14:26 -0800

Why isn't the process of waking up quick and pleasant for most? In asking for anecdotal evidence about waking up, most people I know say it's not a particularly pleasant experience. They just "have" to do it - this is even if they get the right amount of sleep. Only a few say they find it "easy" to get up consistently.

But why is waking an unpleasant experience? Shouldn't it be good, from an evolutionary point of view, for all humans to wake up briskly, full of beans, and ready to go? (Historically to have gone hunting, to escape predators, etc - nowadays, simply to go to work and earn money for survival).

Essential things like reproduction, urination, defecation, and even going to sleep have a real sense of urgency or pleasure about them - why not the process of waking up? Is there anthropological evidence for certain populaces to find it easier to get up than others, etc? Is it just modern Western culture that makes it hard for us to get up? Any insights welcomed.

What is the camera in "Awake"?

grieserm — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:46:32 -0800

I just watched the DVD of Awake, and I'm going crazy trying to figure out what kind of camera Jack (Terrence Howard) uses throughout the film. It is all black and a bit old looking. I'm a bit of a camera nerd, and I have to know!

Stay with me?

srboisvert — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:15:08 -0800

Is there any reason why people need to stay awake to avoid freezing? I've seen this over and over in movie and tv plots where one person tries to keep another awake.

Help Me Stay Awa-zzzzz

notswedish — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:24:16 -0800

I need to stay awake in a relatively non-stimulating environment, after not having slept in over 30 hours. Anyone know any tips? OK, so I'm a college student, and I find myself in the fairly stereotypical predicament of having just finished pulling an all-nighter (I've been up since 8:00 yesterday) to finish a paper due in a couple hours. That was the easy part. The hard part will be getting through today without falling asleep. I need to stay awake until 5:00 (in about 9 hours) while sitting through some small classes that I can't sleep in because I am expected to participate/the professor would notice, as well as going to my semi-supervised, fairly monotonous, and detail-oriented work-study job. Caffeine and/or other such stimulants are not an option, seeing as they trigger heart palpitations. Last time I did this, I ended up falling asleep around noon, in class, and I don't want that to happen again. What can I do to stay awake and alert, at least until 5:00?

Roommate won't stop coughing, I can't sleep.

theiconoclast31 — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:46:11 -0800

Roommate keeps coughing. I can't sleep. I don't want to be a jerkface. What do I do? I live in a triple, we're all freshman at a university. My roomie (1) keeps coughing loudly, and it's driving me crazy. Sometimes, it's late and I can't sleep because of his coughing, and other times, it wakes me up hours before I need to go to class. I live in a triple, my other roomie (2) doesn't seem to care. He sleeps like a log, sometimes while listening to his iPod.

At the beginning of the year, we signed a housing agreement contract that listed any "rules" we would have to follow. I laughed it off, didn't write much, never knew that cough sleep would be an issue.

My logic is this: We can only sleep in one place (the room), but he can study/browse facebook in the library or the computer lab, at least when it's 12AM-9AM, and I'm trying to sleep. Do I approach roomie (1) alone? Do I gather a roomie meeting with both of them? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

Please help me stay awake on my commute driving home!

skepticallypleased — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:19:31 -0800

Please help me stay awake on my 45 mile commute home. I keep getting sleepy in the car. Basically, I can get TO work fine. One, because the traffic is light and, I feel, its the morning and I got to be on time. But, coming home, the traffic can be TERRIBLE. It can take almost 1.75-2.00 hours to get home. The commute is half traffic lights and half freeway. And, the sleep comes at the oddest, strangest moments and I keep trying to fight it. Music, opening the windows, yelling, nothing at all really helps. I know, I know, I need to pull over and rest but, I was wanting to know if anyone had any other tricks. As for now, moving closer to work is not an option. :)

Thanks.

Driving tunes

joshuak — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:51:41 -0800

What kind of music do you use to help keep you alert early in the morning, in the afternoon, and late at night? For the mornings talk radio isn't really an option because my passengers can't stand it...

Insomniac

unccivil — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:15:26 -0800

Having a lot of trouble sleeping lately... Having a lot of trouble sleeping lately and was wondering if anyone has any non-drug suggestions that worked. I'm thinking about getting one of those sleep/white noise machines. Have those worked for anyone...any recommendations?

How do I stay awake whilst driving through the night?

snowgoon — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 07:50:04 -0800

OK, I know how to stay awake all night if I'm at home or working, but what if I'm driving? I've got a ten hour road trip coming up (West of Scotland to Devon), and I'm planning on doing most of it overnight to avoid the traffic.

I've got my iPod full of upbeat tracks (rock, dance, and singalong stuff), the heater will stay off, and I'm avoiding sugary snacks and taking a couple of litres of water. I'm planning on stopping three or four times (every three hours or so?) for a 30 min rest.

What else do you suggest?

How can I stop falling asleep in movie theatres?

SNACKeR — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 09:27:19 -0800

I can easily stay up until 2am programming or doing other engaging tasks, but put me in a movie theatre (even in early afternoon) and I am compelled to sleep within the first hour of the movie, although I will wake up frequently and try desperately to not fall asleep. It does not seem to matter how loud the audio is or how much action there is, I still fall asleep. Extremely frustrating, especailly since I only go to see movies in the theatre that I really want to see these days. The problem occurs at home watching a movie on TV as well, but to a much lesser degree.

How do I recover from an all-nighter?

namespan — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 03:33:44 -0800

You've nearly pulled an all-nighter. It's nearly 4am, and you can see yourself leaving the office about 4:30/5. What's the best way to get yourself into and through the next day? Do you go to bed right away, try to catch as much sleep as possible? Do you take a brisk walk, catnap for an our or two, followed by a cold shower and another walk and get back to work? Fresh fruit or caffeine? Carbs or protein?

Music for Babies

fenriq — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 10:46:13 -0800

Best Baby Music?

I'm actually thinking along two lines here. There's Baby Awake Music and then there's Baby Go to Sleep Music.

What are people's favorites? [MI] I've been listening to alot of Laurie Berkner ("Shakin' Down the Sugar" is a cool song regardless of genre) and Ralph's World lately but have also gotten back into Harry Chapin and lots and lots of Cat Stevens.

My best Go To Sleep song is by Ismael Lo called Dibi Dibi Rek but I always need more! The kid likes reggae alot and will crash to Eek-A-Mouse's Zum Galli pretty easily too.

How to get through a day of work on too little sleep?

adampsyche — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 04:03:18 -0800

How to get through a day of work on *yawn* too little sleep? Copious cups of coffee already considered (and consumed).