How do you stay awake when you want to fall asleep?

golok

golok

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Oct 20, 2000
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I have been in such a situation many times but only in the office.
I have been told that such a condition is fatal when trekking in snow-covered ground.

So a guy is extremely tired. He's about to give up. He knows he can't afford to fall asleep. How can he NOT fall asleep?

There's not hot pot of coffee nearby? He hardly has any more strength to slap himself.

Is this man dead for sure?
 
Pain. Get your adrenaline, and endorphins going with some pain. It isn't pleasent, but neither's freezing, or bleeding to death.
 
If carrying pep pills is an option, it's a good one. Some places don't carry them because of the side effects of taking in too much caffeine. A while back some students took some and caused them major irritation and damage.
 
Originally posted by Social cameleon
Pain. Get your adrenaline, and endorphins going with some pain. It isn't pleasent, but neither's freezing, or bleeding to death.
Click to expand...

The Apaches (and maybe other tribes?) used to whip their legs with thorn branches to stay alert.

I have used pinching and slapping myself and giving myself charlie-horses, and it seems to work.

cv
 
my teacher taught me a special breathing method to restore energy.

I often want to bring Qi gong into survival cause it is really part of the same thing. qi gong is all about survival of the body.

alot of people into survival don't include health. I mean who cares if you can survive a jungle expedition and you die at 50 from cancer or haert disease.

doesn't make sense. you can survive in a desert but you die a short life in a city. :confused:
 
I remember from years back some of the patrol guys would use a rubber band to secure a cigarette between their fingers, so that it wouldn't fall out if they fell asleep and their hand relaxed. The idea was that when the cigarette burned down close to their fingers, the heat (and resulting pain!) would wake them.
 
Saw in a Western movie one time where a guy wove a collar out of thorny bramble branches so that when he nodded off (and his head fell forward) his chin would get poked by the thorns and the pain would wake him. Seems like it would work, especially if the collar had really long thorns. But even holly leaves can be obnoxiously prickly enough to get your attention when you brush into them.
 
caffeine, tobacco, mushrooms, peyote, staying well hydrated, eating enough protein, pain/discomfort, visualization exercises, staying warm enough, steady physical activity, breathing properly, cold water on the face/arms.

Joe S.
 
Here is my random list:
Hot tea, cup after cup.
Smoking, yes the burn system does work - too painful though.
Chewing gum,
Activity, body and brain.
Slapping, pinching, a pin in the collar that spikes you if your head falls.
Biting ones lip, until it bleeds.
A kick in the gonads.

I've never liked taking pep pills, though I know people who swear by them.
Pain works quite well, but all the systems fail eventually.

I've fallen asleep standing mid conversation to wake with my face in the dirt. Not a black out, because I remained standing for quite a while before topling.

Best is an alert buddy watching over you. Short stags are better that long ones. Always ensure that you wake people properly and have them out of their gonk bags, best have them standing. People can talk and will lie in their sleep "I'm awke, honest ZZZZZzzzzzz." Frankly staying awake is hard, hard work.
 
Just recalled something that in my skim over the methods, I did not see.

This device was intended to prevent falling asleep from highway hypnosis. It fastened to your ear, like an earphone. If you head tilted, it buzzed, or made noise, to wake you up, before you ran off the road or ran into someone.

Have never seen one, but if it works, I would like to have one. On a long drive, especially after a meal, better to take all the precautions you can. Of course rest is a good idea, but that is not what this thread is about. Further, even with reasonable amount of rest, some people are apparently just more susceptible.
 
At home I brush my teeth. Seems to wake me up. At the university if I am doing something late, I move a lot (read a few pages and change locations). Walking and thinking works very well. I'll write for a while and then go walk, thinking about my arguments, what to say next, etc.
 
On long (solo) drives I will move the seat as far forward as possible for a bit and drive that way, then move it way back for a bit more; open the windows periodocially and drive with the wind roaring thru; stop and do some exercises; pack a thermos of coffee so I can have small, hot cups as needed and finally, carry an alarm clock and take 1/2 hour naps (in a safe place!) when necessary.
 
I think of my ex-fiance.
Gets me mad, sad, hot, bothered, happy, and nostalgic all at the same time. Sleep is not an option when you're an emotional wreck:)
Since you're not allowed to think about her, try brushing your teeth like Crayola said. It can really go a long way toward making you feel human again. Discovered that one working double and triple shifts...
Thermadrene, my super-duper pep pill, makes me good for about 6 more hours, too. Toothbrushing is optional after one of those.
 
It's the same as when you are in a fight that could mean serious injury or death...willpower, concentration, and discipline, plus motivation. If you are in a situation where you have to remain quiet, then the other options can be too "attention-getting." Except for the Qi Gong breathing -- that works well.

One of the most important wilderness skills you can learn are relaxation and efficiency to conserve energy.

RadioRay and I did a 26 mile hike with 80 lbs on our backs, in wet, snowy, hypothermic conditions, in a period of about 8 hours, in the Idaho Mountains, with little sleep the night before. It was nothing but our motivation and will to succeed that got us through.
 
Mark,
That looks like what I was thinking about. I have no idea if it works. I guess it could hurt your wallet, or if one relied on it and it did not work, someone could get hurt. Hopefully, it is a little expensive for what it seems to be, because it is made very well. It might be expensive also because of potential liability issues.

I recall hearing they are sold at truck stops. Perhaps a long distance truck driver would know if these things work.
 
Mark J, unless that snooze alert device goes off like an air raid siren, I'd look at a redundant method to supplement it. Sound is not always enough to maintain consciousness.

On a road trip after long hours at the wheel I was driving with the window down (New Year's eve driving across Nebraska so it was COLD), the stereo turned up so loud I thought my ears would bleed, me roaring out the lyrics to the music to keep my body oxygenated, and I was still almost falling asleep from exhaustion. As noted, eventually the body just shuts down. We hate to stop moving because we're thinking about the road time we'll lose. We aren't considering the fact that we could lose ALL our time if we don't stop.

A great thing I've found for using Maury's move-around method is cruise control, since it frees the body for repositioning. No having to keep that right leg locked in place on the accelerator pedal. In talking about this with others, they've noted how incredibly much more refreshed they stayed during long haul driving with the cruise control maintaining speed while they occasionally moved around a bit.
 
RokJok,

I agree in part, but feel that if I am tired constant use of the cruise control can be dangerous. I you are tired and falling asleep, you often tend to slow down, as you do not concentrate on keeping your foot down. No guarantees of course. With the cruise control, you might be a little less tired, but if you do nod off, you may have an accident at high speed. Further, at high speed, if your car starts to drift, it is going to go out of control much faster, making any recovery more difficult.
 
night before, for the afternoon nodding...

Pack a 1L water bottle... if you put 2 tea bags into it before ypu go to bed, it'll go a long way towards waking you up.

get about 1/2 done in the morning to get going, and the other 1/2 is worked on when you fell tired.
 
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