Is there a medication or alternative herb that will help me stay awake in the days & give me energy?
356196
Well if you are on any drugs right now that could be affecting you!  I know I was on a drug and it made me so incredibly tired!  I am now off that drug and I am great!  If this isn't the case perhaps you need to try energy drinks or see if you are getting enough iron!  Iron is very important and a lot of women are lacking in this department!  Try eating some foods high in iron like broccoli and nuts!  Good luck!  I know how horrible it is to be tired!  Also try planning things to get you excited!
1006278
Go to bed at a decent hour every night.  You need to do this on your weekends as well.  If you can wake up easily when your alarm goes off then you've found the right amount of hours that you need.  \n\nNext add vitamins to your diet. Eat three regular meals as well as healthy snacks between meals.  Plus add a bit of  exercise.    This will keep you energized.  Your body will feel much better.
560321
Breathing is great.  Inhale four counts, hold seven counts, exhale eight counts.  Repeat up to eight times.\n\nDrink plenty of water during the day.  If you don't get enough water, your liver can't function properly and will keep you awake between 1 and 3 AM.  If you have acid reflux or chest congestion and don't realize it, you may unconsciously be keeping yourself awake.  Don't eat too much or too close to bedtime.\n\nAvoid foods with MSG or nitrites/nitrates or BHA/BHT.  These can trigger migraines and can cause insomnia.\n\nDo something to get tired during the day.  Exercise (even just walking 20 minutes a day) helps increase endorphins (which make you feel good) and help regulate sleep.\n\nTurn off the computer and dim the lights an hour or so before bed.  Your body needs it to be at least moderately dark to get sleepy.\n\nThere's something about taking a shower.  I think you're supposed to alternate hot and cold water, but I can't remember which one you are supposed to end with.  Something about that is supposed to make you sleepy.\n\nWarm milk or "Sleepy Time" tea by Celestial Seasonings might help you relax.  Make sure you are getting enough calcium and magnesium before bed time.  Taking them about an hour after your evening meal (if you take them sooner they could interfere with digestion) may help you sleep.\n\nAlso track your cycle and note when you have sleep disturbances.  If you are over-estrogenic and don't have enough progesterone that could cause sleeplessness.\n\nJournaling might help.  Go ahead and write down all those thoughts that won't let you rest.  If you have them written down, maybe your mind will let them go for a while.\n\nPrayer is also really good. Give your anxieties to Someone you can trust.\n\nIt's better to lie in bed and relax than to get up and do anything that stimulates your brain further.\n\nOh!  While you are lying in bed, start with your toes.  Tell them to relax.  Work your way up your body all the way to your scalp.  Tell yourself to relax and your body will relax.  Great way to fall asleep.
279768
Try drinking a lot of water. This helps the body rest better in a shorter amount of time. Plus the need to use the restroom will help awake you.
21604
Getting up and walking around helps a lot.  Drink some water.  Find a diversion that can keep you engaged for a minute or so when you get sleepy.  Sometimes when I get really tired in the afternoon I do math problems in my head or try to remember arcane facts about cars.  Q&A is also a good way to keep your mind alert...
507796
erm..usually i take loads of caffeine before i hit the books..but that's bad advice..another alternative is taking a bath..you'll feel fresh, clean and definately awake!!!
50043
Try melatonin. It is a natural supplement and it helps you to relax and fall asleep. I work graveyards and have 3 kids, I can never stop thinking.. so it helps me, I take 3mg. You may want to start out on less.I also find a hot shower before bed helps too. Good luck
349115
I've taken part in a few sleep deprivation experiments and i found that the thing that kept me going the most was conversation or games. preferably both.\nif you're interested in something that uses more than one part of your brain, then you will stay awake longer. its got to be something that will not add to tiredness though, so nothing too demanding.\n\nare you allowed any sleep at all? if so, micro sleeps are useful. you literally nod off for about 3 seconds and then you nod yourself back awake... or someone nudges you. but a few of these can keep you awake.\n\navoid sugar/ caffeine as stated above. the highs are great, but 20 minutes later the lows make you so drowsy.\ngentle exercise - a walk (difficult to sleep while your walking); nothing that will get you too out of breath.. you may get a blood sugar dip and that will make you sleepy.\nno coffee. its great in the short term... but your brain will produce more and more sleep drug to compensate... while your kidneys are getting rid of the caffeine... eventually there will come a point where you have so much sleep drug in your brain that you will be too tired.\n\nwill power.\n\nmain point: don't do any one thing for too long... change works
565499
"Evening Delight" has helped me...\nwhich is a combo of chamomile and Peppermint.\nsometimes i just use straight of one or the other.
403848
Try either of these:  Ginko Biloba (an herb), Choline (a nutrient), L-Glutamine (an amino acid).\n\nI take Ginko Biloba regularly, and it boosts you alertness and your mental agility.  You can buy it, or any of the others, at a health food store, or even at Walgreens, in the vitamin section.
169860
Actually, warm tea is a great soothing agent. A hot bath works well too! A REALLY BAD book always puts me to sleep. *grin* Seriously though, physicians recommend keeping a routine, no matter how poorly you sleep. Wake up at the SAME time each morning. Do NOT take naps during the day. Eat balanced meals and go to bed at the same time each night. If you can't sleep, get up and do something for 30 minutes or until you feel tired again and lay down. It takes a few weeks for this to work, but it will getyou into a sleep routine.
22445
I'm a University student who is always staying up late or pulling all nighters. The worst thing you can do is have a quick nap. Once your body starts shutting down its so hard to get it going again. Drinking pop and energy drinks are ok but not great because they contain sugar. Sugar makes you energized but once it burns off it brings you to an ultimate low. So the best caffeine is a cup of straight black coffee because it doesn't have such a bad come down. Plus those energy drinks have some weird things in them and they cost alot (since I need several drinks for an all nighter). The best suggestion is to study or do homework not at home. If you have access to your school at night like a University go there. Less distractions the better for your attention. I also know people who take ritalin to help them study because gives them a boosted concentration. I don't suggest this if a doctor didn't prescribe it to you. I do know people that use it when they don't have ADD and they have said some good things. Since it is illegal take medication and the side effects are unkown its not a good idea even if it does work. Anyway goodluck with the all nighter as you are probably procrastinating right now ;)
102056
Take green coconut water - its excellent for this problem. Take pomegranate juice regularly. Take cold milk in small quantities.\n\nAvoid acidic food like tomatos, chillies, vinegar, tea, coffee, etc.\n\nDont remain awake for long hours in night.
457395
i have always been quite the insomniac.  luckily for me, I'm on a night shift now, and seeing as i enjoy staying up late i just do and it's fine.  however i wasn't always on a night shift so i can give u some of my techniques.\n\n1.)  first of all, u don't want pills?  is this a health thing like you don't like taking pills? u could try herbal supplements.  Valerian root and melatonin are the two best.  melatonin will always be in pill form that i know of, but it's just a replicate of the exact same chemical that your brain uses to put you to sleep.  it's either the best stuff out there or it won't work at all. that depends on you.  Valerian root on the other hand, has one major benefit for you.  it doesn't to be a pill.  u can actually buy this in it's natural form and i think u boil it in some water.  there may also be some herbal teas that have it.\n\n2.)ur second bet is herbal teas.  there are alot of them available a  sleep aid and even if they don't have Valerian root they do have other things that work.  and drinking something warm before u go to bed usually helps you go to sleep anyhow.  warm milk can sometimes do it for me.  you need to make sure, however, that you do not drink anything with sugar or caffeine in it at least 2 hours before you go to bed.  if i have to go to bed at ten, i don't drink caffeine after 5 pm, or not at all if i can help it.  also, u might try not smoking about a half hour before sleeping if u r a smoker.\n\n3.) another thing u can try is a sleep CD.  my friend Whitney swears by some of them.  they have music or sounds or just gentle whispering and she says that some of hers will put u to sleep within 5 minutes of starting them.\n\n4.) make sure that you have the most comfortable bed set up possible.  if your like me, your body and mind love finding any excuse to get up, and the wrong pillow blanket and mattress is an easy target.  i love the foam pillows but the foam mattresses suck for me.  but it all depends on you. if you sleep in clothes, make sure they are soft and loose.  it's better to sleep in the nude, however. also keeping a room a bit too cold for ur tastes but having plenty of cover is a great way to go to sleep.  you'll wrap urself up tightly and u won;t move.  soon you'll be asleep.  i always sleep better in winter.\n\n5.) reading or watching a television show that just DOES NOT INTEREST YOU is another way.  i watch the news because i hate the news.  sometimes the news can conk me out in the middle of the day.  \n\n6.)there are plenty of meditation exercises out there and lots of them can relax you to the point of sleepiness.  instructions for quite a few should be available on line, but try this one: breath in and fill your lungs all the way up.  imagine that when you breathe in you are breathing in a number (the number one for the first breath and so on).  fill ur lungs up completely with ones.  then breath out all of the ones (emptying ur lungs completely) and then continue with the number two. sounds crazy but it does relax you and if ur laying on ur back in ur bed, it can actually put you to sleep.\n\ni hope one of these works!!
969
Exercise could help, but don't do it later in the evening.  It will release endorphins that will keep you up.  Exercising in the morning or afternoon should do the trick.  If the above doesn't work, take some nyquil.  I had two different prescription medications as sleep aids that didn't work the way they should and gave me nightmares or left me foggy the next day, but the cheap old generic nightime cold/flu medicine similar to nyquil knocked me out like a light and didn't leave me feeling sleepy the next day.  If it's a chronic case of sleeplessness, perhaps you should make a visit to your doctor.  Don't use anything for extended periods of time to help you sleep, it can become a habit and those aids will eventually become less effective.
1145802
Eat Shelled Sunflower Seeds!! The cracking of them will keep you awake!!
69709
Do you consider herbal supplements drugs? If not, then try 5HTP or Melatonin. Take one tablet of either 30 minutes before you go to bed, and you'll sleep soundly through the night.\n\nYou can order them at a discount through Swanson Vitamins, linked below.