Hey fellas I'm an incoming SA but I figured out I feel like absolute crap if I have less than 6 hours of sleep per night. Are there any tricks to make me not appear sleepy throughout the day for my SA? Tried coffee but it didn't help much. Thanks!
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Shower as soon as you wake up
And end that with 30-60 sec with the shower as cold as it gets.
Other suggestions:
It’s not going to be the main thing that keeps you going, but make sure you’re getting enough water.
Its the difference between feeling like shit and feeling like death.
Lots of water
Brush your teeth
Move from time to time (to get water or brush your teeth)
6hrs is plenty, you catch up a bit over the week-end
5hrs is sustainable but you’ll be tired
3-4h is painful and you’ll start slowing down and make lots of mistakes
Less is not to be repeated 2 days in a row if you can avoid
6 hours is plenty? Since when?
5h30 is the absolute minimum and below that can be extremely detrimental to your health
Serious answer, make time for the gym early in the morning. Even if you get a tiny bit less sleep, I feel way better getting a morning workout in.
Don’t eat a heavy breakfast, drink water and limit caffeine intake throughout the day so you’re not as tolerant.
However, the biggest thing to combat this is establishing a routine and following it all the time. I mean waking up at the exact same time and doing the exact same morning routine religiously with exceptions for weekends.
Amazing advice above. I would also tell yourself “Ok this sucks but I have the weekend to look forward to”.
6hrs was typical for me last summer but I would seriously catch up on sleep over the weekends and it felt great. Stay mentally strong and you’ll do just fine.
I do think that diet and exercise plays an important role as well. Make sure to go on runs on the weekend around the city and prioritize salads/chipotle for lunch/dinner over greasy foods. It did wonders for me.
Hope this helps!
I'll address quality of sleep since there's already good advice here.
Do not eat a lot before bed. A light snack is ok but you don't really want to be digesting food overnight. Especially fatty foods. Fat takes longer to digest. Protein is good.
Sleep in absolute darkness, get a face mask if you have to.
No screens before bed.
Floss your teeth and brush your tongue. You'd be surprised how much of an effect this has. Excellent for heart health not just hygiene.
If you wake up 5-15 minutes before your alarm, do NOT go back to sleep. Get up immediately do not sit there and think. Turn on the lights and have a cup of water immediately. By your bedside. You don't want to enter REM sleep and have your alarm go off.
Don't drink too much water before bed. You don't want to get up and piss every 2 hours.
Wash your sheets. Once a week, or every 2 weeks.
Bonus: As for diet, good fats and protein are critical. Carbs are whatever. Fruit in the morning is excellent. 1 Garlic clove a day(can be before bed, helps some people fall asleep) or a shot of apple cider vinegar is good for your heart. Don't brush your teeth after the vinegar by the way. Or after anything acidic. It's not good for your enamel.
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