5 Tips to Stay Awake When You Are Very Tired

Drink caffeine during your shift. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep when you’re off duty, limit your caffeine to the first part of your shift and taper it off during the last half. Caffeine stays in your system for many hours.

Apply pressure to, massage, or tap on the stimulation points of your body. These include the top of your head, the back of your neck, the back of your hand (between the thumb and index finger), just below the knee, and your earlobes.

Move away from your chair and stand, walk, run or climb the stairs. Feel the earth under your feet. Stretch and twist. Do jumping jacks, lunges, push-ups and back bends. And if you need to move more discreetly, wiggle your feet, bounce your knee up and down, scrunch your toes, or cross your legs.

If you’re talking on the phone at work, stand up or walk around while you do so. During your breaks, move away from your workstation, take a short walk or walk up and down stairs, and stay in motion.

If you’re dehydrated, you might feel even more tired. While it’s essential to drink enough water each day, you need to drink a bit more when you are feeling sleepy and tired to stay awake. Drinking a pint of cold water is a great way to refresh yourself on a hot summer day and to stay more alert when you are tired.

Cocoa beans naturally contain alertness-boosting caffeine, but not as much as coffee. Bonus: Chocolate also has heart-healthy flavonoids. Remember, the darker the chocolate, the more the caffeine it has.Just don’t use this as an excuse to overindulge – dark chocolate, like almost anything dessert-worthy, is best consumed in moderation.