Need help staying awake/falling asleep:

Alright, what's happening now is that i'm doing some irregular (very irregular) and unpredictable shift work.

So, i'm wondering if there are anyways to:

1) Quickly adjust to unexpected shift changes.

2) stay awake

3) fall asleep


i would prefer not to take pills/drugs unless absolutely nessesary. Are there any other ways that you may know of to adjust and/or stay awake and/or fall asleep on demand which i know is not easy.

i do know of a podcast that can help you fall asleep easier faster (assuming you've been up for a while) and i can provide that link if anyone wants if you pm me. It's pretty amazing. But here, it won't make you fall asleep on demand unless you really could use the sleep. Example, if you've just woken up after a 8 hour sleep, it won't work.

i think singing will help you stay awake, but really that's not a real solution; It only works short-term so you don't nod-off while driving until you can get to a safe place to stop.

 

i'm "ok" with the energy drinks short term; Afterall it's not a drug---or is it? But i can't drink too much as my stomach can't take it.

In another podcast, a neurologist stated that switching from night shift to day shift every week was the worst thing you could do.

 

1) Mmmmm........i somewhat disagree. i think Celine Dion would be good to help stay awake because i think it takes alot of air to sing those songs; And this, for some biological reason---as you mentioned with the harmonica, helps to keep you awake.

Try singing these songs. In fact, i will try myself---thanks for the idea.

a)"The power of love."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee3iuhJaA6A

b)"Where does my heart beat now?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE75JIPnEas

2) For some reason, excercise really didn't work for more than 15mins for me---i guess i was really tired and should have just shut it down and slept.

3) i've tried the open the window and stick your head out---in the rain! As with the excercise, it didn't really have any long-term effect---sleepy after a few mins. And again, i was probably too tired and should have pulled over.

4) Are ammonia inhalers legal?
a) If so, where to get them?

5) i tried the stackers and i personally don't really like the idea of using them. i generally don't like the idea of having to take pills to do my job. More of this in a sec.

6) i agree that the best way to stay awake is proper sleep before you drive; i think i may have come up with a strategy which i'll get into in a sec.

7) True, but i think the neurologist very likely had to serve an internship where they have to assist a surgeon or something and that often means staying up for like 36 hours or something. He did a study and that's how he came to the conclusion that the weekly flip floping is the worst thing you can do----monthly or even daily would be better.

8 ) i did some experimenting last night and what i've come up with is sort of a "guerilla shift adaptment" if you will:

One hour before finishing the "new" shift, i down over-the-counter sleeping pills; This makes me sleep a little bit more than the time i am used to waking up if the time am a going to sleep is within the time frame that i am used to sleeping. If it's after the time i normally get up, the pills help me to sleep 6.5 to 7-7.5 hours which is ok.

So, basically, if i am working normally when i sleep, i am going to be tired anyways, but without "chemical intervention," i will generally only sleep to the point where i would normally wake up or maybe an hour or two more. But the pill(s) will make me sleep for at least 6.5 to 7 or 7.5 ish hours which is sufficient.

Example: For the past week, i was used to sleeping 2am to about 10am working the 3pm to 11pm shift. Last night i had to work 9pm to 5am. So i took the pills at 3:30am, got home at about 5:15am and slept to about 12pm. Roughly 6.5 hours of sleep. If i didn't take the pills i would probably wake up at 10am and feel like crap.

These are over-the-counter sleeping pills, so it's not that big a deal. Also, for me name brand are unessesary---Walmart brand will do just fine.

i generally don't like the idea of taking pills to do my job, but this is just temporary. With the economy the way it is, wierd stuff is going on at my terminal and unfortunately i have to roll with it.