How do you work full-time and stay awake all shift?

A few questions to people who have struggled long-term with fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia, etc.: what do you do to keep awake for a full-time workday? Black coffee, supplements, herbs, drugs/prescriptions, other? None, and it required a lifecycle habit change? Have you had success with “desk” jobs sitting all day, or had to choose a field with physical activity to keep from falling asleep on the job? Does it just “get easier” to wake up and stay up after multiple years of full-time? Before starting full-time I had only been able to get part-time gigs before, but it hasn’t taken long for me to notice my biological clock isn’t set right and every day I’m not sure if I’m “built” for it. Is anyone? Thanks Lemmy!

MarioSpeedWagon,

Get a sleep study done

AlmightySnoo,
@AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world avatar

Have you had success with “desk” jobs sitting all day

The trick is to not sit all day at your desk. Go for a coffee break and have a short walk outside every now and then. You can also use the Pomodoro technique to break down your work day into small chunks with frequent small breaks: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

Bye, (edited )

OP I’m sorry all these bootlickers are telling you you’re sick or wrong or bad for not wanting to be awake for a needlessly long “full day” of work. I don’t have a sleep disorder but I can’t do it either. You know how I know I don’t have a sleep disorder? I don’t get sleepy on the weekends.

Anyways here’s how I’ve solved it. What I do is I show up at 10, take a 2-hour lunch break, then leave at 3. They don’t even know I’m gone.

Don’t let these assholes break your spirit, stay strong.

GutterPunch,

💪 💪 💪

DearThief,
@DearThief@kbin.social avatar

I used to suffer with broken sleep, and my partner complained about my snoring and heavy breathing keeping him up. Ended up getting tested for sleep apnoea but it came back negative - turns out I just had uncontrolled asthma. I take a preventer inhaler now and I sleep like a log. It's made it so much easier to get through the day.

athos77,

When I was working three jobs, I'd go take a nap in my car instead of eating lunch; a thirty-minute nap kept me going for the rest of my shift. I'd have a granola bar for lunch while walking to/from the car.

HamSwagwich,

Wow… Literally nobody has mentioned the easiest solution? Get enough sleep and use a regular bedtime?

Just getting “enough” sleep for a few nights isn’t going to work. You need to go to bed at the same time every night and get enough restful sleep for months so your body is on a schedule. Then you won’t be tired during the day.

If you are, you may not be getting restful sleep and you need to investigate that.

For me, it was a CPAP. I’m physically fit, normal weight, healthy otherwise, but I was having obstructive sleep apnea. Getting a CPAP was a night and day difference, as my sleep is much more restful and restorative.

slazer2au,

Most civilised countries will permit you to have a short break after so many hours worked, like morning tea, afternoon tea, coffee breaks, or smokos. Use that time to get away from your work station and do something else.

Even if it is a 10 min break. Stretching during short breaks is always good. During lunch take a small walk to get out of the office.

owatnext,

Where I live, you aren’t guaranteed a break by any law. Work sixteen hours? Too bad, get on with it. Unfortunate, really. )=

Devi,

I like to go for a walk at lunch, get some fresh air. If I've bought a lunch then I go to the park to eat while walking around, if I'm buying then I pick a slightly further away place.

It is worth seeing if you get used to it though, everyone struggles with a full time job to start with, especially if it's a starter job, low effort, repetitive, probably below you in the long term. As you get into a routine it gets better, adding responsibilities makes it better, even getting to know people so you have more chats makes it better.

LaunchesKayaks,
@LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world avatar

This applies the when I was working in an office. I’m wfh because of an injury, but will be returning part time next month.

I take my second dose of ADHD medication at 11:30. Right when I start my lunch. I try not to include too many carbs in my lunch because that will make me sleepy.

I also make sure to take the long way back to my desk after using the bathroom to get my blood pumping.

I also drink absurd amounts of coffee and listen to energetic music.

When I am working from home I take a nap during my lunch lol.

Appoxo,
@Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

As I have ADHD I have my meds + I usually can work without it.
Sometimes I drink black tea at work but it doesnt seem to wake me.

aegisgfx877,
@aegisgfx877@kbin.social avatar

sleep apnea has entered the chat

Rhynoplaz,

Have you tried sleeping at night?

Pratai, (edited )

Did you not read the fist sentence of their post or are you just an insensitive ass?

GutterPunch,

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/5b5940fe-dbdb-4ef3-9c41-e4cbad0b5117.png

omnissiah,
@omnissiah@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

Tbh amphetamine

Fal,
@Fal@yiffit.net avatar

You got downvoted, but tbh this. Vyvanse.

omnissiah,
@omnissiah@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

I am diagnosed, I barely function without

JubilantJaguar,

Don’t work full time. That’s how to do it. Of course, this will mean less money, less stuff, smaller stuff, possibly a change in your social life, maybe even moving to a society with less materialist values. But your quality of life will not suffer, quite the opposite. I speak from experience. Beyond a certain number of hours, work has a cost to one’s quality of life. If you are serious about reducing that cost, there is only one way to do it. Work less.

intensely_human,

Just so we’re clear are you talking about literally falling asleep? If that’s the case you probably have narcolepsy.

If it’s a matter of your brain staying active enough to be able to engage, without getting frozen, a few things:

  • Limit morning caffeine. It’s an upper, and uppers crash down. The down part isn’t so useful for being alert
  • Limit the size of lunch
  • Avoid inflammatory foods at lunch
  • Get a little exercise
  • Use pomodoro timer to ensure you take a break before you need one
  • Hydrate well

On that last point: breaks are like pain meds: you should take one before the need for one becomes apparent. Keeping to that strict 25-5 schedule is great for keeping me close to peak in terms of my ability to do cognitive work.

For insomnia, the best thing for me is a 5-minute meditation session using a Muse 2 device (consumer neurofeedback training device, about $250 on Amazon). If I’m having recurring insomnia, a 5-minute session on the muse gives me about two weeks of insomnia relief.

Mostly though, I do indeed avoid desk jobs in favor of jobs that have at least some physical activity. My current job is about half desk, half physical work. And lots of face to face interaction too. Interacting with others keeps me energized.

GutterPunch,

Yeah, falling asleep while working at a desk for long hours straight. Not suddenly, but just overall unable to stay awake for major portions of the usual workday. The full-time position before the one I’m in now, I was at the office and would sometimes fall asleep during processing, or do orders on a sleepwalk autopilot, waking up after a few were submitted. It didn’t seem to really affect my accuracy, but it was jarring when I snapped back to. Thanks for the great advice! Probably should lower my morning caffeine, drink more water, and time my breaks instead of take them when I’m already burnt out… 300mg+ of coffee a morning without water might be too much too quickly. Limiting size of lunch isn’t an issue for me, I sometimes forget to take lunch entirely.

bionicjoey,

How many hours a night do you sleep? (Actual sleep, not staring at your phone)

And also, how early in the day have you noticed yourself falling asleep? Before lunch or after?

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