Harm reduction tips for an All Nighter
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Nobody goes "routinely" multiple days without sleeping
https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-do-medical-residents-stay-awake-during-long-shifts/
30 hours aren't multiple days. Nonetheless it is completely reckless for this to occur in the first place, endangering both patients and staff.
Even then, taking some sleep during the breaks is preferable over going without any sleep.
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
Drink a lot of water and eat enough food. I need roughly an extra meal’s worth of food if I stay up all night. Don’t eat it all at once though, because that can make you sleepy. Listen to pumpy music if you can, and if it becomes possible to nap, up to 45 minutes helps me, but between that and about 4 hours, it just gets worse.
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30 hours aren't multiple days. Nonetheless it is completely reckless for this to occur in the first place, endangering both patients and staff.
Even then, taking some sleep during the breaks is preferable over going without any sleep.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]30 hours is two days, two is more then one and thus multiple. Plus that's just the expectation, even in that same article a doctor said their longest shift was 72 hours. What we want and reality often diverge. We have to acknowledge reality
I don't disagree it's bad, but it's real. People do it all the time. First responders often have a 24 hour shift, throw in contingencies and it's two days.
Soldiers on mission often don't get to sleep and if your the unlucky bastard to pull sentry duty, sucks to be you. Deal with it.
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I was going to say that unfortunately strong (often illegal or prescription only) stimulants are the only real answer to this, but as you mentioned, you've already tried your ADHD meds, which are either amphetamine or methylphenidate.
So there are only obvious things left, like cold showers and caffeine (400mg max/day), which can also be dangerous, because your heart is already stressed. I think naps (up to 3 hours) will only make things worse, because you are unlikely to be in REM and deep sleep for a significant time and heart strain will spike after waking up again.
Be careful and check your pulse and blood pressure, if you can. Pressing two fingers right below your wrist for pulse and feeling your heartbeat pounding in your neck indicates dangerous blood pressure if you can't accurately measure these.
And most importantly: As soon as you get dizzy, have chest pain, or in the worst case, feel tingling or numbness in your left arm and/or neck, you MUST stop, lay down in the recovery position and have someone check up on you or call an ambulance, as these symptoms can be early signs of a heart attack.
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
I used to have to pull an all nighter 1-2 times per week for a terrible job I had. Typically 26-30 hours, so not quite the big one you're looking at.
If you're in a car for part of it, or otherwise idle, take some naps! A few 20 min naps will completely revitalize you for some time. Apart from that, light physical and mental stimulation goes a long way
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
Regarding the nap thing: if you have the time, taking a strict 20 minute nap will help you get a bit of energy without feeling too groggy afterwards. You want enough time to just barely fall asleep and then get kicked awake before you fully passout.
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Regarding the nap thing: if you have the time, taking a strict 20 minute nap will help you get a bit of energy without feeling too groggy afterwards. You want enough time to just barely fall asleep and then get kicked awake before you fully passout.
I find that after waking up from said 20 min nap, it's good to yell "aaaarrrggggghhhhh fuck meeeeeee" and then move on with the day. Really stretches the lungs out.
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
Set a timer for hydration. You will forget towards the end of it. All the things your body does automatically will become less effective. Like obviously your fuse will be shorter. But you'll feel more hungry with less warning, for instance. Satisfying that in a way that might normally make you a bit tired could be enough to make you crash out. But you need to keep eating or you'll feel like starved hell. Keep it light/snackish. Also try to avoid extra stimulation. If you need stimulation to stay awake keep it minimal as you can.
Additionally, recognize the point of damage. If you're finding yourself taking completely unintentional 'microsleeps' (passing out for 15-120 seconds) that's your brain screaming for mercy and you should take rest if it's even remotely possible, and results get truly unpredictable past that point in regards to emotional/mental stability.
Hope that helps, here to answer if you want clarification on anything there
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
Don't drink bottomless coffee. At a certain point it just makes you conk out
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I am moving home today and it is too late for proactive harm reduction like "get plenty of sleep in the days before the all nighter". I tried to look for advice online, but just found loads of articles telling me how harmful and unproductive it is to go without sleep. I get it, I'm fucked. I'm not in this situation by choice though, so now I just want to get through the day as well as I can. I have plenty of help, so I don't need to do much physical exertion, but I will need to direct people and organise the last packing stages. Fortunately I don't need to drive anywhere, but I do somehow need to survive this. By the end, I'll have been up for around 48 straight hours, and I was pretty tired even before then (so tired that my R
regular ADHD meds barely woke me up)So I was wondering if anyone had tips that helps them when they're exhausted beyond belief but still need to function. When you're in a situation where you know it's unhealthy to push through, but it's too late to change that, is there anything that you find lessens the blow of the combo exhaustion at the end of it all? Staying hydrated is already on my list, as is getting some rest if you can (because even if you don't sleep, some shut eye rest can be good); I'm getting an hourish rest after posting this question. I'm typically not someone who naps, because I wake up even groggier afterwards. I know I'm foolish for hoping for some neat trick or tip to make today magically tolerable, but I figured it was worth asking.
Creatine is very helpful for reducing the effects of sleep deprivation. I'm not sure what dose would be ideal, but I would expect it to be pretty large, like 20 grams.
