Alright, I have a battle plan!
I really want to get through this, I know it can be done and I want to achieve this, no matter what!
So I brainstormed a little bit to find out what I could do to make the Zombie-phase a little bit easier. It wasn't a problem to get through that phase, mind you, but it sure as hell was torturous. And if I can at least ease it up a little, then I wouldn't mind to have 2 of these phases (one before 6am, one after 6am).
Some on the list will be very obvious, even w/o brainstorming, but I put them all together for the sake of completeness.
Before my 2am nap:- Take multi vitamin; maybe that helps with my energy levels after the nap?
- Eat Omelette; an hour before the nap; Protein
During Zombie-Phase:- Take a cold shower; preferably a contrast shower (hot...cold...hot...cold...)
- Drink cold water; preferably ice cold, as in "with ice cubes"; I read sometime ago that drinking cold beverages as opposed to hot (or normal tempered) ones will (at least in the mornings) help you get awake more quickly
- Do pushups; but only around 5 and only every 10 minutes for a short energy burst
- Listen to fast music; and ONLY fast music, but not too long or you'll probably get used to it :P
- Eat some crackers; not sure about this, but my thought is that maybe getting the digestion going, not matter how slow at the nighttime it might be, will lead to some additional blood circulation? As I said, not sure about this one.
- Chew bubblegum; because of the continuous movement of the jaw while chewing and the contraction of its muscles this will help keep the blood flowing in your head and helps the brain stay focused; this is a very good method for exams, believe me it works!
- Eat a Fisherman's Friend every now and then; preferably one of the really strong variety; "What's a Fisherman's Friend?" you might ask: Fishermans Friend - Strongest there is.
- Eat tomatoes with pepper and salt; preferably cocktail tomates; tomatoes and pepper contain tyramine, which is an "amino acid that causes the release of a brain stimulant called norepinephrine, that can keep us wired all night long".
- Go outside; many reasons for that, but most importantly: oxygen, no bed
Preferably I'll do all of the above (except for showering) outside.
Cold water in a thermos and the pushups on an abandoned parking lot.
And the stuff to eat... well, I guess it'll be a zombie picknick.
6am Power-Wakeup Helpers:- Sleep on floor or chair; Lying on my bed at this time even with clothes and w/o a cover WILL promote oversleeping, especially after a zombie-phase
- Set first alarm clock
- Set 3-4 iPhone Alarms*; only 1 minute apart; preferably with the dreadful "Alarm" alarm-sound
- The same with my cellphone
And of course all of them out of reach of my self-conscious having-their-own-agenda hands.
*On my iPhone there's an alarmsound that's exactly the same as the ringing sound when somebody calls. Maybe I'll use that as an alarm-sound as well.
This way I can trick my unconsious mind to think somebody is calling me. That generally gives me another mental cue to wake up .....eeeevil.
Ok, that's everything for now, if I come up with something else I deem successful or worth mentioning I'll add it to the list with a respective edit reason. Apart from that, if you have any ideas you think are worth trying, don't hesitate to mention them.
So long,
Edward
P.S.: Wish me luck!^^
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EDIT:
Maybe I'll compile the list and print it in large letters, like...
Quote:
1. Turn on the music!
2. Take a cold shower!
3. Drink ice cold water!
4. ....
.
.
|
Since I'm mentally at my lowest (in zombie-mode), it might be good to have a step-by-step printout that
tells you what to do next.
That way I don't get confused as to what I have to do next and won't forget anything. And what's more: I won't waste time thinking at all, but just obeying my precious sheet of paper... like a real mindless zombie!
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EDIT 2: DAY 7 - Jul/07/09
For all who didn't read my first post in this thread: I define a day as the 24 hours from sunrise to sunrise of the next day.
I.e. this day began for me after my at 6am on Jul/06/09.
As I've overslept the last nap (6am-6:20am) on DAY 6 (and thus the first one of DAY 7) I took my next available nap (which was at 2pm).
- 6am: Overslept - see post for DAY 6
- 10am: Still oversleeping (until about 12pm).
- 2pm: Feeling pretty refreshed. But no wonders here. After all I had an involuntary core sleep.
- 6pm: Took a while to fall asleep, but I woke up from a dream, so it was pretty ok. Felt alright.
- 10pm: Was a little easier to fall asleep, felt normal afterwards, but was getting a little tired later in the evening.
I also prepared myself for the possible zombie phase after the 2am nap. But since I just had a core sleep I don't really expect
the zombie phase this day. The last time it needed an extra day after the core sleep. - 2am: Felt the most tired here of all naps, as always. But not overwhelmingly difficult.
As I've already presumed I didn't get into zombie-mode, but I used the opportunity to make a test run of my step-by-step
anti-zombie plan and it worked pretty well.
I can't wait till tomorrow and get this damn zombie phase behind me. Feel like I'm standing still until I get through that.