Stay Awake Naturally

I don't know where you are at in your life, but I am finishing up my senior year of my undergrad, which means I have a lot of late nights. Chances are, no matter what you're doing there are times where you need to stay up late to get something done. I don't usually drink energy drinks, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Last night I needed to stay awake. My body was fighting me, and winning, so I didn't know what defense to fight back with other than a peace rockstar energy drink... and a bag of ultimate cheddar munchies. As I was drinking it, I made the mistake of looking at the nutritional facts. It had 0 for almost everything. 0 Calories, 0 sugar, 0 carbs, 0 fat... what i was drinking was pretty much just chemicals. If I can't pronounce 90 percent of the ingredients, I probably shouldn't be drinking it. 

I'm writing this post, so that you don't have to put this poison into your body! I've done some research  on natural ways to keep yourself awake for those late nights. Here are some solutions from Web MD that I came across: 

1. Eat a Healthy Snack: Usually I crave doughnuts or ultimate cheddar munchies late at night, but snacks loaded with sugar only give you a short energy boost. Snacks like peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker, yogurt, nuts,  or fruit will give you more energy in the long run. 

2. Get up and move around: Sitting around makes you sleepy. Stand up and jump around, or go run a lap around the building you're in. 

3. Take a breather: LITERALLY. Deep breathing increases your oxygen levels, which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and improves your circulation leading to better mental performance and more energy. 
The idea of deep-breathing exercises is to inhale to the abdomen, not the chest. You can do them at your desk. Sitting up straight, try this exercise up to 10 times:With one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other on your chest, inhale deeply through your nose and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.Breathe out through lips pursed as if you were whistling. You can use the hand on your belly to help push air out.

4. Drink water: Sometimes sleepiness is caused from fatigue and dehydration. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water!