How to Stay Awake When You Need It

How to Stay Awake When You Need It

Have you ever wondered how to stay awake when you’re driving long distances, or you need to sit through a long lecture or presentation and absorb a great deal of information – but all you want to do is put your head the desk and take a nap? You know how it feels – one minute you’re wide awake and alert, and the next thing you know, you’re doing everything you can to keep your eyes open.
There is a method to staying awake anytime you need to, and it works! But first, it’s important to know the phases of sleep, why it’s sometimes easy to wake up in the morning and sometimes it feels impossible, and why certain activities actually put you to sleep no matter how awake and alert you felt when you started.

The Phases of Sleep

There are approximately four sleep phases during the night. Each one lasts about 90 minutes and takes you through the alpha, theta and delta brainwave patterns. Alpha is light sleep with active dreaming, Theta is deeper sleep, and Delta is very deep sleep. When you first go to bed at night, you spend much of the first sleep cycle in Delta (dreamless, heavy sleep). The remaining phases become progressively lighter and there is more brain activity (rapid eye movement, or REM sleep usually occurs near the end of each cycle, and is more prevalent as the night progresses). Each part of the sleep phase has distinct physiological functions. If we are awakened during the middle of a cycle, the cycle is interrupted and we experience a strong desire to go back to sleep. This is why, when we awaken in the morning, we feel refreshed and ready to wake up only if we’re finished with the current cycle!
The Silva Method teaches a wonderful technique called The Clock Exercise to wake up without alarms, and it’s a wonderful technique worth learning. It’s phase one of developing full control over your daily energy levels!

Watch the video of Laura Silva explaining how Awake control works

Learn how to keep yourself centered to control your mind

Download the free Silva Centering Exercise

Staying Awake When You Are Sleepy

But why is it so hard sometimes to stay awake during the day? Why do we fall asleep during lectures and meetings? Why is it so hard to stay alert on long road trips? Developing the ability to keep yourself awake is very valuable; and you should know that it’s not “you” – it’s a normal and expected response to lack of stimulation. Falling asleep when we need to be awake isn’t because we’re necessarily bored; the subject matter may be fascinating, but it’s the presentation, and the environment, that triggers the urge to sleep. It’s the monotony that does us in!

The brain’s Reticular Activating System is the part of the brain that controls alertness and attention. When stimuli are few, the RAS signals the body to shut down; so a boring lecture, the monotony of highway driving, or any “mindless” repetitive tasks actually cause a physiological response of a strong desire to sleep. Isn’t it nice to know that you’re not alone and this is perfectly normal? Now you are aware of the power of the RAS to put you to sleep when there is a lack of stimulation. Of course every minute of the day can’t be filled with things that are stimulating, and you will experience the inevitable “down times” when the urge to sleep is irresistible. So how do you override the RAS?

Source: http://www.silvalifesystem.com/articles/mindcontrol/how-to-stay-awake/