<p>Six days a week, I have to get up at 7:30 to go to work or school. I basically have nonstop classes/work/extracurriculars for 8 to 9 hours. And then after that I have to do homework, well supposedly do it anyway. Thing is, i need the money and I'd rather not quit the extracurriculars because consistency is good for grad school apps.</p>
<p>So, what do I do to solve this "I'm tired all the time" issue? Thing is, I'm not a morning person at all, and if I were to start my day at 1 pm, I'd probably be fine. However, since I have to get up early six days a week, I'm always tired. Is there a solution? Can I take any pills (haha, no seriously...)?</p>
<p>make sure you go to bed early enough to get at least 7 hours of sleep.... if you can't do that, then you may have to let some of your extracurriculars go, or just stay tired a lot.</p>
<p>Well, to feel my best I need ten hours of sleep, which is basically impossible to ask for, so I've been really reliant on coffee this past year.</p>
<p>So, there's no easy solution eh...like popping pep pills?</p>
<p>pep pills are a temporary fix that you could become addicted to... I would say do some exercise, and get consistent sleep every night.</p>
<p>If you are seriously always tired, you should see your doctor, especially if you are currently getting 8 hrs of sleep. I have serious sleep issues, so PM me if you want to hear my personal details or advice.</p>
<p>Sleep as much as you can the day off, try tro get all your stuff done early so you could be asleep by 11 or at least by midnight.</p>
<p>Cut back on your ECs if you're not intent on the "professional" grad schools (we're talking MA or PHD here, not JD, MBA, or MD) but they don't care about that. It'll free up some of your time so you can sleep some more.</p>
<p>Also try exercising- you'll get more energy! It may seem like it's the opposite but it really does boost your energy for the day. Go for a 30 minute walk or something when you wake up.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So, there's no easy solution eh...like popping pep pills?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Ahh...you 'youngins' need to watch up on your Saved by the Bell! A key episode for you to watch is the one where Jessie takes on too much and starts taking pep pills and outlines the aftermath. It's a classic episode and educational!</p>
<p>In all seriousness, if you aren't getting what you want and you aren't happy with your current schedule, you must drop something! If you don't, you will certainly burn-out before you even make it to grad school. Nothing is worse than burning out and not having enough steam left to complete your original goal.</p>
<p>I agree with ticklemepink, if you aren't looking at professional schools, please drop the EC's. I am a graduate student and not on any application, MS nor PhD, was I asked to list any EC's or talk about any of them in an essay. Also, for a professional school, your work experience, if related to your graduate school objective, will easily replace your EC's in importance. Professional schools would rather admit someone with real-life experience than one who just has mock experience through an EC. </p>
<p>Also, especially since you are looking at graduate school, you need to learn how to budget your time more effectively and know your limits! Graduate school is a whole different beast than undergrad and you ain't seen nothing yet!</p>
<p>Good luck and don't pop pills! :)</p>
<p>I've been told this so don't quote me on it but sleeping for really long periods of time is bad. It's good if you sleep the 6-8 hrs you need or less than that, go figure. If you sleep more than (by a lot on avg) that then it's bad. Also just because you missed hours of sleep during the weekdays it doesn't mean that you can make them up by sleeping more during the weekends. The hours you've already lost of sleep can't be made up.</p>
<p>My suggestion as someone else who dosn't get a lot of sleep due to a rigourous schedule is try taking mini-naps in between stuff, or even in non-important classes. And get as much sleep as you can on your off days. Becuase of my military academy lifestyle, I get an average of 5-6 hours asleep a night, so I try and make it up whenever I can. I try to think how the SEAL's do Hell Week where they only get 4 hours of sleep broken up into something like 15 minute intervals whenever they get the chance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses guys. Unfortunately, I want to go to law school, meaning that ECs count for more. So we'll see how that works out.</p>
<p>I think I'll basically catch up on work/sleep on Sundays or something, however that will work.</p>
<p>Also, sometimes I am overly tired after I sleep 12 hours, which is weird. I also have anemia, but I don't take iron pills. So maybe I should start doing that, but yeah, I don't really exercise either. It's just finding the time to exercise!</p>
<p>A part of being mature is knowing your limits and when to give on things.</p>
<p>Not just a sign of being mature, but intelligent. Intelligence knows limits, and also knows that sleep is an integral part of maintaining a balanced, intelligent life.</p>
<p>Sorry, you can't "catch up" on sleep. I sometimes crashed on the weekends, sleeping all day, and that just makes you more tired...</p>
<p>I think if the ECs are interfering with your health (and you are budgeting your time as effectively as you can), you need to drop something. Really, your college experience will be a lot more fun, and from what I hear grad schools don't care if you are involved in a million ECs. Grad school admissions are not like college ones...find an internship related to your career field if you have not already, and choose an EC or two that you think strengthens you app. You are obviously going overboard. They care more about your grades than an intramural sports team! If you continue to loose sleep your grades will suffer...I skated through highschool getting two hours of sleep a night, and then junior year hit and I just burned out. I now really regret taking on too much (even though that too much wasn't exactly academically related...haha). I wish I just would have focused on a few things that really mattered to me.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone that being mature is knowing when you are doing too much. The thing about intelligence is especially telling. Did you know when you sleep new brain cells are made? If you feel tired, your probably also getting dumber. No joke.</p>
<p>Good luck, get around 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and take those iron pills if your doctor thinks that'll help...</p>
<p>I think feeling good is also an issue of what you eat, as well as exercise. Quit some of the sodas and junk food if you haven't already. Eating healthier does make you feel better. And, get some energy snacks during the day, like celery and peanut butter. And, exercise doesn't neccessarily mean getting to the gym and running on the treadmill. It's like walking a slightly lengthier route to get somewhere and taking the stairs sometimes. Also, if you want to take pills, the only pills that would help are vitamins, as you've mentioned already. Pep pills are like a sugar rush--they give a short-term hype and then you crash further down than you have ever been before. I wouldn't risk it, if I were you.</p>
<p>Meh, I guess we can all sit here and gripe at you to drop some ECs, but you also have to take a look at your priorities. If there's one EC--just one--that you can drop because, in the long run, you don't feel that your interviewer would be interested in it or that you could really ever talk about it with passion, then I'd drop it.</p>
<p>In the true long run, what's the use of keeping all these ECs steady if you have the chance of burning out completely at one point and being unable to attend to ANY? It's like that economics water pump analogy: You have to give a little in order to get much more. It doesn't really fit, but you get my gist, right?</p>
<p>actually, trying to catch up on sleep on the weekend is not a good idea at all. most sleep psychologists agree that you need to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day to find your natural sleep cycle.
it seems to me that you just dont have enough time in the day, and no matter how hard you try, you wont be able to make it longer. the best solution is to cut back on an activity, which will also decrease your stress level (which is the worst thing for sleep).</p>
<p>WOW, I like that, huskem55. It's all about routine, eh?</p>
<p>yup! its all in the circadian rhythms</p>
<p>Hmm, many things to address:
Regarding the exercise, I never ever go to the gym, but I already walk everywhere because I have no car and Berkeley is like a field haha. But yeah, since I came to university 2 years ago, I think I've gotten fitter, but am now even more underweight.</p>
<p>Regarding sleep, I seem to feel tired even if I get 6 to 7 hours of sleep. Is this a medical condition?</p>
<p>Regarding the ECs: I work at a law firm, but I work approx 20 hours a week. And I only do two other ECs, but they include an internship and another music one that requires practice. So it's just that I put in about 30 hours a week on ECs; it's not really the quantity of ECs, but the amount of time I have to put into each one. (I'm double majoring, but because I want to , not due to anyone else's pressure. )</p>
<p>I understand about cutting an activity out of the schedule, but it's hard to quit!</p>
<p>I just perused my previous post, and the English is really quite horrendous. Please pardon my revolting grammar; I swear I'm not usually this illiterate.</p>