<p>These days I get only a few hours of sleep a night and it shows when I go to school. Sometimes I faze out, don't concentrate most of the time, and am sleepy all the time. I get this mental barrier that prevents me from doing anything, and I get very snappy at people. </p>
<p>How do I clear that fog that haunts my head stay perky all day long? I was a very active, optimistic person until this year's workload pushed me down.</p>
<p>This sounds like the story of my life. I found that caffeine helps- a lot, but I'm wary of becoming addicted because well.. I'm saving that for college. :)</p>
<p>Maybe manage your time better, or have a workload that actually allows you to sleep?</p>
<p>I always try to force myself to get enough sleep - 10/11 to 5 or 6 is usually my schedule, but it involves me working on hw and extracurriculars STRAIGHT from 4-bedtime basically....:( </p>
<p>Its called, a crazy a AP English teacher who says he wants to treat the class like a grad. school class</p>
<p>coffee works wonder.</p>
<p>Other than caffeine, there's not much you can do, but why does staying active really matter? Just plan your sleep accordingly so that you are able to stay awake if you are being graded on participation in one class or something.</p>
<p>I agree with what everyone said above. </p>
<p>Sleep is very important, not getting enough sleep reduces your ability to focus and pay attention. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, this will help get your body on a natural sleep schedule. </p>
<p>Caffeine does work well, but in moderation. You don't want to be depending on 3 cups of coffee to get you through the day. </p>
<p>How is your study environment? (where do you study and do school work?) If you study in a room that has lots of distractions (tv, video games, computer, etc.) you may not be studying as efficiently as you could. Try studying in a quiet place with few distractions, and you may be able to cut down on study time while achieving the same (or better) results.</p>
<p>What is keeping you up at night? School work? What other activities are you involved after school?</p>
<p>Easy, quit. Once you quit, that fog of yours will clear up.</p>
<p>Everyone has points in the day when they're focusing more and thinking more clearly; my best one happens to be at 4-6 AM, which is convenient for me. Try, as much as possible, to do the hardest work at that time.</p>
<p>Also, try to stick to a regular sleeping pattern, even on weekends. Caffeine/energy drinks or bars or whatever are, I think, okay when you only need the boost for a short amount of time (i.e. - for a test). You don't want to get dependent on them.</p>
<p>You really shouldn't be getting only a few hours of sleep per night. Try for at least 5-6; can you change your schedule a bit to allow for that?</p>
<p>Caffeine.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.THINKGEEK.com/Caffeine/%5B/url%5D">www.THINKGEEK.com/Caffeine/</a></p>
<p>If you don't have money to buy anything, I can send you a Bottle of Bawls. Just take half of one or an entire bottle before school if you don't get enough sleep. It's made me a genius. ^_^;; Shoot, if you're having trouble I'll help you out.</p>
<p>i heard somewhere that tea contains more caffeine than coffee... can anyone verify this ? haha :P</p>
<p>pretty random huh</p>
<p>I just had a bottle of Bawls, lol. </p>
<p>I LOVE BAWLS.</p>
<p>Get more sleep.</p>
<p>Contrary to the common view here, save the caffeine for special times, such as when you are extremely tired, or you have a big activity/test that you need to be alert for. Though I love the Monster effect and boost I get, I try to drink it less than once a week. Red Bull and Amp no longer have effects on me due to regular consumption...and coffee is disgusting.</p>
<p>I know that it's not always possible to adjust you sleep cycles when you have a heavy workload, so try to take advantage of spare time to cut back on HW time when you get home. It may sound dorky, but try to do your HW at lunch or during idle periods in other classes.</p>
<p>And in general, get more sleep if you can and be wise of your time (Internet is a killer). If you can't get a good night's rest, at least try power naps (throughout the day and night). They work wonders.</p>
<p>count the days until christmas vacation..?</p>
<p>^The coffee is all about how you drink it. :) Straight, yes, it's disgusting. Add a little milk/cream and some sugar and it's AMAZING.</p>
<p>Take it from someone who has to leave her house by 6:35 AM every morning...TIME MANAGEMENT FTW.</p>
<p>If you know something is low in point-value and will not kill your grade, skip it. I've done this several times, and it really does work...the zero in your progress reports will make you wince a bit, but it doesn't hurt your grade if you don't do it frequently and it gives you that blessed sleep.</p>
<p>The tea thing depends on which kind of tea you're drinking...but avoid sleepytime at all costs XD.</p>
<p>You might also try some small exercises once in a while...a few jumping jacks or the like to get your blood pumping.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I'll skip on the coffee though, it kinda sickens me.</p>
<p>Seeing as this is exactly what I'm going through right now, I'll just say that the biggest prevention to getting a sufficient amount of sleep is procrastination due to being on the internet. In order for me to get my work done, I depend on up to 6 energy drinks a day (sugar-free full throttles), which works, but ultimatley ends up killing you slowly. I mean, the kidney pain just truly isn't worth it, haha. So, if you are on the internet frequently, I'd cut back, skip caffeine addiction, and just fight through it. And if none of this pertains to your situation, I'm sorry for wasting space on this thread :P</p>
<p>only 42 more school days until Christmas vacation ^_^</p>
<p>Try some vitamin water, doesn't pack quite the kick but it's a safer alternative if you don't wanna drink too much caffeine.</p>
<p>I also find I have trouble falling asleep if I am nervous or excited about something that's happening the next day, and unfortunately Melatonin seems to have almost no effect besides 10 minutes of drowsiness after the first couple of usages.</p>