Drool

Sometimes when I am really tired I have this small fear: I am afraid of drooling on the desk during class! I have figured out that it takes me about 11 hours to really feel energized and 'ready' to get up in the morning; and I don't get 11 hours a night. Between school and sports and work and homework and a social life... well you get the picture, sleep is hard to get! So how do I combat the fatigue? I do three simple things to help me throughout the day.

1. I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.
To get about 8 hours of sleep, I set a bed-time. It is easy to stay up late, but it is hard to get to bed on time. I like taking the hard route in simple tasks, it prepares me for competition, where things are almost always hard to do.

2. I eat several meals.
The important thing about food is to start with breakfast, move to a morning snack, have a good lunch, eat an afternoon snack, and then have a 1st dinner followed a few hours latter by 2nd dinner. That means eating 6 times a day! It is important that your metabolism is working to keep you at the top of your game. When athletes work out they need to re-fuel... and do that with healthy choices.

3. I make time for exercise.
Exercise can be a great wake up call due to endorphins. Endorphins are natural opiate like substances the body produces when it is performing strenuous exercise. These substances help give people a sense of well being and it produces analgesia or pain relief.

These three things help me stay awake and not drool on my desk.