Healthy way to stay awake?

[JPR]

Here is the deal: for a time being I am working at an auto plant on a 10hr long night shift schedule. I do engineering support so I have to just sit in a chair and try to keep awake all night long and keep from being bored to death. Hey you can only read so many hours of newspapers or books per night
Anyhow I end up drinking a bunch of coffee(w/sugar) or pop (sugar helps to stay awake) and I also find myself visiting the local snack machine all too often through the night - it provides something to do. I can't help it though it seems, I get these cravings and because of nothing else to do all night I can't get away from them.
Anyhow I already gained a bunch of weight the last few weeks after I started working at this plant Any tips you guys can give to help me stay awake the healthy way? I can probably avoid hitting the pop machine but man coffee would be hard to get away from And I normanly don't drink it, I just started after I went on working nights.

All those energy drinks like Red Bull and such seem to be based on a lot of sugar too But damn it I need to stay wake somehow and all this sugar is making me fat, and I am not exagerating, I did gain weight

 

[semag]

10 hours?

Bring 2 cans of tuna and 2 cans of chicken and a can opener. If you get tired of that you can bring some oatmeal, peanut butter, and maybe a few raisins...

Eat every couple hours, and make the food last for like 30 mins. Just the sheer act of eating will keep you awake. the coffee isn't too bad, just don't put real sugar in it, use soem sweet 'n low or splenda/equal...

Soda/snacks are a no-no. If you've got a 10 hour desk job, you'll have a lot of time to get some good nutrition in you, all you gotta do is plan ahead.

 

[JPR]

Well it's closer to 11hrs I guess, 7PM till 5:30 AM
Yeah talk about a non-existant social life. I sleep all day and have just enough time left to eat a bit after i wake up and spend 1.5 hrs driving to the stupid plant.

I normaly have an 8hr a day job in a cube farm but now I am doing on-site support. I sit all alone by some machinery with no one to talk to, and I can't sleep or people get very very upset. So my boredom leads to snackin on junk and finding ways to keep awake. So I keep eating here and there the whoe night to provide some kind of entertainment I guess
I've tried eating canned tuna/chicken before, it has no taste what so ever. I couldn't eatch much of it. Any recipe suggestions on what you can possibly mix it with to increase taste yet not make it bad for you?

 

[CLOONEY]

Fukc having your life!

Personally, RedBull keeps me awake the longest. You can also get the sugarfree version, which wont add calories to your diet. Other than that, yeah, just small healthy snacks all throughout the night will keep your metabolism turning over, and satisfy at least some of your boredom!

 

[DirkPitt]

Red Bull -Sugarless
Coca-Cola - Diet/Diet-Splenda

Another good one is Adderall. It curbs appetite, keeps you awake, AND temporarily puts your metabolism on hyper-drive so you burn more calories. Its a percription med but ADD is very easy to fake. Hell, chances are you have ADD (probability's sake).

 

[Mandiblard]

Dude, get a Nintendo DS, the 10 hours will just fly past with that

 

[Double]

ECA

=energy and at the same time will help you drop that weight you gained

 

[Create Reality]

Bring a laptop with you to work and just fool around on it. It's amazing how much time can be spent in front of a computer.

O man I gotta get outside! But it's raining! (damn california climate)

 

[h2o]

Hey man, I've had to stay up some lately also, and the following helped me out. It may not be that big, but you may not need as much coffee / snacks as you think.

"Did you know that in a world of energy drinks and caffeinated beverages Water is the ultimate energy drink. Research shows that a lack of water consumption leads to fatigue and headaches and unfortunately most of us are walking around dehydrated without realizing it. Even a small decrease in your weight causes a significant drop in your energy level. The human body is made up of about 70% water; not diet coke or double lattes (ha-ha). So water is the fuel source you need for increased energy and enhanced health. Every one of your body's processes is enhanced with proper hydration. Digestion improves, your metabolism increases and your blood flows easier. Think of water as the oil your engine needs to make every thing run properly.

Here are some simple tips to get energized with water:

-Drink a cup of water when you first wake up in the morning. With each sleeping breath you expel water so this will replenish the water you lost through the night.

-Sip water every 10-20 minutes through out the day. This keeps you alert, hydrated and energized. A little water at a time adds up to a lot over the course of a day.

-Carry a bottle of water with you in your car and take water into business meetings. This will keep you hydrated during drives and long meetings.

-Drink water instead of soda, juices and energy drinks. You'll feel the difference.

-When you feel hungry drink water first. We often mistake thirst for hunger. We eat when what our body really wants is water. When you drink water first you'll eat less and lose weight."

btw, I took this all from the book "The Energy Addict" by Jon Gordon. It's like $20 at B&N.

Good luck. And yeah, the laptop / games should help too, if you're allowed to bring those.

ha, edit: i just realized my username matches the content of this post...

 

[Alpine]

Ask this question.

What is interesting in my job, and what can I do to improve it?

That's one approach.

The other is take a mental vacation. You know when you drive a long way and you get to your detination and don't know how?

It's because you were focussed on something else. If your job is automatic then you can do this and be building your own castles at the same time.

My favourite option is, get another job, some moron will be glad of it. Sort yourself out.