Keep Me Awake...Please!
I must have been in some super generous mood and volunteered to work 2 overnight shifts from 10pm to 6:30am. Mind you I don’t do overnights plus I go to bed early since I wake up so early because of my soon to be 4 yr old daughter. My first shift is today and I really what to do a good job and stay lively, we can leave early depending on how much we get done. So the point of the story is I need take recommendations that are not maté to help me stay awake and alert. Any suggestion out there?I would really appreciate it.
I don’t want maté because I always get a rapid heartbeat and jittery feeling when I drink the stuff. I know that is strange but the fact is it happens.
you might want to try matcha….it has more caffeine than maté, but it also has buffers to slow down the absorption of the caffeine.
Great idea, why didn’t I think about that.
I have to drink a lot of matcha for it to have that effect for me… hope it works for you.:)
The guayusa we just featured would be perfect for this, I think.
I bought it but I won’t have it in time for tonight. Also, don’t think I will volunteer for an overnight ever again.
Timing doesn’t work, but that’s the 1st thing I thought of. :)
Standard sencha with matcha will do the trick for sure.
I recently read that smaller amounts of caffeine distributed over the day might help you stay alert better than one big dose. So, maybe you could bring a big thermos of black tea (or whatever tea you like with caffeine) and sip it throughout the evening (or, brew some while you’re there if it’s possible). I’m not sure if it really works or not, but it seems like a reasonable idea.
Another trick is to try chewing gum – and that won’t make you have to use the bathroom as much as drinking tea or other caffeinated beverages will!
Here is the plan. Matcha before I leave for my shift. Make canteen of caffeinated tea of some sort to drink throughout the day but save it. After arriving make a stop for a latte. When I am done with that start drinking the tea in my canteen. Hope that works but not to well that I can’t sleep when I get home.
I know you won’t have it in time for tonight, but try Tipu’s Instant Chai in plain water (or black coffee if you like coffee). The spices are so strong they in themselves will wake you up. Mayan Chocolate Chai or any other chai steeped extra strong or even just w/ added chai spices or red pepper will work.
Thanks for the idea. I do have Mayan Chocolate Chai.
Good luck keeping awake RachanaC. I hope the plan you have helps you get through the night! Maybe you will be super productive too so you can leave early.
Thanks, that is what I am hoping for. Going to hate the drive too, ice everywhere.
Drive carefully! I have a special song I reserve just for ice driving … an arrangement of Psalm 27 we learned back in high school chorus: “the LORD is my LIGHT and MY-HYYYY sal-VAY-tion, WHOM then shall I FEAR?” (sung loudly and a tetch off key just like Ethel Merman.) Takes my mind off the road worries :)
I don’t think I’ve *ever" heard “Psalm 27” and “Ethel Merman” used in the same sentence… thanks for the laugh:)
I’m late to the party with this reply, but I have found the most stimulating teas to be black teas with “yunnan” in the name — e.g., Adagio Yunnan Jig, Yunnan Gold, and so on. Most Irish Breakfast teas seem to be strongly caffeinated as well, and I find Tazo’s Awake tea to be true to its name (you can get an Awake Tea Latte at the Starbucks drive-through — I sometimes do this on my way to work when I’m groggy in the morning. Perks me up and puts me in a good mood.)
Matcha and other green teas just don’t have the “kick” of black tea, for me at least. I can drink green tea before going to sleep; it doesn’t stimulate me very much at all.
I agree Infusin_Susan. I need to consume a lot of matcha for it to give me that effect… and by that time it messes up my stomach.
Actually matcha has more caffeine than any other tea 10x the amount in any other green…about 5x the amount in black tea and is about the same as drinking three espressos…perhaps its the MATCHA that you are drinking.
Matcha is very fragile and loses it freshness very quickly.
Nope I’ve had many, many different kinds of matcha so I highly doubt every single one would have deminished freshness.
Here’s the thing with Matcha, and American Tea Room is right.A serving of Matcha (~3oz) contains about half as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. But since you are also ingesting the solids of the tea, that is where a lot of it is held. This takes time to break down, and while coffee gives you an instant jolt, matcha gives you a perk over 6-8 hours. For coffee-like effects, I would recommend either an Irish Breakfast blend like you said, or Lapsang Souchong is a good one too. Ceylons seem to wake me up, but it’s all your choice :)
@Brian…exactly…matcha also has two other stimulants (as does all tea for that matter…matcha just has more) that actually act to slow the body’s absorption of caffeine. It is more time released like a wave as opposed to the sudden peak and valley of coffee.
Thanks for all the great info. I just hope I won’t need to any more overnights.
Add a Reply
Please keep things friendly and report anything inappropriate.