Productivity

How to fight sleepiness while studying

8 ways to fight sleepiness while studying

For students, cramming for a big test is often necessary, and this usually involves late nights. But late hours tend to equal sleepiness, and falling asleep during studying is often detrimental to grades. How, though, can you fight sleepiness and fatigue while you study? Here are some simple tips to help you out!

Drink more water

The first is very easy to do, but most people do not know about it: Simply drink more water! Drinking water throughout the day is actually a pick-me-up. It regulates the body’s temperature and it revs up the metabolism. Make sure to keep hydrated, because dehydration can make you tired. At night, as you study, keep water on hand and drink regularly.

In fact, drinking water is better than drinking caffeinated drinks when you study. Sure, the caffeine will wake you up and give you a buzz right away, but that buzz will wear off quickly, and actually make you more tired then you were before.

Caffeinated drinks dehydrate the body, too, and again, you are right back where you started, tired and sluggish. If you know you will be studying late into the night, have extra caffeine in the morning (no more than three cups before lunch). This will perk you up and keep your body running smoothly, giving you the extra edge you need to focus later in the day, and night.

Eat a good Breakfast

Next, make sure that you have breakfast! While you may not think that eating breakfast will have any effect on the way you feel come nighttime, it actually does.

Getting those extra, essential, nutrients into the body first thing helps your body function correctly all day long. Then, when you ask it to go the extra mile at night, your body is ready to help you out. It has been fueled properly and will be able to think clearer, longer.

Get enough Exercise

Also, make sure that you are getting enough exercise. This is excellent fuel for the body. It helps regulate the metabolism and exercise even helps the brain, so you think better!

Getting exercise at least five days a week is key, and on days you know you need to study, make sure to squeeze exercise in. Better yet, as you study late into the night, and feel that tiredness coming on, get up and do a few jumping jacks, run in place, or even do some crunches.

Any little bit of exercise will work–it will perk your brain, and your body, right up.

Get some Sleep!

While it may sound odd to prescribe sleep for sleepiness, getting enough sleep the nights before your study session can really help. While the body does not necessarily ‘bank’ sleep, having gotten the right amount on prior nights can really go a long way towards fighting fatigue on your late nights.

Whatever night you know you will be hitting the books hard, make sure to go to be on time, or even early, the nights prior.

Listen to Music

Listening to music can also have a positive effect on your mood, and can wake you up. It does not have to be loud rock music, either. Simple put on tunes that you enjoy, and watch those brain waves perk right up!

And, as an added bonus, if you are studying for a test, and the professor or teacher allows you to wear headphones as you take the test, listen to the same music. Studies have shown that if you listen to certain music as you study, and then listen to those same songs again as you take the test, you will remember better, and perform better on the test.

Do you Yoga?

As you study, whenever you begin to feel tired, or even stressed, take a minute to practice some yoga, or some simply yoga breathing. Concentrating on your breath can help you bring more oxygen to the brain, which will wake the body up. It can also help you clear your mind and study better.

Take a cool Shower

If you are studying at home, by yourself, take a moment to hop in the shower! Nothing invigorates us like a nice shower, and if you can take it, try using cool water!

That will really be an eye opener. You will find, once you are back at the books, that your mind is open again and you are wide awake.

Eat the Right Foods

Eating right while you study is key. Everyone likes to snack as they crack the books, but what you snack on could hurt, or help, your studies. Eating healthy foods, ones with Omegas and fiber, can actually wake the brain up and help it concentrate better. See also: Foods that improve memory and concentration

Junk foods with sugar or simple carbohydrates, like breads, can actually make you sleepier. So, watch what you eat as study or you could be nodding off in no time.

Conclusion

There are so many things that you can do to perk up that brain, and body, as you study. No need to feel tired or sluggish. Simply study with the right tools and methods, and ace that test!

8 tips to organize your life better

Stress is everywhere, your to-do list is endless and the 24 hours of a day are not enough to satisfy the needs of your everyday life! If you are not in charge of your life you can easily get lost between work, family and personal “wants”. But if you can become a little more organized, you will notice that a day is enough to pursuit not only success, but also happiness. The following tips will help you organize your life better and find more time for pleasure.

1. Organize your office and home

The environment of your home or office can affect the way of living and thinking. Clean up the area and remove any unnecessary objects and items you do not need and try to keep the space clean and tidy.

If you tend to forget where you put things, try to put them in the same position every day. If you spend too much time finding what to wear, keep your clothes nice and tidy in the closet and you will save a lot of valuable time especially in the morning! In general identify activities that are time consuming and non-productive and try to find alternative ways to save time and become more productive.

2. Manage your time through reminders!

Use your diary or the calendar on your mobile to set reminders for the most important tasks. Do this on a daily basis and schedule the day’s appointments, whether it is a business meeting, or a doctor’s appointment. See also: 14 tips to successfully manage your time

Write your pending tasks in an Excel sheet (or Evernote, Google Keep or any other tool you want) and keep a list, which you must update on a daily basis. This is the only way you will be able to maintain a schedule and become more organized.

3. Turn your important tasks… into habits!

When you repeat a task on a daily basis, you can turn it into a habit. If you do the same things every day, like for example making breakfast, checking your email, going to the supermarket, then you will definitely save time by doing these activities out of habit. Daily organization will help you achieve even your most long-term objectives.

4. Stop using excuses

Instead of constantly making up excuses to yourself and others… try to get yourself together and make a fresh start. Stop complaining for example, that the day didn’t start off well and take responsibility.

If you do not have a schedule in your life, even unconsciously, then nothing will be completed within the day.

5. Minimize distractions

Mobile phones, television and the computer can distract your attention within a few seconds. Keep whatever disorganizes you away from your room and try to concentrate. Nobody said that organization is an easy thing but at least give it a fair chance…

6. Be realistic about your expectations

Perhaps, if you try for example to clean the entire house in one day… you won’t make it! But if you decide to clean one room at a time, then you will have time to do other things as well. It is important to have good judgment and be realistic about your expectations.

7. Outsource boring activities

If you don’t have the time to wash your clothes, take them to a cleaning service or hire someone who can wash and iron them.

If you hate a chore at home or at the office you can get help from a professional, so you will still have time for fun and inspiration. Don’t try to do everything yourself and make sure that you set your priorities correctly. If you had to choose between paying someone to do the garden so that you can go for a drink with friends or do the garden yourself, what would you choose?

8. Reward yourself

After completing a task that needed a lot of work and attention, reward yourself! When there is a reward at the end of a task, things get a bit easier.

9 mistakes to avoid when looking for a job

There are thousands of people looking for a job on a daily basis. They search through hundreds of offerings trying to close a job interview but for many reasons they are not so lucky. Of course besides luck they also make mistakes. 9 of most common mistakes in finding a job and how to avoid them are explained below. “Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes, “Oscar Wilde.

1. Not reading the job description carefully

If you don’t read the job description carefully then how would you know what skills are required for the job? Many people are confused by the countless ads they read and do not pay attention to the details of the ad, so they do the exact opposite of the instructions.

2. Submitting a CV with spelling or grammar mistakes

You must correct any spelling or grammar mistakes in your CV otherwise you destroy any opportunities for future employment. Often people work so hard to create a well written resume or letter, but forget to do the basic spelling and grammar checks. So, before you deliver it, use a spell checker (Word spell checker is just fine) and read it two and even three times!

3. Your CV should not exceed two pages

This is true for both the experienced and the non-experienced. Depending on the requirements of the job you should tailor your CV to match these requirements better. You should try and be as precise as possible since most managers will not read beyond the first page…

4. Do not skip the cover letter

Without a cover letter your CV is not complete! The CV shows the events in your life from education to work experience and the cover letter conveys the attitude and personality. Employers ‘like it’ when candidates try to explain both their qualifications and aspirations. It is an action that will make your CV stand out of the crowd!

5. Follow up the interview

You should not be afraid of your persistence to get a job, but that does not mean you have to become annoying. We need to show your future employer that you have the confidence and appetite for work. After the interview you can send an email, as a thank-you note or you can contact the person responsible (after a few days) and ask for an update.

6. Check your social media profiles

The internet can help us ‘close’ an interview, but also to destroy it! It is good before sending your CV to Google your name to see what kind of information or images appear in the search results. At the same time, it’s a good idea to restrict access your profile on Facebook, Twitter etc. so your future employers cannot look to at the photos or things you post.

7. Don’t depend only on on-line job search

The Internet is a great way to find new opportunities but there is nothing like a personal contact. Get off the couch and start building your networking strategy. This will not only require making a phone call to the employer (beside sending an email), but it may mean the delivery of your CV in person.

8. Don’t go unprepared in the interview

‘No’ spontaneous answers will not give the best impression, since impulsive reactions can ruin an interview. Try to think about the answers to the most “classic” questions before the interview. Your goal is to persuade them that you care about this company and not just about the job. For this it is necessary to know enough about the company so do your research before and get prepared.

9. Don’t act like a robot during interview

An interview can be stressful, but the passion and personality will determine the decision of the Director in recruiting. If you behave like a robot, you will not stand out! Instead, you need to smile and look the employer in the eyes …

How to get along with a difficult boss

A “bad” boss can turn the office environment into an unbearable workplace! If your boss behaves badly at work, then it’s up to you to change this situation.

In many companies, people in a higher position may be constantly and intentionally screaming at you without any reason. But, if you just stand it and do nothing, this situation will not change, but it will become even worse.

The following tips can help you re-think the way you can deal with a “bad” boss at work.

Discuss the problem at the right time

The sooner you discuss the problem with your boss the better! Choose the appropriate time for discussion and avoid approaching him in the middle of a meeting or at the corridor. Make sure that you are in a quiet place or in a quiet office, in order to stay focused on the problem and to remain calm.

Explain to him the consequences of his actions on your work and on the company and suggest some solutions for a positive change.

Classify your boss under a “category”!

To which of the following categories does your boss belong to? Your boss might:

(a) Not know he is acting as a “bad” boss,

(b) Know that he behaves badly and wants to improve

Most of the employers, who annoy their employees, simply ignore their mistakes, while some of them try to improve their communication.

Finally, to the third category belong those who consistently refuse to acknowledge the mistakes of their behavior, and as a result it is not easy for them to change.

Do not accept to become a ‘victim’ indefinitely

If your boss can’t appreciate your efforts or accept his mistakes you can turn to upper management (if possible) or you can try and pursue another position within the company. In case your boss still attempts to put you down or to slander you… you will have to defend yourself.

In general, make sure that all communication between you and your boss takes place in front of others.

Praise your boss… but don’t overdo it!

A “thank you” to your boss after a successful job… can do only good to you! A nice word, when the other deserves it, is a tip that will bring you closer to your boss.

There is no need to get into fake flattery, because the result will be negative! Besides, this way, if you need any advice, you will be able to ask for his help more easily and without being nervous.

Don’t start planning your revenge

Even if your boss behaves in an unacceptable manner… don’t think of payback. You have to fight this temptation and understand that a bad behaviour will make the situation in the office worse.

Keep your professionalism and try to make a positive impression to other managers. Be active regarding your sociability and who knows…, you may benefit from it!

Deal with the situation with a good sense of humor

A good sense of humor is the perfect solution to an unpleasant situation. Instead of being upset after the last meeting, try to laugh with the incident. Discuss it with your closest colleagues and predict using your humor your boss’s next movements.

Be careful, though! Even from a political point of view, such a move is quite risky for your position in the company, since your intentions may be communicated to your boss by some of your ‘nice’ colleagues. Try in every possible way to overcome the mistakes of your boss through laughter and next time you will realize that this situation will not affect you that much.

How to love your job when you hate it

It is a fact, that the need to work with a view to ensure financial resources does not make much allowance for choosing our profession and our work. Given the above, to love what we do for a living, is an even more difficult target.

The love for the job, or else the job satisfaction, as referred to by experts, apart from the positive effects it has on productivity and growth; it is a sign both of mental health and also of quality of life.

The term “job satisfaction” refers to whether or not we like our job, whether we experience it positively or negatively as a whole. Although in the past, the idea of full employment was exclusively about whether or not it satisfied our needs (e.g. , good salary), nowadays the fact of whether we love our job or not has to do with more factors.

But let us take a look at the different factors and what we can do in practice in order to love our job:

How do you understand your payment?

Regardless of the nature of your work, how you understand your payment -physical or mental- will largely determine the feeling of satisfaction or not you derive from this.

Does your salary seem to be fair and proportional compared to other colleagues of yours? Is your value and effort recognized? Do you take into consideration the general economic and social conditions of the environment you live and work? The more honestly you answer to the above questions, the more conscious will your decision be to remain at your post or to search for another job!

It is worthy of your love?

In order to love your job, you have to believe that it is worthy of your love! How do you assess your work- whatever that is? Do you perform it entirely mechanically or can you see that you really contribute something to the world by doing the job you are doing?

Whether your responsibility is to serve customers in a store or you are one of the best doctors of the country, in order to love what you do, you need to evaluate it positively so to feel that what you offer is important.

Does it cause you discomfort, stress and psychological pressure?

Separate your work from the rest of your life. We find it hard to view with sympathy the things that cause us discomfort, stress and psychological pressure.

Do not take more than you can handle, do not work more than you can take, because even if you think you can respond to it, fatigue functions accumulatively and the time of the explosion is not too far away.

When we manage to disconnect psychologically from work, (when we leave) and for the rest of our day, we protect our mental health and do not risk our job performance.

Must Read: Burn out Syndrome causes and cure

How do you think of your job?

Any negatively charged thoughts such as: “I was not destined for this”, “I hate my job” etc. , unfortunately create additional burden to your psychology and make your work even more difficult.

What you can do is to start thinking in more realistic terms about your job: “Am I perhaps overlooking the fact that this job of mine covers to a large extent my materialistic and mental needs?”, “Is it maybe unreasonable and unrealistic to demand that there should be no difficulties and bad times in my working environment?”. Accept that in life there is not just black and white…

Does your job requires other personality elements from those that define you?

Undoubtedly, some jobs “are loved” more easily by specific types of people. Both the type of your personality, and your previous work experience, contribute to the satisfaction you will feel from the job that you have chosen to do.

Think of the characteristics of your personality and explore to what extent they help you with the job you have chosen to do.

Does your job require other elements of personality than those that define you? The “matching” between the individual factor, and the type of job seems to play an important role to the satisfaction we get from our profession.

How would you feel if tomorrow you were dismissed from this job?

Finally, take a look into the future and think how you would feel if tomorrow you were dismissed from this job. What would your feelings be? What would you be missing the most? Would it have been easy for you to adapt to another job and just as easily to replace it? Be sure to remember what it was you loved in this job, even if you feel that it was not completely your own choice.

Don’t forget that work covers a large part of our everyday life and our lives in general and so it should satisfy us to a certain extent. Whether you decide to stay with your job or to search for another, always keep in mind that it is not the job you do that defines you, but how you do it!

How to stay active throughout the day

Do you often feel tired and you feel that you don’t have the necessary energy to keep up with the obligations of a demanding day? Repeated tiredness can be a “warning” that your body sends you to show that something is wrong. This can lead to other problems and actually serious ones.

Start your day with energy

In the morning your blood pressure and body temperature are the lowest, the heart beats are slower, the joints and the muscles are still stiff. So, to start your day with energy follow these simple but effective tips:

Set your alarm clock 20 minutes earlier. This way, you will be able to get ready more calmly, fitting into your schedule some workout and time for breakfast.

Relax the muscles. To reactivate the muscular system, which is still cold and rigid, perform some stretching exercises on the calves, the lower back, and the back.

Breathe deeply. Fill your chest with air. This way, the tissues are oxygenated better and the mind relaxes.

Get into the shower. To activate blood circulation try to switch between cold and lukewarm water.

Do not skip breakfast. As soon as you wake up, your body needs energy. Drink coffee or tea (to combat low pressure and drowsiness), fruit and vegetable juice (rich in vitamins) and eat bread or toast with honey.

If you are sleepy all day and you have a blurred mind…

Is your tiredness combined with drowsiness? Probably the reason for this is that you are not sleeping well, even if you don’t realize it. Follow our instructions for sweet dreams and in the morning you’ll feel more rested.

Your night sleep may be interrupted several times by short intervals, which you do not realize. We all wake up several times during the night without realizing that. It is normal. But if this is happening with greater frequency, in the morning we cannot operate.

What may be the causes for these micro-breaks of sleep? From noise, from the wrong temperature in the bedroom, from the fact that you overate, because you sleep with a partner who twirls constantly, from stress and worry about the obligations of the next day.

Some rules for sweet dreams:

For a good sleep, try to always go to bed at the same time.
Do not eat or watch TV in the bedroom.
Avoid going to bed on an empty stomach or too full.
After dinner, do not drink alcoholic beverages because they favor your waking up and do not smoke, because nicotine is a stimulant.
To prepare for bedtime listen to relaxing music or perform some stretching exercises.
In addition, make sure that the bedroom is completely dark, cool and quiet.

If you feel weakness and dizziness

Your problem is low pressure. Deal it with aerobic sports, which strengthen the heart and consume plenty of water to increase the blood circulation.

When it starts to get hot, the pressure drops. The increase in temperature causes the dilation of the vessels and can cause a serious problem for anyone who already suffers from low pressure.

The dizziness you feel when from a seated position you stand upright is due to another illness, postural hypotension. In this case, your body is not able to adapt quickly to changes of posture. So, the only thing you need to do is to get up slowly and calmly.

To reduce the feeling of fatigue, we need to drink more water and salt (a teaspoon of salt per half litre of water) or foods or supplements containing potassium and magnesium. This way, the volume of blood in circulation will increase and consequently the tissues will receive more oxygen.

Sports

All aerobic activities (such as jogging, cycling, roller skating, swimming, step) are ideal for those who suffer from slight hypotension.

It is recommended not only because with physical exercise the pressure rises, but because aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, thereby improving the functioning of the circulatory system.

The heart muscle becomes more powerful, and manages to draw greater blood volume with less fatigue. As a result the tissues are fed better, the risk of dizziness is being nullified and the tiredness gradually disappears.

In order to see the first positive results, you need to wait about two weeks. Until then, a quick way to combat the fainting incidents is to clench your fists as much as you can. This simple exercise causes the great release of adrenaline, which activates all our reflexes and increases the pressure.

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