Caffeine will cause a crash in energy after a couple of hours. Stop drinking caffeine about four hours before your bedtime or it could affect your sleep cycle. If coffee makes you feel jittery, try green tea. Green tea has a third of the caffeine found in coffee and lasts almost as long. Green tea also has L-theanine, an amino acid that helps you feel relaxed and focused.

Essential oils are very potent so you may want to hold them a little ways away from your face when smelling them. If your job includes driving, you can put a few drops of essential oil on a tissue and put the end of the tissue in the air conditioner vent. The vent will cause the aroma to circle throughout the car. [2] X Research source Stay away from smells like lavender. Certain smells can actually relax you to sleep.

A lot of tension rests in your shoulders. You can do a few shoulder shrugs to release this tension. Roll your shoulders up as high as they can go. Squeeze them for a second. Then roll them back down and relax. Avoid strenuous exercise. If you exhaust yourself, it will be harder to stay awake.

Splash some cold water on your face. Have a cold shower. Open a window and let the cold air hit you. Drink a cold glass of water.

Eggs Lean meats Avocadoes Beans

Don’t read books with super small print. The strain could exhaust your eyes and cause them to close. Take breaks periodically to prevent dozing off.

learning a song writing a story building a model airplane painting a portrait

Let your mind wonder. Don’t worry about being realistic. You can imagine anywhere you want to go.

If you’re alone, you can talk to yourself. This may sound crazy but it can be beneficial. You can solve problems and work through issues you may have out loud. [5] X Research source

If you take a long nap of about ninety minutes, you can get through an entire deep sleep cycle which can reduce the amount of sleep you need at night.

For example, if you want to wake up at five in the morning, start fasting at five in the afternoon the day before. [8] X Research source Don’t break your fast until you wake up.

Be sure to get some sunlight. Your body needs it to absorb Vitamin D.

Artificial light from computers, televisions and light bulbs can be very high in blue light. Blue light is the highest energy and shortest wavelength of light in our visible spectrum.