How to Stay up Late

Hey guys,

Any suggestions on how an east coast girl can make it through the night without getting sleepy? I'll be in Vegas from October 13th-16th and would like to cram as much as I can while I'm there. I thought about taking some 5 hr energy drinks but I've read that it's bad to mix them with alcohol and I plan on doing ALOT of drinking. Thanks for your help!

 

I hope you get some suggestions as I am CST and am sleepy by 7 PM Vegas time. I can't use energy drinks because of health related isses.

 

This may sound funny, but keep hydrated with just water. For some reason this works for me, I increase by water intake in Vegas but 3 times and I drink allot of water at home. I even drink allot of alcohol in Vegas but I always follow each drink with a water...this also prevents the hangovers. Good luck!

 

I am from est time zone also. I usually get to Vegas 9-10 pm. I'll stay up until 6-10 am the first day.

Drink rebull and vodka if you have trouble staying awake. However your stomach will be sour the next morning.

Ice coffees work great keeping you up and sobering up. I like to have a few when I'm deep into drinking xo.

 

Stay hydrated, stay stimulated, avoid lulls, don't be in the sun too long. Energy drinks are good for a boost, but I get major crashes from them as soon as there is any kind of lull. Keep moving!

 

Whatever you do, don't. touch. the. bed. Don't do it. You'll close your eyes to rest and then... I find keeping active will help me stay up that first night. Last trip we left the east coast early and we were in Vegas by midday. We hit a lot of places during the daylight hours, ate some, went to a Thunder From Down Under show later, played some more, had some more drinks, and crashed around 3 am. At that point we'd been up 24+ hrs w/the time difference.

 

Red Bull IV

 

Seriously, do NOT use Red Bull. I drank about 22 Absolut Mandarin/Red Bulls in Vegas one time and I was so severely dehydrated that I had to go to the Hangover Heaven clinic. My friend that was with me is a nurse and she almost took me to the ER. I was much better after IV fluid, but I was still shaking uncontrollably for the next 24 hours.

Get as much sleep as you can before you leave. You don't want to have a sleep debt built up when going into Vegas. Every day before you leave, keep going to bed earlier and earlier. Then the night before you are going to leave, make sure to go to bed at least 8-9 hours before you have to get up. Take a benadryl or sleeping pill to help you crash. Otherwise you will likely go through the mental checklist of things to remember to pack while you should be sleeping. (If you are like me and you do think of something you need to remember, immediately get up and write it down. Otherwise, you'll lay there thinking about it.) You need to be well rested when you arrive. Sleep on the plane. Then just stay active. Make sure you eat and drink tons of water in between all the alcohol drinks. Have a coffee in the afternoon, but not too much of you'll dehydrate yourself from that.

If you feel you really need to go to bed, just make sure you get up early the next day. You can always catch up on missed sleep when you get home.

 

Avoid soda, It will dehydrate you and cause a caffeine crash, and try to find an oxygen bar if you start to fade.

 

I second that--water is your friend in Vegas. Sure, you'll have to pee a lot. But it will keep you up (not too tipsy) and prevent hangovers. Also, do an Emergence C (or like product) before you start drinking. It works, I'm convinced.

 

An afternoon quiet time or nap.

 

read a long time ago that if you want to hydrate (I think we were going skiing in Tahoe) you hydrate the 2 or 3 days PRIOR to leaving....not the day of activity....something about liquid retention in the cell walls and release over time once there.....BUT you continue to hydrate to to set the table for release....

It works for us but you also have to temper alcohol intake the first day which IS vegas so how do you do that without consciously making the effort....which is NOT vegas....but yeah, the body clock is difficult to reset for a short trip.....buck it up!!! have a great time and good luck!!

 

Yes. The body is constantly adjusting itself for how much water it should retain versus how much is being consumed.

So what that means is: if you drink a lot of water normally then overall your body is going to retain less water because it expects more water to keep coming if thats your pattern... if you drink water only intermittently then your body will retain more water because it doesn't know when more water is coming.

Thats how water diets work, and why they only work for some people: if you normally don't drink a lot of water and then suddenly start consuming it pretty regularly, lots of it every day for a week or two, then your body will adjust itself and dump a lot of water from its system because it expects the water to keep coming - and so you will shed all that water weight.
But if you normally consume a lot of water already a water diet won't work for you because your body is already maintaining a minimal amount of water and won't have anything to lose.

Its also why when going to a place like Las Vegas in the summer you should drink less water before you go, not more - to get your body to start to retain more water to help prevent dehydration, rather than dropping it to a minimum amount and then denying it water (going with alcohol instead) while there.

 

For staying awake naps can help.

When we go to Las Vegas, when we get there after we check in we usually find something to eat, take it up to the room and then grab a one hour nap... on nights when we are planning to stay up late we will usually go back to the hotel room around 6-7PM and grab a 1-2 hour nap, get up, have a shower and then go down to the casino.

What you can do at home is: if you normally work a 9-5 job and are in bed by 11PM then when you get home from work try laying down and taking a nap about 2 weeks before you go and then at night stay up an extra hour or two.

What you can do in Las Vegas: about 60-90 minutes before you would normally go to sleep back home is when your body will start producing melatonin to help you get to sleep. When that time comes is when you want to get up and walk around, spritz a little water in your face, have sex, go out and get some fresh air, go have a cool shower, etc... something to change your routine and that might produce a little more adrenalin for your system to break and stop the melatonin build up. That will usually help you get to where you are having a "second wind" and should help keep you going for a few more hours.

 

Instead of having a big dinner, try just doing apps or tapas and not getting too full.

 

I start staying up later about a week before I go and take a nap around 2 or 3 pm in Vegas.. That keeps me up till 2 or 3 am.

 

Yep, lay down for 30 minutes and before you know it, it's 8 hrs later.

 

1st like it has been said above Hydrate a few days before and when you get there. Water is your friend. Coconut water is awesome and replaces electrolytes or pick up some SOS hydrate for the mornings in Vegas. I'm a runner and all about hydration

2nd you just have to rally...nap before you go for the night like a power nap if needed but once you are out having fun and dancing you will have no problem staying up.

Have fun!

 

I find it's hard to have a nap when I get to Vegas, especially right when I get there. I just get too excited!

I notice that I have no problem staying up for extended periods when I get there though..whether it's because of the excitement, lack of windows and clocks in the casinos, or the myth(?) of casinos pumping extra oxygen in the air to keep everyone up and gambling.

When I get home after 5 days though I usually feel out of it for a week...much longer than it takes for all the booze to get out of my system. I live in a high altitude area (Calgary, Canada) so that might have something to do with it..I have no idea.

 

I agree with many in this thread:
1. Stay hydrated and start before you even get there (that means take an aisle seat if flying); drinks with electrolytes as suggested are better like coconut water.
2. Take a nap in the afternoon to refresh yourself; but not too long or else you may be dragging the rest of the day.
3. Don't eat a lot, but eat a little bit throughout the day, but this should be started many days before your trip (keeping the metabolism up helps you from crashing).
4. Stay away from too much sugar (sugar is another food that will make you crash).
5. Stay away from too much alcohol (I know that alcohol is a big part of partying, but it would be a shame to not remember having fun).
6. I can't recommend caffeine for two reasons: caffeine and alcohol mixed together don't seem like they would be good for anybody's health, and that's another thing that can make you crash, especially if mixed with alcohol.
7. Keep active during your late night, and have lots of fun!