How to Stay Up for Multiple Days Straight

A guide to supporting your body through periods of long wakefulness

Want to stay awake? While few people plan to spend multiple days in a row without sleep, sometimes work piles up and you'll need to push through. Although you should avoid going longer than 3-4 days without sleep, you can safely stay up for a few days as long as you plan to get full nights of sleep for 1-2 days afterwards.^{[1]XResearch source} With a little bit of preparation and a regular schedule, you'll be able to stay awake and push through to the end.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing Your Schedule and Body

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1
Get 9-10 hours of sleep in the days beforehand to stock up on energy. If you know in advance that you’ll need to go without sleep, try to get extra rest in the days leading up. Go to bed an hour or so earlier than usual and let yourself sleep in a bit. Aim for 9 or even 10 hours of sleep in these prep days.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Getting lots of sleep beforehand ensures that you’ll go into your days awake feeling rested and energetic.
2
Avoid caffeine so you don’t build up a tolerance. You'll be taking in plenty of caffeine during your time awake. If you use too much in the days leading up to it, your body will get used to it and you’ll need to have even more to feel the effects. Start cutting down your intake of coffee, caffeinated tea, soda, energy drinks, and other items containing caffeine by a little bit each day.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Try drinking herbal teas, decaf coffee, or non-caffeinated soda to ease the transition.
- If you can’t completely cut out caffeine before your time awake, try to consume a little less of it.
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3
Find things to keep you busy and energized during your time awake. You probably already have a good reason for staying up for multiple days, like a big project, but you could also look for other activities that can help fill the time. The more engaged your brain is, even with something like reading or watching television, the more likely you’ll be to stay awake.
- Things like going for walks outside, listening to upbeat music, or playing video games can help you stay alert and awake when you’re feeling sleepy.
- Try getting exercise in the morning to help you feel energized throughout the day.
4
Stock up on healthy food and drink to keep your energy up. Regular food and drink can help keep you going during the day. Caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea will definitely help you stay up, but so can healthy foods, and eating enough will help you keep your energy going. Look for foods like:^{[4]XResearch source}
- Fish, such as salmon
- Citrus fruits like oranges and tangerines
- Eggs
- Leafy greens like kale, chard, and watercress
- Beans
- Walnuts
Having a friend to talk and work with you can help you stay awake and motivated. If you’d rather be left alone, though, telling others that you’re planning to stay up will let them know to stay away and let you work in peace. No matter what, you should ask your friends to check in on you periodically and make sure you’re doing OK.^{[5]XResearch source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Keeping Energized and Healthy While You’re Awake

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1
Eat breakfast to start off strong and energized. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason, and eating a good one can get you off to a strong start on your quest to stay up for multiple days. Make sure your breakfast has healthy foods like protein, whole grains, and fruit. Sugary cereals and large amounts of caffeine will only lead to a quick crash.
- Bran cereals, citrus fruits, and eggs are great breakfast choices to keep up your energy up throughout a long day awake.
- Do your best to keep to a regular schedule, which includes breakfast in the morning for each of your days awake. This will help keep you on track for unavoidable regular parts of your day like going to work or class. Staying on schedule like this can also make it easier to get back to a regular schedule after finishing.
2
Drink caffeine throughout the day to keep yourself going. You don't want to be mainlining espressos, but having regular caffeine breaks spaced throughout the day can keep you awake and alert. The recommended amount of caffeine for a single day is 400 milligrams, and one cup of coffee usually contains around 100 milligrams, so plan accordingly.
- You might want your first cup after you first wake up, but some movement or a quick shower should be enough to move past your natural grogginess. Wait for your first cup until the middle of the day, or early afternoon, when you'll probably experience your first slump.
- You may need to ramp up your intake as you get into the next few days. By the end, you could be at a dose every 2-3 hours (which will get you well over 400 milligrams per day pretty quickly). That's fine, but make sure your portions remain at 100-150 milligrams. This will prevent you from overdosing on the caffeine, and avoiding the crash by taking too much.^{[6]XResearch source}
- This only works if you have a fairly normal caffeine intake in your daily life. If you are already consuming a lot of caffeine, the effects will be diminished, which will make it harder for you to use it to stay awake.
3
Eat light meals to avoid getting sleepy. Big, heavy meals will make you sluggish and more likely to nod off. Instead, choose small portions of healthy foods like whole grains, lean protein, and vegetables to stay awake and energetic for several hours. Make sure to eat enough to keep yourself going without getting too full or sleepy.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Try spacing a 3-5 light meals throughout the day and night, plus snack breaks with foods like nuts and fruit.
4
Move around to keep your mind stimulated. Exercising and motion will help keep your brain moving and awake. Even if you’re trying to finish an assignment for class or work, taking short breaks of about 10 minutes to get up and walk around will help keep you on track to stay up. If you're looking for something a little more intense than a short walk, some sit-ups or pushups at your desk should do the trick as well. This doesn't need to be a full workout, just some movement to get the blood going and your energy back up.^{[8]XResearch source}^{[9]XResearch source}
- At first, you'll want to exercise when you start to feel tired. As the days go by, try forcing yourself to take 10-minute workout breaks every half hour.
5
Keep the lights on to stay alert. Your body is well tuned to respond to light, so keeping the lights on and your setting bright is a good way to trick your body into thinking it’s daytime and you should be awake. Natural light is better, so keep curtains open during the day if you can, and maybe even go outside.^{[10]XResearch source}
- If you have multiple lights, like a ceiling fixture and a desk lamp, turn them both on for extra brightness.
6
Beat slumps with cold water or air. Your body won’t function at full capacity all day long, and there will be moments where you’ll be tempted to go to sleep. If you start to feel this coming on, jolt yourself out of it with caffeine, a blast of cool air from the window, or a splash of cold water to your face. The effect won't last forever, but it can help if you start to slip, and get you back into a good working groove.^{[11]XResearch source}
- Even if you’re not feeling overly fatigued, try to splash cold water on your face every 30 minutes or so to keep you alert. You can also take a cool shower.
- Your body will probably give you periods of higher energy around mid-morning (about 10:00 am) and early evening (6:00-7:00 pm). Save your most important tasks for these times. That way, if you start to feel slumps in the rest of your time awake, you'll be more willing to take a break for a shower or to make more coffee.
7
Avoid doing activities that require intense concentration. During your time awake, you will experience periods called microsleep, which means you’ll sleep, or “zone out,” for several seconds at a time. You might be able to operate during that time, but you should avoid activities that could put you or others in danger, such as driving or working machinery. You can't plan when this microsleep takes place, so avoid doing any potentially dangerous activities during your time awake.^{[12]XResearch source}
- If you need to go anywhere, ask a friend to drive you or take public transportation or a taxi instead of driving. It may be inconvenient, but it’s safer for you and those around you.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Recovering after Not Sleeping

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1
Get more sleep than usual to start recovering. Once you made it all the way to the end of your days awake, your first priority will be to sleep. On your first day back to sleeping, you might not be able to control when you fall asleep. After that, though, try to get back on your regular sleep schedule as soon as you can, sleeping only at night with a 15-20 minute nap or two during the day if you start to feel groggy.^{[13]XResearch source}
- Let yourself sleep for as long as you need to as you recover, which might be up to 10-11 hours per night.^{[15]XResearch sourcehhttps://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-debt-and-catch-up-sleep}
- While there will definitely be some side effects to your having been awake for so long, several days of regular sleep will get you back to normal.
2
Start to lessen your caffeine intake to normalize your sleep schedule. Binging on caffeine to stay awake through the day will only set you up for a crash, and ruin your regular schedule. Start to cut back on your caffeine consumption slowly, lowering it by 1 cup of coffee or tea every day or every few days.^{[15]XResearch source}
- If you start to experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms, like headaches, drowsiness, or muscle aches, try drinking water or herbal tea, taking pain relief medicines, or getting up for a bit of exercise.
3
Continue eating lean proteins and natural foods to avoid crashes. You tend to crave junk food when you’re sleep-deprived, but eating lots of refined carbs and sugars will only lead to a crash and make it harder to recover from your time awake. Instead, continue to eat lean proteins and foods with natural sugars to keep you energized without making you jittery or sleepy. Go for foods like:
- Lean proteins, like fish and chicken
- Fresh fruit
- Nuts
4
Drink lots of water to avoid extra fatigue. Dehydration can make you feel even more tired, and after multiple days consuming lots of caffeine, you’ll need a good amount of water to bring your energy back up. Try to drink about 15.5 cups (3.7 L) of water if you’re a man, or 11.5 cups (2.7 L) if you’re a woman.^{[16]XTrustworthy SourceNational Health Service (UK)Public healthcare system of the UKGo to source}
- You can also go for soothing drinks like herbal tea, which isn’t caffeinated and can help perk you up.
While you may not be able to avoid doing other work, it's best to take it as easy as you can in the days after your time awake. You'll be groggy and not at your full capacity, so try to avoid doing important activities if you can. Ask a supervisor or teacher if you can have deadline extensions if necessary, or even take 1-2 sick days so you can fully recover.

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Tips

Drink plenty of water. If your body is slightly dehydrated, you can get tired more quickly.
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Remember that staying up too long is not healthy, so try to avoid doing so too often.
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Warnings

Avoid staying awake for more than 3-4 days in a row, or going without sleep regularly. Studies have shown that forgoing sleep can have negative, potentially permanent consequences on your brain health.^{[17]XResearch source}
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