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How to Stay Awake When You're Exhausted: 9 Things That Help

Nine ways to get through a few hours when you're exhausted, each rated by the evidence, from a short nap and well-timed caffeine to light and movement, plus when to stop and see a GP.

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NSDR.co
13 min read
How to Stay Awake When You're Exhausted: 9 Things That Help

The things that work best give your body what it's short of. A 10 to 20 minute nap comes first if you can take one. After that, caffeine timed with care, bright light and a few minutes of movement can help for a while, but they do not replace sleep. If you're driving, the only safe answer is to stop. This guide is for adults at work, at home or on shift. It is general information, not medical advice.

If you're driving, stop first

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Feeling sleepy at the wheel?

Pull over somewhere safe and rest. The Highway Code says that if you feel sleepy, stop in a safe place, and not in an emergency area or on the hard shoulder of a motorway.

Don't rely on opening the window or turning up the radio. In a 1998 driving-simulator study of 16 sleep-restricted young adults, cold air on the face and the radio made no significant difference to drifting out of lane. At best they buy a few minutes to find somewhere to stop. A review by the same sleep researchers calls stopping the only safe countermeasure.

Caffeine takes a while to reach its peak, anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, so a coffee won't help straight away. If you still feel sleepy after a rest, don't carry on. Swap drivers or stay put.

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Sleepy most days, not just today? That's worth a GP appointment, especially if you snore loudly, stop breathing in your sleep, fall asleep without meaning to, or nod off while driving. The full list of red flags is further down.

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9 things to try, and how well each is backed

1. Take a 10 to 20 minute nap, if you can

A short nap is among the best-backed options on this list. In a 2006 study of 24 young adults who'd slept about 5 hours, 10 minutes of sleep lifted alertness and performance as soon as people woke, and some of the benefits lasted up to 155 minutes. After a 20-minute nap the benefits took 35 minutes to show, and a 30-minute nap brought a spell of grogginess first.

That grogginess is sleep inertia, and it's strongest if you wake from deep sleep. Without major sleep loss it rarely lasts beyond 30 minutes. Keep the nap short and set an alarm. Our guide to napping covers timing and how to wake well.

Evidence: good. Several lab studies, though most are small.

2. Use caffeine, and time it

Caffeine works, but it's slow to start and slow to leave. It can take 15 minutes to 2 hours to peak. In healthy adults, its half-life averages about four hours, with a range of two to eight, according to the European Food Safety Authority.

That long tail is why timing matters. A 2023 meta-analysis of 24 studies found that, to protect total sleep, coffee should be drunk at least 8.8 hours before bed. For an 11pm bedtime, that's about 2pm. Later coffee keeps you awake now but costs you sleep tonight, which can leave you tired tomorrow.

Caffeine also pairs well with a nap. In a small 2003 study of 10 young adults, caffeine taken just before a 20-minute nap was the most effective of five conditions, a nap alone among them, for sleepiness and performance, and the effect lasted the full hour of testing. Our guides to caffeine's half-life and caffeine timing have the details, and the nap guide has the doses those trials used.

Evidence: good for alertness, with a real cost to tonight's sleep if you drink it late.

3. Get into bright light

Light is the cheapest thing on this list. Step outside, sit by a window or turn the lights up. A 2018 review of 68 studies found that brighter white light raised how alert people felt in most studies, though a substantial share found no effect. Fewer studies measured reaction times, and very few of those found an effect. A second 2018 review called the daytime evidence inconclusive, especially for objective measures of alertness.

In the 2003 nap study, one minute of bright light straight after a nap was comparable to caffeine taken before the nap for sleepiness, though not for performance.

Evidence: mixed. Brighter light helps you feel more awake more reliably than it makes you perform better.

4. Move for a few minutes

Stand up, walk, take the stairs. In a small 2017 study of 18 women aged 18 to 23 who were short on sleep, 10 minutes of light-to-moderate stair walking made them feel more energetic than a low dose of caffeine or a placebo did. The lift was short-lived, and it showed up in how they felt, not in their test scores.

Don't expect movement to rescue you at the wheel, though. A review of driver sleepiness says exercise is of little use there. Stop instead.

Evidence: small. One short trial of how energetic people felt, and a driving review that found exercise of little use.

5. Cool the room down

A warm, stuffy room can make the slump worse. In a 2011 office study of 12 volunteers, working at 30°C instead of 22°C lowered mood, effort and task performance. Within a comfortable range, though, a 1994 study found that temperature mattered much less than how interesting the task was (see item 7).

So take a layer off, open a window in the room or turn the heating down a little, but don't expect a big effect unless the room is properly hot.

Evidence: small. It matters most when the room is clearly too warm.

6. Drink some water and keep food light

Water is worth a glass, though the evidence is thin. In one small study of 25 young women, funded by the food and drink company Danone, mild dehydration brought on by exercise (and, in some trials, a diuretic) left them feeling more tired and less vigorous, though most thinking tests didn't change.

If you eat, keep it light. A review of the afternoon dip notes that a high-carbohydrate lunch makes it worse. Our guide to the afternoon energy crash explains why the early afternoon is so hard.

Evidence: weak for water. The heavy-lunch effect is better established.

7. Talk to someone or switch to a more interesting task

A boring task can make you sleepier. In a 1994 lab study of 48 people, a stimulating task kept people more alert than a boring one, and the effect was strongest in the afternoon. Talking to someone is one easy way to get that. So is switching from a dull task to one that needs you to think, speak or move.

Talking to someone hasn't been tested on its own, so read this as a sensible idea rather than a proven one.

Evidence: weak to moderate. One older study, which found a powerful effect for "interest".

8. Try a 10-minute guided rest when you can't nap

If you can't sleep at your desk, a guided rest is an option. NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) is guided rest. You lie still with your eyes closed, stay awake, and follow a voice that moves your attention through your body and slows your breathing. Think of it as a short reset for a stressful afternoon.

Be clear about what it is. NSDR keeps you awake, so it is unlikely to leave you groggy the way waking from deep sleep can. In a 2026 trial of 60 active young adults, a 25-minute nap raised readiness to perform where 10 minutes of NSDR had no significant effect. NSDR didn't significantly change sleepiness or fatigue in that trial either. For focus, the results are mixed. One 10-minute NSDR trial found faster reaction times and better accuracy afterwards, a second found a short-lived gain, and a third found no effect. It's a rest, not a nap, and if you can nap, the nap is the better bet. Our comparison of NSDR and napping has the details.

Don't listen while driving or operating machinery.

Evidence: mixed. Small trials in healthy, active adults.

9. Splash cold water on your face

It's the least studied item here. In the same 2003 nap study, washing the face straight after a nap made people feel less sleepy at once, but the effect was mild and faded fast. It's a quick jolt, not a plan.

Evidence: weak.

What doesn't hold up

Opening the car window and turning up the radio are the classic driving tricks, and in the simulator study above neither made a significant difference to lane drifting. Fighting it off doesn't hold up either. The driver-sleepiness review describes drivers probably reaching a state of fighting off sleep before an accident, which is why it calls stopping the only safe answer.

What to do if you're exhausted every day

The occasional rough afternoon is normal. If you need these tricks every day, not getting enough sleep is the first of the common causes of tiredness the NHS lists, along with lifestyle and stress. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society advise adults to sleep 7 or more hours a night on a regular basis.

Long stretches awake also take a real toll on performance. In a 2000 study of 39 transport and army workers, after 17 to 19 hours awake, performance on some tests was as bad as or worse than at a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

For the next three nights, try this:

  1. Get up at the same time every day, and go to bed when you feel sleepy. That's the NHS advice for poor sleep.
  2. Leave room for 7 hours of sleep or more, not just the hours left over.
  3. Move your last coffee earlier, about 9 hours before bed.
  4. Relax for an hour before bed with a bath or a book, and keep screens out of it.

Our guides to the afternoon energy crash and sleeping better go further.

When tiredness is a red flag

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See a GP if:

  • you've felt tired for a few weeks and you're not sure why, or it's affecting your daily life
  • you feel tired and have other symptoms, such as weight loss or mood changes
  • you snore loudly, your breathing stops and starts in your sleep, or you make gasping, snorting or choking noises. If someone has seen this, it can help to bring them with you
  • you always feel very tired during the day, or you fall asleep suddenly without meaning to
  • you've nodded off, or nearly, while driving. In the UK, if sleep apnoea with excessive sleepiness is confirmed, you must not drive until symptoms like feeling very tired are under control, and you may need to tell the DVLA

For ongoing sleep problems, CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) is the recommended first treatment. Ask your GP.

If you're struggling, talk to your GP. UK: Samaritans 116 123. US: 988.

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If you're exhausted but can't switch off at night, our guide to feeling tired but wired covers that pattern.

FAQ

How long can you stay awake safely?

There's no safe number to aim for. Performance suffers after a long stretch awake: in one study of 39 workers, after 17 to 19 hours awake, some tests were as bad as or worse than at a blood alcohol level of 0.05%. If you have to stay awake, avoid driving and anything else where a lapse could hurt someone.

What helps you stay awake when you're exhausted?

A short nap of 10 to 20 minutes if you can take one, then caffeine early enough not to wreck tonight's sleep, bright light and a few minutes of movement. The list above rates all nine.

Is caffeine or a nap better?

A nap, if you have 20 minutes and somewhere to lie down. In the 2006 nap study a 10-minute nap worked straight away. Caffeine takes longer to kick in, and late caffeine costs you sleep later. Together they did well in two small studies: caffeine plus a nap was the most effective of five conditions in one, and beat caffeine alone in the other, which tested 12 sleepy people.

Does cold water wake you up?

For a moment. In one small study, washing the face after a nap made people feel less sleepy straight away, but the effect was mild and short. It's the least studied item on the list.

What should I drink to stay awake?

Water, and coffee if it's early enough in the day, ideally about 9 hours before bed. There's no need for anything stronger.

This is general information, not medical advice. NSDR is not a treatment for any condition.

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