How to stay awake during the Ashes

How to stay awake during the Ashes - the expert's guide

24-Nov-2006

Hopefully KP will be a bit more excited than this at Brisbane © Getty Images

At CricInfo we like to give you the inside track... so here, courtesy of our chums at the Wisden Cricketer, are some tips from the experts for staying awake during this winter's Ashes.

In a bid to keep viewers awake and viewing figures healthy Sky Sports has employed a sleep scientist to offer first-day advice. Jim Horne, director of Loughborough Sleep Research Centre, produced this 10-point survival plan:

Tips for staying awake

1. Sleep - get as much sleep as possible the night before.

2. Conversation - talk to a friend, or yourself, it will help keep you awake!

3. No booze - alcohol worsens sleepiness.

4. Coffee - intermittently, have a cup at 2 or 3am and a 15-minute nap, use an alarm to avoid deep sleep. Walk around briefly, wash your face with cold water and repeat at 4 or 5am.

5. Avoid heavy meals - fatty meals in the small hours can cause bad indigestion.

Tips for the next day

1. Early-morning snooze - grab sleep before setting off to work, this will kick-start your morning.

2. Keep cool - open the window or switch on a fan and avoid becoming too comfortable.

3. Power-nap - a 15-minute nap at lunchtime will lessen the effects of an afternoon dip in energy.

4. Avoid heavy lunch - there are no diets or foods that are particularly good at promoting alertness.

5. Exercise - moderate exercise can temporarily relieve sleepiness, avoid heavy exercise, though.

An alternative way to stay awake would be to win Boony and Beefy dolls in our Ashes competition, they'll talk to you all night long, not sure what they'd think of the no alcohol rule though!

This article was first published in the December 2006 issue of The Wisden Cricketer.
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