staying awake

[ktj_sbs]

since having 3 kids (1 set of twins included) i'm permanently knackered. Usually by the time I've watched the news headlines at 10pm I'm ready for bed.

The last time i went to a nightclub i actually fell asleep by the time midnight came!

Now I desperately want to enjoy the late night festivities at Glastonbury and am worried that i wont have the energy to keep going.

I'm an alcohol drinker and don't really do drugs so am looking for some (reasonably) safe solutions to keep me going as late as possible e.g. does red bull really give you wings?

any suggestions welcome

[russycarps]

it's a tricky one.

Dont start drinking too early is an obvious, but boring solution.

Dont eat massive stodgy meals (pie and mash and the like).

Drink spirits rather than pints of beer seems to help me.

I dont think red bull does much apart from hurt your wallet really...

[Krazypinkminx]

Walking helped me, once I sat down that was it, I have 4 kids and am normally in bed by 10pm,lol

[coma girl]

Maybe just trying to do what you can to get a long lie in the morning, eg ear plugs, eye mask, comfy air bed, silver blankets over the tent if you're camping etc

[whisty]

since having 3 kids (1 set of twins included) i'm permanently knackered. Usually by the time I've watched the news headlines at 10pm I'm ready for bed.

The last time i went to a nightclub i actually fell asleep by the time midnight came!

Now I desperately want to enjoy the late night festivities at Glastonbury and am worried that i wont have the energy to keep going.

I'm an alcohol drinker and don't really do drugs so am looking for some (reasonably) safe solutions to keep me going as late as possible e.g. does red bull really give you wings?

any suggestions welcome

[dixietheduck]

Caffeine pills, Pro Plus and the like? Is that too obvious? They have kept me going before with no adverse effects

[CaledonianGonzo]

Food and fluids. Eat lots of small meals, many more than you think you'd need. Be permanently snacking and whenever you remember try to get some water down you as well.

[FloorFiller]

pro plus and other caffeine filled supplements are probably your best bet, although what good they are is another story. just try to take it easy. don't knacker yourself out too much (i know, easier said than done with 3 kids) and yeah, as stated above, start drinking a little later on, and drink spirits (beer will have you on your arse in no time)

[rexclark]

A kip during the day possibly.

[abdoujaparov]

Caffeine pills, Pro Plus and the like? Is that too obvious? They have kept me going before with no adverse effects

[Mr.Tickle]

I'd second (or third) a power nap, try to find a gap in the bands around 3-5pm ish where you get get a couple of hours in.

SET YOUR ALARM though, first year we went we went for a nap around 3pm Thursday and all ended up sleeping until about 11pm. Although having said that it didn't really make much difference as there was plenty to keep us occupied after that time

[ktj_sbs]

To compound things:

• I often find that if i have an afternoon nap (chance is usually a fine thing) that i feel like shit for ages after.
• I don't think I can not drink unitl late.....i'll be chomping at the bit
• I'm terrible for guzzilng meaning drinking spirits or wine instead of beer means i'll get wrecked quicker and end up passing out!

I guess i just have to learn to pace myself and drink lots of water in between drinks (will probably never happen though).

[coma girl]

To compound things:

• I often find that if i have an afternoon nap (chance is usually a fine thing) that i feel like shit for ages after.

[gibbin82]

I would suggest you try to target the things you intend to do and if staying up late is your thing then laying in in the morning will probably be the answer for you. But are you going with the kids because that will make a big difference to whether you get a lay in or not If the kids are going they will be hyper and probably be up very early scuppering any plans for a bit of an extra rest. Also if it is sunny and warm you will probably get uncomfortably hot in the tent long before you really want to get out of the sack.

Also if I wanted to remain lively and not get tired to before I had done all I wanted, I would seriously reduce my alcohol intake to perhaps no more than a couple of pints a day. Glastonbury is an incredibly amazing place and IMO drinking lots or taking other stimulants doesnt make it any better (might not be everyone's point of view but it works for me and I have done it both ways). Once there though you might find you don't get tired so quickly, there is so much going on to stimulate the mind that tiredness will more than likely be suspended until after the festival. One thing I can assure you is it is a lot more exciting than the 10:00pm news headlines, that even makes me tired

[Brave Sir Robin]

Red Bull/supermarket own brand equivalent works for me

Otherwise as people have said, getting a half-decent amount of sleep - earplugs and an eyemask, maybe a space blanket/anything to keep your tent cool (one of the reasons I prefer a camper these days is that it doesn't turn into an oven on a hot day)

[cham08]

I try not to have caffeine unless I need it to give me a pick up - as I dont have it very often if I have a coffee at 10-11pm the chances of me falling asleep before 3am are slim.

Therefore I have a coffee at about that time and slip in a shot or two of brandy/amaretto or whatever takes your fancy.

[Northernsoul45]

i used to drrink stupid amounts of red bull / red bull shots at festivals...(my 'record' was 19 cans & 5 power shoots at rockness one day/night....kept me going right through to the sunday though it has to be said!:-)lol

[howlin_pete]

Falling asleep in the middle of Arcadia, whilst Orbital were doing a DJ set on a massive mechanical spider shooting flames, was probably the first time where I felt my age catching up with me. I usually end up having a power nap at festivals now, helps me get through the day

[THEBOILERMAN]

To compound things:

• I often find that if i have an afternoon nap (chance is usually a fine thing) that i feel like shit for ages after.
• I don't think I can not drink unitl late.....i'll be chomping at the bit
• I'm terrible for guzzilng meaning drinking spirits or wine instead of beer means i'll get wrecked quicker and end up passing out!

I guess i just have to learn to pace myself and drink lots of water in between drinks (will probably never happen though).

[ktj_sbs]

But are you going with the kids because that will make a big difference to whether you get a lay in or not If the kids are going they will be hyper and probably be up very early scuppering any plans for a bit of an extra rest.

[alframsey]

Energy drinks do feck all, I'm stumped to suggest anything other than drugs tbh. I guess that says says something, not sure what though.

[whisty]

Anyway, in reality there is no real reason to stay up, things start kicking off at 11:00 am if you stay up till midnight that's 13 hours of partying, enough for anybody I reckon, that staying out late is just a frame of mind thing.

[RobertProsineckisLighter]

For me its about getting your body into the 'Glastonbury Time Zone' (This can be whatever you want it to be, for me get up relatvily late and bed around sunrise). I cant stay awake all night these days, the older I get the more I need my sleep. I can handle being hungover, and tired... but hungover and tired and I dont function at all well.

I try and wake about 11am at Glasto at the earliest. I will break the day up with short periods of relaxing, that might just be sitting on the grass and not hammering the drink, having a cool beer in a bar. Just not walking around basically. Sometimes this turns into an improtru snooze. Then I feel re-freshed, ready to go then the site is my oyster. If its been a paticually late night I might have a little afternoon snooze back in the tent.

Caffiene and me dont mix at all well so I avoid proplus and redbull etc... like the plague.

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

I've found over the years that I get up, get drinking and then take a break during the day, have some food and a lay down by one of the stages then if I have a moment before the acts start around 7ish I go back to the tent, have a sit down, bit of a wash and change clothes then begin again, normally fine going to 5-6am, the key is to find something fun for me, dancing helps me stay awake as well!

I used to find it much easier when I was a teen though! And I tend to be utterly exhausted by the Sunday night and in bed well before 3am or so!

[ghandi]

In 2009 i went OTT on the pro plus on the Friday and paid for it on the Saturday, i had mixed it with booze and herbal E though! I got up in the morning with a hang over , began to have sweats and headaches in the JP tent and the bass was killing me, had to go back to the tent and sweat it out! Got back to it at around 5pm, drained as a mother . 2011 i did Red bull and Vodka which seemed to do me fine. At 51 i am not sure if i can trust myself with pro plus again, although i might take a pack...... just in case:)