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Hello election fanatics!
I love the idea of an evening of election drama: I sit in front of the TV, watch BBC News live on my laptop, slowly turn a mountain of snack foods into a wasteland of empty packaging and drink inappropriate amounts of tea.
But we, colleagues from election night, are fighting biology here.
That’s why I spoke to sleep experts to put together the ultimate guide on how to get through the night and avoid ending up a sleep monster the next day.
I’m going for the hardcore plan: Thursday we’re up all day, either for work or childcare, then we watch the whole series at night and Friday we’re back in the office.
There is also a milder plan (we’ll discuss that at the end), but all the tips here will help you see democracy in action.
The Four Nap Plan
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In an ideal world, you should be well rested before Thursday evening.
There’s no such thing as “sleeping on the couch” beforehand, but when you’re already knackered, it becomes a real challenge.
At the heart of our plan is a solid sleep strategy.
A nap can’t replace the remarkable restorative power of a good night’s sleep, but it is scientifically proven to improve alertness and concentration, which is essential to maintaining the results.
“If you’re going to be up all night, I would have a pre-emptive nap before bedtime and another one in the middle of the night,” says Dr Allie Hare, a consultant in sleep medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
The third nap is on Friday morning before we go to work or preschool so we can get out the door, and the fourth nap is mid-day.
“There’s a natural rest period after lunch, so that’s a good time to do it,” says Dr. Hare.
She believes the “push through Friday” approach is best for most people to avoid completely disrupting their normal sleep patterns.
Pro tip: Preset naps
Napping technique is a delicate art. You aim for 20-30 minutes to get a restorative boost, but if you go any longer you’re going to ruin yourself.
“If you fall into a deeper sleep, you can feel quite groggy when you wake up,” says Professor Russell Foster of the University of Oxford.
It’s called sleep inertia: that feeling you get when you wake up and feel worse than when you fell asleep.
Nap professionals have perfected the art of “preloading” and it is recommended by experts.
The idea is that if you drink a cup of coffee right before your 20-minute nap (set a timer on your phone) and the caffeine concentration peaks once the nap ends, you’ll feel energized and ready to go when you wake up.
“It’s a good idea,” says Prof. Foster.
I think you would nap on Thursday at 9pm, and on Friday at 2am, 6am, and 2pm. Just make sure that pattern works for you.
You’ll still feel tired, so bright lights are your friends.
Keep the lights on full blast at night and go outside during the day to trick your brain into thinking you should be awake.
The Caffeine Plan
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If you want to stay up all night, chances are you need a performance-enhancing drug: caffeine!
The drug is a stimulant, which means it makes you feel less tired and more alert.
But again, we need a plan and we don’t want too much.
Prof Foster advocates sensible use of tea and coffee, but would “personally avoid” energy drinks as they are loaded with sugar.
“Then you crash and go completely the other way,” he says.
Energy drinks do give you a bigger caffeine kick though. You can look for a sugar-free option, but don’t overdo it.
“Don’t have too much caffeine, because it will give you palpitations and anxiety,” says Dr. Hare.
You’ll also want to wait a few hours for the caffeine to wear off so it doesn’t disrupt your Friday night sleep. Put the kettle down Friday afternoon.
Oh, and don’t forget to stay hydrated at night to keep your brain going. Not just coffee, but water too.
And whether you’re celebrating, commiserating, or just joining in, drinking can be fun. It’s not an elite strategy, though.
“Don’t use alcohol with any of this. I realize everyone does, but the sleep advice is don’t. It’s just a sedative and it’s just going to make it harder,” says Dr. Hare.
Manage your sugar levels
You will have to accept that disrupting your sleep will negatively affect your hunger hormones.
Your brain senses that the levels of the hormone leptin are dropping and ghrelin levels are rising. The combined effect is that you feel the urge to binge.
“You’ll be hungry and tempted to order pizza and grab the Twixes,” says Prof Foster. “So be on your guard, you’ll be even hungrier.”
You can’t really avoid this, but you can manage it by surrounding yourself with foods that are mostly protein and slow-release carbohydrates.
Prof. Foster advises eating protein drinks or unsalted nuts to provide energy without the rollercoaster of highs and lows in blood sugar levels.
“You could throw some raisins in there as a treat,” he chuckles.
But don’t rely on that box of chocolates.
Dr. Hare’s advice is, “Don’t eat junk all night.”
If you try it, she says, you will feel “absolutely awful.”
Beware, you are now cognitively and emotionally impaired!
Well done! You survived the night.
I hate to break it to you, but you may not be a very nice person right now.
Even one night without sleep affects the brain’s ability to process information and emotions.
Classic signs are increased irritability and anxiety, and a loss of empathy. Frustration is also a classic, as is increased impulsivity.
Prof. Foster says: “You’re just not the normal, nice, controlled individual you might otherwise be.”
You will also experience negative salience.
This is the point where your worldview becomes distorted and negative comments and experiences hit harder.
A tired brain also leads to more risk-taking. Prof Foster says this can make you “more likely to slide into illicit drug use… that’s what your brain does when you’re tired and emotional”.
So yeah, be prepared for that.
Pro tip: Some conversations can wait until next week
I hope it’s clear that you’re not quite yourself right now. Maybe it’s best to take it easy and avoid difficult conversations.
“You can be happy with the outcome and uninhibited, or less happy and more responsive to provocation,” says Prof. Foster.
So think twice before having ‘that’ conversation and save life-changing decisions for later.
“You definitely have to be sensitive to those difficult conversations,” says Prof. Foster.
If you need to get somewhere after a night out, it’s best to walk, take a taxi, or use public transportation.
By four or five in the morning, your brain is as weakened as it is when you’ve had too much alcohol and lost the legal amount of alcohol in your blood.
“Big decisions, meaningful marriage conversations, and driving — don’t do any of these things,” says Dr. Hare.
Do you have something that would be a little easier for me?
Shift workers might laugh their heads off at this piece and think, “What a bunch of lightweights!”
If you’ve had a long run-up, you can try to shift your body clock so that you’re awake at night and asleep during the day. But it’s probably too late for that now.
However, some people try a different strategy than working through the night.
The idea is to stay awake to watch the exit polls, which will give you an early indication of the outcome when they are released at 10pm.
Then sleep for a few hours while the votes are counted and wake up early the next morning to catch the climax of the voting.
This does relate to the previously mentioned problem of sleep inertia, but according to Professor Foster this is easier to achieve for older people.
Sleep patterns change as we age and older people will have “more fragmented sleep,” making it easier for them to wake up and feel good.
In contrast, young people who wake up to an alarm clock feel ‘drowsy and unwell’.
“People will know what works for them,” he says.
Another idea is to go to sleep on Friday morning if you have no other obligations.
But be careful not to knock yourself out all day and then not be able to sleep on Friday night, ruining your entire weekend.
Dr. Hare says, “If you have to make important decisions, get as much sleep as you can, even if it messes up your sleep the next night. Otherwise, you may power nap through it.”
So good luck, brave election adventurers – whatever you do, Monday should be good. See you on the other side!