My son is in AIT currently. Though he had no difficulty in Basic due to being in constant motion, as soon as he is in a learning environment (sitting or standing) he doses off. He has had difficulty with this since high school. We have tried different prescribed medications with no result. I have recently sent him caffeine pills hoping that they will help for now. He has been informed that if this continues he will face very harsh punishment. I have found some natural supplements that I will be sending him as well with hopes that this will help. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what may help him to stay awake? I have recently read a forum that Military fighter pilots take Provigil to stay awake and alert. He has tried this in the past with little or no effect. Maybe this in addition to the natural supplements would work? He is afraid that they will find something wrong with him that will cause him to be discharged so he is avoiding approaching the issues formally. Does anyone have any insight into this, advise, familiarity anything to offer. He loves the Military and does not want to comprimise his future in an establishment that he has chosen for his life.
I'm not a Doctor and not sure if he can do this on a Army post but I had a similar problem in my 30's after the Army...
Try this for a day or two....
Tell him to avoid eating white flour products, especially bread. Cut way back on the sugar (soda or that crap kool aide they used to have in the mess hall - 20 years ago).
Avoid potatoes and fried foods.
Drink water, iced tea, or milk and stick with rice, vegetables, baked or grilled items. Everyone should have at least a glass of skim milk each day, IMO. See if that works. I don't think he should be taking any of that other stuff.
It's natural to doze off in some classes because of the workout they give you in PT but it should not be excessive. If it is excessive there is a another issue. You should try the quality of food intake first, IMO.
Again, I am not a Doctor this is just based on past experience.
Using medications to stay awake in a training environment is a huge nogo. It lead to secondary effects like dehydration and sudden body shutdown during an extrenous training event.
Also some of those medications may contain an ingredient that can make him positive on a urinalysis test.
He needs to coordinate with the others Soldiers to get extra hours of sleep. That is done by working as a team.
They need to work together and schedule the extra details so some get extra sleep at least every other night.
Assuming that he does not have a medical condition:
I've done everything from pinch myself, bite my lips and tongues, math problems in my head, squeeze tacks, massive amounts of caffine, pushups, side straddle hops... powerpoints should be banned, no one learns, they are simply a cop out for real teaching.
I'm all for hands on exercises. We moved our class rooms outside (weather and subject permitting) and got great results.
He can also go to the back of the room and stand up. Or fall asleep ... then the Drill Sergeants will gladly take him out back for some exercise to wake him up.
Erichg2 is right on the money. Processed foods also known as High GI foods are converted to energy by the body very quickly. They leave you drained and sleepy shortly after eating them. Low GI foods, veggies, whole grains, legumes take a long time to digest, therefore releasing energy for the long haul. Eating low GI will help, though the high GI stuff is what people crave.
I have been known to dip instant coffee. That is place a pinch of instant coffee in my lower lip. Tastes bad, real bad, but you won't be falling asleep.
What happened to me is when I was under stress on my civilian job about 10 years ago. I inadvertly switched my diet to high fat and comfort foods. My body was not used to it and could not handle the rapid change.
I started to fall asleep in business meetings during the day. I came close to nodding off while driving my car home from work and hit the curb, so thats when I went in for a exam and they found high blood sugar. All it was for me was correcting what I ate back to what I was eating before....it wasn't really a medical issue.
Wendell is right as well, it could be sleep apnea but your son would have had issues before AIT with sleep. I have my doubts there because he is probably too young for that but I'm not a Doctor and anything is possible I guess.
Originally posted by threerings: Assuming that he does not have a medical condition:
I've done everything from pinch myself, bite my lips and tongues, math problems in my head, squeeze tacks, massive amounts of caffine, pushups, side straddle hops... powerpoints should be banned, no one learns, they are simply a cop out for real teaching.
I'm all for hands on exercises. We moved our class rooms outside (weather and subject permitting) and got great results.
Couldn't agree more. Powerpoints should not be allowed as a general rule.
DO NOT SEND HIM ANYTHING! Even if it is a natural suppliment you are going to get him in trouble. Just like Eric said, lay off the sugar and starchy carbs. That **** will knock you out in a hurry. When I was in AIT we sat in a class room for 8 hours a day doing power points on hydraulics. Pretty f'in boring, but for breakfast I always ate fruit oatmeal and hard boiled eggs. No biscuits or bread or sugar cereal. The only time I ever fell asleep was when I'd have pancakes or waffles or some sugary type food, or starchy carbs. The boy probably just needs to change his diet. And for the love of God dont send him anything else. Suppliments are all the same to the Army, doesn't matter if its all natural or not.
I'm echoing the "don't send him ANYTHING in the way of medicine or supplements" advice. Bad move on your part - unintentional, I'm sure, but a sure recipe for trouble.
I taught some pretty dull stuff in my day, and more than a few students would stand up and move to the back or side of the room and lean up against the wall to stay awake - especially after lunch. I never knew an instructor who had a problem with that, and I doubt it's any different now.
i think they release sleeping gas in the classrooms in OSUT. i swear everytime i knew we had a class, i feared for every muscle in my body. so hard to stay awake and if you got caught sleeping, it was a 1-on-1 smoke session in the back of the room. i just sipped my cantine everytime i was about to pass out. and he needs to have a battle buddy look after him and do the same. just give him a lil nudge.
Originally posted by gojeero: i think they release sleeping gas in the classrooms in OSUT. i swear everytime i knew we had a class, i feared for every muscle in my body. so hard to stay awake and if you got caught sleeping, it was a 1-on-1 smoke session in the back of the room. i just sipped my cantine everytime i was about to pass out. and he needs to have a battle buddy look after him and do the same. just give him a lil nudge.
nudgey wudgey.
Roger that, bro!
If one did not stand up and move to the side or back of the room, and fell asleep, the instructor or DS would smoke the crap outta that person. One guy had to do knee-benders, overhead claps, side-straddle-hops, and a few other PT exercises until the DS figured he would remember to stay awake. Your best bet was an observant buddy next to you who would poke you in the arm with his pen if he noticed you getting sleepy.
I think the diet advice is applicable. I would watch the caffeine though.
Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor and diuretic. not smart to over use in a trainning enviroment.
I would suggest that he confide in a battle buddy to smack him back to awareness when he dozes off.
finally, he may suffer from depression. There are medications for this but he needs to see a doc. In the meantime, I would suggest increased cardio activity especially running in his spare time. The body releases feel good compounds that may help keep him focused. The naturally elevated heart rate will help better than caffeine too.
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier.
Not that you can do this anymore with the ACU's, but I had a surefire way to stay awake in class during Basic. I would flip around one of my PFC rank and leave the dammits off. Then just sit with my chin on my hand, lightly pushing the rank up against my neck with my thumb. When i dozed off, my head would slip down into the pins and wake me up. Only time i dozed off, I didn't do that. But I found out in BNCOC that using a thumb tack works pretty good also.
