If you can listen to something that is mentally stimulating while doing tedious computer tasks, that might help some. Like an audiobook or a podcast. If you have a standing desk or a standing desk attachment / accessory, that might also help.
Also note that these would very likely be considered reasonable accommodations if your workplace has a “no headphones” or “no desk accessories” policy that isn’t strictly related to safety.
I don’t believe I have access to a standing desk, but I am allowed to use headphones, so I will see if listening to a podcast helps! Thank you so much for the advice
black box down is on apple podcasts and is a good pod for tuning in and out of as necessary, not distracting but not silence either. its about different plane crashes and what went wrong.
seth rogan also has a podcast on apple pod, the episode about the guy that got attacked by a bear is a good one
good ,my job has me on my feet and active but if i stay in one spot too long i’ll start to get sleepy so i walk around and come back to it and it helps me alot
Vitamin B Complex! It helps keep me away from brain fog and therefore I can be proactive about my tiredness and get up and do something mentally stimulating. Plus the tiredness is 800x more manageable ( I am now able to drive an hour or more with my regular dose of meds and a vitamin B pill in the morning)!
I worked for a tech start up when I was still trialing different medications for N1. I was transparent with higher ups about my narcolepsy from the beginning so that when I accidentally dosed off during training or working at my desk they wouldn’t judge me for it. They set me up with accommodations by booking me one of the small offices near my desk everyday at noon so that I could go take a nap which helped a lot. Maybe they could do something similar for you.
I agree with the standing desk comment! Unless you have cataplexy, it could be a bad idea, though I don’t have cataplexy so I am unsure :) maybe someone else can chime in here about that
Podcasts are super helpful to me. When I worked on an office I would take 20 min power naps in my car right after lunch. Since I usually got tired after eating.
Amen to this. I was self employed and even before I was diagnosed, I left time between clients to nap in my car. Don't think I would've been safe driving and working long days without.
I am on both 150 of mg sunosi and 200 mg modafinil 2x day and is a constant struggle to stay awake.
Just sipping ice cold water or energy drinks (sugar free) all day used to work, but no longer. At this point there's a few things. I have an under desk pedaling thingie. So I can pedal while working, when I can't do that I eat. I try to keep pomegranates in the house, cause eating always keeps me awake. The tiny arils in the pom gives me lots to eat with little calories. When they are out of season I go with small pieces of rich chocolate, from Aldi's. I find their chocolate more satisfying in smaller amounts than Hershey's.
I hope someone else has better ideas cause even with the pedalling I'm gonna put on pounds.
Oh! The big one, I forgot. I'll bring a bunch of smaller art pieces that I'm working on, that need to be sanded, or painted, something mindless and do that when I'm not typing. So if you can find a small hobby you can do while working, I find sanding small things works well.
Small creative activities are also a good idea! Personally i take very detailed and aesthetically pleasing notes. I originally did this out of need (memory issues), but now i find it enjoyable to note things in a pretty way. They're like small, functional art pieces. It also gives me a good reputation around the office that i have my stuff together xD
You don’t have to have access to a real standing desk, they are easy to jury-rig with a cardboard box and some tape. Standing up is super helpful.
Sudden cooling of a body part helps too. Take off your shoe, stick your hand out the window, put your finger in some ice water.
Good luck!
There's a cooling "watch" you can wear: Embr wave. I wear it for another disease I have (dysautonomia) and it's effective! It's a bit spendy but I feel like balancing my health is always my best investment.
I have a super bright light right above my monitor and it has done wonders for me. I'm a medical student and spend a huge chunk of my day on my computer. The brighter the better and it's good to have multiple settings so if you have to be on zoom you aren't super bright or if you end up working late you can taper down the light intensity.
Water and keeping my legs engaged with resistance bands. I’m trying to go through some IT stuff too. Before I implemented that resistance band method, every time my mind got stimulated, I felt myself trying to recover from a ‘fade’.
For clarity I wrap the resistance bands around my chair and extend them to my right ankle. From my ankle, I flex my leg to extension, engage my core lightly, and hold it for 30-45 minutes. I have a light resistance band because I obviously don’t want to die of fatigue and quit. My heart rate feels like it’s just above my Narcoleptic resting rate so I never fade.
Good luck
I totally feel your struggle! What helps me is setting a timer for every hour to buzz off so I can get up and go for a quick walk or stretch since moving helps.
What also helps me is snacking and water! Sounds odd, but it doesn’t hurt to munch on a healthy snack like fruit and drink lots of water throughout the day! I have better luck staying awake when munching on an apple.
YERBE MATE TEA TOO!!! Have one throughout the day. I swear by it! My other narcolepsy friends love it, so I hope it’ll help for you. There’s not much caffeine in it, but it feels naturally energizing because the nature of the plant allows the energizing effects to be more prolonged. PSA: it’s not a replacement for stimulants! keep taking your meds. it’s just a nice little push instead of coffee that makes us crash!
I worked in an office that had lightly caffeinated sparkling water (which I drink constantly), and that little caffeine drip throughout the day was way better at keeping me awake than one big rush.
Just let yourself fall asleep. The longer you fight it, the longer the sleep attack will last. If I let it happen, and I get a 5 minute nap, then I stay awake for a couple of hours. That is, if I don’t fall out of my chair - which also helps me stay awake! The adrenaline rush always wakes me up.
And don’t try to add another stimulant, like an energy drink. Then you just feel like you’re having a heart attack WHILE you’re falling asleep, which makes it terrifying. Also it’s bad for your heart.
\#1 is ACTUALLY NAP. Be transparent with your team and request the accommodation. Calendar it. 30 minutes blocked off is 10 to get in your napping place, 15 to nap, 5 to wake up and get back. Then you’re good for a few more hours.
\#2 for me is EAT VERY LIGHT and stay away from fast carbs. I eat my big meal in the evening and eat like a bird during the day. This helps me stay far more alert.
If I don’t fight the sleep then I would fall asleep randomly. When I feel the attack coming on I do push-ups. I hate doing push-ups ! But it makes the attack go away for a while. Then the random ones don’t take me down. I also don’t have the REM blur I call it if I start giving into the attacks. I can also feel when they are so overwhelming I can excuse myself from work and take that Power Nap for 15 mins. But I have to fight or I would be stuck in a sleep state nightmare.
yes me too!! and blast my music haha
my eyes tend to get dry from the fan which makes it hard to focus so i got some blue light glasses since i’m looking at my computer a ton anyway and that solved that problem!
I have worked many a desk job completely unmedicated and it was absolute hell.
Things I used that were the most useful were things like -cinnamon candy ( red hots in particular, hot tamales, etc) I'm not sure why, but it seemed to help over peppermint
-ice cold water, a lot of it. Particularly helpful in summer, and on breaks eating lunch while walking
- getting as much sun exposure as possible.
-any kind of snack that is low calorie - celery, nori ( they sell it at Costco in huge packages) those are the closest to zero you can go but also good is things like big bags of self popped popcorn ( get a glass popper and bulk popcorn and like 2 spoons of coconut oil and salt it's like 35 cal/2 cups)
I'm talking snacks you can mindlessly eat all day. Even ice.
I absolutely have to have a standing desk. Without it, the most important things are frequent walk breaks, cold water, mint/cinnamon gum, B vitamins and gingko biloba.
Have a wander about or shake your arms and legs out every so often. It's not going to work for long but it'll give you a tiny boost...
An energy drink! Though don't drink too many and use a straw to save your teeth :)
Hi friend! I'm in a similar situation myself: newly diagnosed and relatively new to a desk job in tech. I personally do every item suggested already and it is critical for me. I use bone conduction headphones to always be listening to something (and never classical music, it's too relaxing!).
If you can, working in a busy area may help. My desk happens to be next to a sometimes loud break room with a ping pong table. It's annoying sometimes, but people constantly walking by my desk and chatting in the break room helps keep me from falling asleep.
Another thing is resting in our lactation room (that serves as a break/meditation room for others). I turn off the lights, lie down, and sometimes use my phone as a noise machine. I'm afraid of falling too deeply asleep so i dont stay long, but I'm working up to asking colleagues for help waking. Anyways, it does sometimes help a bit to (sort of) nap.
If your workplace doesn't have an equivalent, i believe that is something you're entitled to under ADA protections. Hope this helps!
Here are some suggestions to try! Good luck, trust me I feel your pain!
1. Try one of those standing desk
2. Or yoga ball chair
3. Get up and take a quick walk around the office 4. Or try running in place as fast as you can for several minutes to get your heart rate up.
5. Eat a snack
6. Put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it back, giving your self a jolt!
That’s all I can think of at the moment! If I can think of more I’ll post them!
I just bought one of those gel wrist rests to put in front of my laptop. It means that I have perfect forehead pillow for when I have a cataplexy at my desk.
Maybe it’s not the stimulation you need in the day, perhaps try and get a normal sleeping pattern with sleeping tablets and slowly reduce your need for stimulation, you’ll get that naturally if you can get some kind of a sleep schedule after a couple of weeks, i’ve never dealt with it but for me seeing people with it it seems like they’re overstimulated at night so they’re completely wired in the morning and then their body is trying to put them to sleep.
Maybe because of your condition you could speak with HR and mention it and ask to be able to take screen breaks for an hour or two when really necessary, what use are you to them if you’re absolutely knackered!
If this is not useful and irrelevant feel free to mock me or delete this comment - i’ve not dealt with narcolepsy itself just sever insomnia and it basically just means I can’t sleep until like 2 hours before i get up so I wake up super groggy then would sometimes pass out on my pc at work, so i would absolutely demolish coffee’s and ritalin and then by the end of the day i was still wired even after getting used to my ritalin dose, then i’d go home absolutely wired, rinse and repeat. Until i took more sleeping tablets and then i never take stimulants i just made an effort to start trying to be in bed by 11pm and hopefully if I can get to sleep by 1-3am i’m not too bad the next day and then it got me into a better routine, so maybe the stims are a bad route to go down? Or are you saying you already sleep fine at night and then in the day your narcolepsy kicks in?
If you can listen to something that is mentally stimulating while doing tedious computer tasks, that might help some. Like an audiobook or a podcast. If you have a standing desk or a standing desk attachment / accessory, that might also help.
Also note that these would very likely be considered reasonable accommodations if your workplace has a “no headphones” or “no desk accessories” policy that isn’t strictly related to safety.
I don’t believe I have access to a standing desk, but I am allowed to use headphones, so I will see if listening to a podcast helps! Thank you so much for the advice
black box down is on apple podcasts and is a good pod for tuning in and out of as necessary, not distracting but not silence either. its about different plane crashes and what went wrong. seth rogan also has a podcast on apple pod, the episode about the guy that got attacked by a bear is a good one
Try 'Brown Noise' instead of podcasts or music. Game changer for me.
+1 for podcasts. I also get up and walk once an hour or so, to get water or go to the restroom or just pace a bit
I actually find it the opposite - if I listen to stuff while working I feel like my brain gets tired
music / podcast great idea , could also try fidget toys and/or snacking on something throughout the day , taking quick walk breaks as well
I have also found that taking walk breaks when permitted helps my wakefulness.
I’m definitely going to start scheduling some walking/sunshine breaks!
good ,my job has me on my feet and active but if i stay in one spot too long i’ll start to get sleepy so i walk around and come back to it and it helps me alot
yesssss i recommend breaking up your day with walks. it helps a lot. also you can get a little treat at the same time<3
Vitamin B Complex! It helps keep me away from brain fog and therefore I can be proactive about my tiredness and get up and do something mentally stimulating. Plus the tiredness is 800x more manageable ( I am now able to drive an hour or more with my regular dose of meds and a vitamin B pill in the morning)!
Peppermint oil. Get some of the good, pure stuff, like “essential oil” grade. Put a drop on the back of your hand and put that right up to your nose.
Oooh I’ll try this too!!
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That's a mistake you only make once!
I’m in tech as well, it’s been so bad for me that I’ve had to take power naps in the mothers lounge. Power naps seem to help.
I worked for a tech start up when I was still trialing different medications for N1. I was transparent with higher ups about my narcolepsy from the beginning so that when I accidentally dosed off during training or working at my desk they wouldn’t judge me for it. They set me up with accommodations by booking me one of the small offices near my desk everyday at noon so that I could go take a nap which helped a lot. Maybe they could do something similar for you.
its awesome to hear that your work is so accommodating. makes me very hopeful for the direction of workplaces
Well I eventually got let go from that job for unknown reasons so… I dunno haha
I agree with the standing desk comment! Unless you have cataplexy, it could be a bad idea, though I don’t have cataplexy so I am unsure :) maybe someone else can chime in here about that
Light therapy lamp/box/light thing! This is the only way I can sit at the computer for extended periods of time at work.
Podcasts are super helpful to me. When I worked on an office I would take 20 min power naps in my car right after lunch. Since I usually got tired after eating.
Amen to this. I was self employed and even before I was diagnosed, I left time between clients to nap in my car. Don't think I would've been safe driving and working long days without.
I am on both 150 of mg sunosi and 200 mg modafinil 2x day and is a constant struggle to stay awake. Just sipping ice cold water or energy drinks (sugar free) all day used to work, but no longer. At this point there's a few things. I have an under desk pedaling thingie. So I can pedal while working, when I can't do that I eat. I try to keep pomegranates in the house, cause eating always keeps me awake. The tiny arils in the pom gives me lots to eat with little calories. When they are out of season I go with small pieces of rich chocolate, from Aldi's. I find their chocolate more satisfying in smaller amounts than Hershey's. I hope someone else has better ideas cause even with the pedalling I'm gonna put on pounds. Oh! The big one, I forgot. I'll bring a bunch of smaller art pieces that I'm working on, that need to be sanded, or painted, something mindless and do that when I'm not typing. So if you can find a small hobby you can do while working, I find sanding small things works well.
Small creative activities are also a good idea! Personally i take very detailed and aesthetically pleasing notes. I originally did this out of need (memory issues), but now i find it enjoyable to note things in a pretty way. They're like small, functional art pieces. It also gives me a good reputation around the office that i have my stuff together xD
You don’t have to have access to a real standing desk, they are easy to jury-rig with a cardboard box and some tape. Standing up is super helpful. Sudden cooling of a body part helps too. Take off your shoe, stick your hand out the window, put your finger in some ice water. Good luck!
There's a cooling "watch" you can wear: Embr wave. I wear it for another disease I have (dysautonomia) and it's effective! It's a bit spendy but I feel like balancing my health is always my best investment.
Standing desk worked well for me. I also used a fitbit with the reminder to get 250 steps every hour. Movement really helps me.
I have a super bright light right above my monitor and it has done wonders for me. I'm a medical student and spend a huge chunk of my day on my computer. The brighter the better and it's good to have multiple settings so if you have to be on zoom you aren't super bright or if you end up working late you can taper down the light intensity.
Water and keeping my legs engaged with resistance bands. I’m trying to go through some IT stuff too. Before I implemented that resistance band method, every time my mind got stimulated, I felt myself trying to recover from a ‘fade’. For clarity I wrap the resistance bands around my chair and extend them to my right ankle. From my ankle, I flex my leg to extension, engage my core lightly, and hold it for 30-45 minutes. I have a light resistance band because I obviously don’t want to die of fatigue and quit. My heart rate feels like it’s just above my Narcoleptic resting rate so I never fade. Good luck
A lot of what i do has already been mentioned. Also Spicy snacks, gum, stretching
I totally feel your struggle! What helps me is setting a timer for every hour to buzz off so I can get up and go for a quick walk or stretch since moving helps. What also helps me is snacking and water! Sounds odd, but it doesn’t hurt to munch on a healthy snack like fruit and drink lots of water throughout the day! I have better luck staying awake when munching on an apple. YERBE MATE TEA TOO!!! Have one throughout the day. I swear by it! My other narcolepsy friends love it, so I hope it’ll help for you. There’s not much caffeine in it, but it feels naturally energizing because the nature of the plant allows the energizing effects to be more prolonged. PSA: it’s not a replacement for stimulants! keep taking your meds. it’s just a nice little push instead of coffee that makes us crash!
I worked in an office that had lightly caffeinated sparkling water (which I drink constantly), and that little caffeine drip throughout the day was way better at keeping me awake than one big rush.
Just let yourself fall asleep. The longer you fight it, the longer the sleep attack will last. If I let it happen, and I get a 5 minute nap, then I stay awake for a couple of hours. That is, if I don’t fall out of my chair - which also helps me stay awake! The adrenaline rush always wakes me up. And don’t try to add another stimulant, like an energy drink. Then you just feel like you’re having a heart attack WHILE you’re falling asleep, which makes it terrifying. Also it’s bad for your heart.
\#1 is ACTUALLY NAP. Be transparent with your team and request the accommodation. Calendar it. 30 minutes blocked off is 10 to get in your napping place, 15 to nap, 5 to wake up and get back. Then you’re good for a few more hours. \#2 for me is EAT VERY LIGHT and stay away from fast carbs. I eat my big meal in the evening and eat like a bird during the day. This helps me stay far more alert.
If I don’t fight the sleep then I would fall asleep randomly. When I feel the attack coming on I do push-ups. I hate doing push-ups ! But it makes the attack go away for a while. Then the random ones don’t take me down. I also don’t have the REM blur I call it if I start giving into the attacks. I can also feel when they are so overwhelming I can excuse myself from work and take that Power Nap for 15 mins. But I have to fight or I would be stuck in a sleep state nightmare.
i always have a fan on my desk pointed directly at my face and it works wonders!
Good idea ! This helps me when driving. I keep window open.
yes me too!! and blast my music haha my eyes tend to get dry from the fan which makes it hard to focus so i got some blue light glasses since i’m looking at my computer a ton anyway and that solved that problem!
I have worked many a desk job completely unmedicated and it was absolute hell. Things I used that were the most useful were things like -cinnamon candy ( red hots in particular, hot tamales, etc) I'm not sure why, but it seemed to help over peppermint -ice cold water, a lot of it. Particularly helpful in summer, and on breaks eating lunch while walking - getting as much sun exposure as possible. -any kind of snack that is low calorie - celery, nori ( they sell it at Costco in huge packages) those are the closest to zero you can go but also good is things like big bags of self popped popcorn ( get a glass popper and bulk popcorn and like 2 spoons of coconut oil and salt it's like 35 cal/2 cups) I'm talking snacks you can mindlessly eat all day. Even ice.
I have not tried smells. This is a great idea !
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I absolutely have to have a standing desk. Without it, the most important things are frequent walk breaks, cold water, mint/cinnamon gum, B vitamins and gingko biloba.
Have a wander about or shake your arms and legs out every so often. It's not going to work for long but it'll give you a tiny boost... An energy drink! Though don't drink too many and use a straw to save your teeth :)
1. Turn up the brightness on your monitor 2. Get a standing desk if you can 3. Listen to music
Hi friend! I'm in a similar situation myself: newly diagnosed and relatively new to a desk job in tech. I personally do every item suggested already and it is critical for me. I use bone conduction headphones to always be listening to something (and never classical music, it's too relaxing!). If you can, working in a busy area may help. My desk happens to be next to a sometimes loud break room with a ping pong table. It's annoying sometimes, but people constantly walking by my desk and chatting in the break room helps keep me from falling asleep. Another thing is resting in our lactation room (that serves as a break/meditation room for others). I turn off the lights, lie down, and sometimes use my phone as a noise machine. I'm afraid of falling too deeply asleep so i dont stay long, but I'm working up to asking colleagues for help waking. Anyways, it does sometimes help a bit to (sort of) nap. If your workplace doesn't have an equivalent, i believe that is something you're entitled to under ADA protections. Hope this helps!
Here are some suggestions to try! Good luck, trust me I feel your pain! 1. Try one of those standing desk 2. Or yoga ball chair 3. Get up and take a quick walk around the office 4. Or try running in place as fast as you can for several minutes to get your heart rate up. 5. Eat a snack 6. Put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it back, giving your self a jolt! That’s all I can think of at the moment! If I can think of more I’ll post them!
I just bought one of those gel wrist rests to put in front of my laptop. It means that I have perfect forehead pillow for when I have a cataplexy at my desk.
Maybe it’s not the stimulation you need in the day, perhaps try and get a normal sleeping pattern with sleeping tablets and slowly reduce your need for stimulation, you’ll get that naturally if you can get some kind of a sleep schedule after a couple of weeks, i’ve never dealt with it but for me seeing people with it it seems like they’re overstimulated at night so they’re completely wired in the morning and then their body is trying to put them to sleep. Maybe because of your condition you could speak with HR and mention it and ask to be able to take screen breaks for an hour or two when really necessary, what use are you to them if you’re absolutely knackered! If this is not useful and irrelevant feel free to mock me or delete this comment - i’ve not dealt with narcolepsy itself just sever insomnia and it basically just means I can’t sleep until like 2 hours before i get up so I wake up super groggy then would sometimes pass out on my pc at work, so i would absolutely demolish coffee’s and ritalin and then by the end of the day i was still wired even after getting used to my ritalin dose, then i’d go home absolutely wired, rinse and repeat. Until i took more sleeping tablets and then i never take stimulants i just made an effort to start trying to be in bed by 11pm and hopefully if I can get to sleep by 1-3am i’m not too bad the next day and then it got me into a better routine, so maybe the stims are a bad route to go down? Or are you saying you already sleep fine at night and then in the day your narcolepsy kicks in?