Life Hacks

Life Hacks. We've all heard of them. We've seen facebook pages, blogs, and imgur galleries dedicated to them. Few, if any, are practical or helpful. Some are even simple common knowledge, nothing special at all. So, how do we find the good life hacks among all the bad ones?

We start our own list, that's how! Give a like to any really good ones on this page and post the best life hacks you've found below.



To start us off, I have a neat life hack that I discovered myself. Due to my insomnia, I sometimes have to go without sleep for a day or two. It's a miserable experience, but there are some ways to make sleep loss a little less terrible.
-Take a shower, switching between hot and cold every few minutes. Finish off with cold water.
-Eat an apple. If possible, buy organic apples. Apples are incredibly nutrient-rich and will keep you combat the mental strain of sleep deprivation. I should also note here that any food high in protein is also a fantastic choice. Eggs and nuts are easy picks, too.
-Drink coffee. Yeah, this would obviously be on the list. I personally find that drinking four cups of coffee evenly spread across the time I need to stay awake is the best method. Never drink more than eight cups in a span of four hours. Trust me on this one. In the name of all that is holy, just don't do it.
-Avoid sugary stuff. Soda and sweets are dangerous as the sugar will make you crash. Energy drinks may sound like a good idea and will work for a short time, but the crash you get from one of these, especially after pulling an all-nighter beforehand, is devastating.
-Chew some gum. I don't remember where I heard this one, but it works really well. Peppermint or cinnamon work best in my experience, even if the taste of peppermint makes me sick.
-Go for a short walk in the sunlight, but don't get too warm as heat tends to make people sleepy. Sunlight on your skin and in your eyes (don't look directly at the sun, dummy) does wonders for alertness. If anyone is curious I can explain the scientific reasons behind this on a chemical level, but since most people don't get as excited about neuroscience as I do I'll leave it out and be boring.
-Do some stretches or a small amount of jumping jacks. Any sort of exercise to stretch out muscles and increase your heart rate works great, but do so in very small amounts. If you get short of breath you've definitely gone too far.

Hope this helps some people. Make sure to post your most helpful life hacks below as well!