How to stay awake on Watch!

By JuanAdmin | April 19, 2019
Police vehicle with a leg out of the window

So..there i was…..11 hours and 59 minutes left of my watch. Awesome!

Well at about 8 hours in, my eyes started getting really heavy. Standing, sitting, didn’t matter. Coffee, squats, copenhagen were only short term fixes and were sometimes not allowed or feasible. Should have prepared better? Could I? More sleep prior?

Here are a couple of pointers to help you stay awake.

  • If you’re on nights, get your allotted time of sleep prior no matter what. Darken your room, maintain quiet around you. That’s for starters.
  • Eat right
  • Stay ahead of sandman on watch and move around if you can. Rove, Patrol, walk around.
  • Once you get tired, do not sit, unless the post orders mandate it, have a rotation if possible.
  • Alert your buddy and check on each other every now and then.
  • Do math in your head. Play memorization games, keep your mind busy.
  • Set a schedule for yourself on watch and stick to it.
  • Vehicle watches where you are confined to a car…have a buddy system. Walk around vic, stand outside vic, have a regular rotation.

No, this is not for marksman laying on the ground watching a target.

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