[CQ-Contest] FW: Sleep and Fatigue on Dxpeditions; looking for a solution!

[k3bu at optonline.net]

One can "cheat" on sleep only for so many (2-3) days, then the fatigue sets in and weird things happen.

One thing that helps to prolong the staying alert hours is the avoidance of carbohydrates and sugars. They raise the level of insulin and telegraph the brain "I want to sleep". Also turkey meat encourages sleepiness. 

I have found huge improvement in contest endurance after doing Dr. Atkins low carbo diet and staying off the carbos before and during the contest.

Otherwise, you have to decide what is more important on expedition, DXing or contest and adjust your sleep schedule to charge up some sleep before contest. Caffeine and some sleep prevention drugs are used by some serious operators too.

Yuri Blanarovich, K3BU