The Caffeine Alternatives

 

After the last blog post on tea and coffee and energy drinks, people asked me if there are any alternatives to them for increasing mental alertness and counter sleepiness. Unfortunately, a fully effective alternative to caffeine does not exist, but you can try some of these things which I have used with variable results.

Cold Water Splashes: Splashing icy cold water on your face can shock you back and may help in increasing your alertness. I remember the water cooler on the first floor of the library at AIIMS, New Delhi. Its water was so cold that you had difficulty drinking it without glass, but you splash it on your face and instant alertness. Splashing cold water on the face and especially the eye region has the additional benefit that it is refreshing for the eyes tired by the long hour of study or visual work.

Exercise: We are not talking about the long exercise routine which makes you so tired to you just fall down asleep. Here we need short, explosive burst of rapid body movement exercises. This can be running or spot running, jumping jacks or burpees, squats, or even push-ups. They should be done for just 1-2 minutes only. This will release adrenaline in your body. You may repeat after some time as needed. In addition to increasing your mental alertness, it also has the small benefit of physical fitness. But be sure of your fitness level and initial warm-up and stretching, otherwise, you may land up with a musculoskeletal injury or other health issues.

Yogic Breathing exercises or Pranayam: Various types of yogic breathing or Paranyam have been described with each having specific mental and physical benefits. Two are especially useful for students and others having increased mental exertion.

The first breathing exercise is known as ‘Bhastrika’. It is supposed to be a generalized energy booster. It can be done for a few minutes to increase the alertness level and mood elevation. The second breathing exercise is ‘Kapalbhati’. This is again said to increase the energy level in the body but in addition, it is said to help in increasing mental concentration. A few minutes of ‘Kapalbhati’ immediately before studying or giving exams may be helpful in realizing your potential.

I am not giving details on how to do them as these Yogic breathing exercises or pranayam are best learned under the direct supervision of an expert teacher so that correct technique is learned and mistakes are avoided. If personal instructions are not possible then you can search on YouTube for some excellent instructors for them. I personally prefer those by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Baba Ramdev from India.

Music: Listening to upbeat and peppy music can serve as a mood elevator. But make sure it does not turn into a distraction. Different people may react to different types of music differently. So try out different songs, music tracks, and playlist well before your exam time to determine what work best for you.

Diet: All those of us who have felt sleepy after a heavy meal can testify to the effect of diet on our alertness. For increased alertness avoid a large heavy meal. Avoid fried, fat, butter, and oil-rich food. Eat a small amount of food at a time. Stop eating before your stomach feels full. Get up slightly hungry from the dining table. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Medicines:  James Bond had been reported to use an amphetamine drug-like Benzedrine for stimulation on his mission and remain awake and alert. But thankfully they are banned and not available nowadays. Such drugs which claim to increase alertness and concentration are to be strictly avoided.

The more important thing is to be kept in mind that certain medicines, like cough and cold medicines, painkillers, anti-depressant, anti-psychotic drugs, anti-epilepsy drugs, etc. can have a sedative effect and increase sleepiness and drowsiness. So be aware of the side effects of any medicine you are taking and avoid them in consultation with your doctor at study and exam time.

Scents: Scents can have an effect on our mood, alertness, and mental ability. Peppermint, Lemon and other Citrus scents, Rosemary and  Cinnamon have been reported to increase mental alertness and memory. Interestingly even the smell of Coffee can have a stimulation effect.

In contrast, scents such as Lavender, Jasmine, and Chamomile can have a relaxing and soothing effect. So they can be avoided during active study time but can be used at break time and bedtime to promote relaxation, decrease anxiety and calm the mind.

Try out these different scents and essential oils well before your exam time to determine what works best for you.

NB: This is not a scientific article. Please verify the facts yourself before trying anything.

— ND

© Author. All rights reserved. 

Please share this post on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

Please give your valuable feedback via the comments below. Please note that comments will appear later only after moderation. Please Log in with Google Id before writing comments.

You can receive a notification on the latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purposes. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use the information herein is at your one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal, and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to NMC and other Board norms. 

Memorizing Complex Facts

'Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer' — Charles Caleb Colton

Dr. Dev (Fictional Name) recalled that in the first internal exam in AIIMS, New Delhi, more than half of the MBBS class had failed in Biochemistry subject. 

Biochemistry is the subject dealing with the chemical reactions and process in human beings and living organism.

This was far more worse than the failure rate in the other two subjects, i.e. Anatomy (the study of structure/formation of human body) and Physiology (the study of working/mechanics of human body)

This result is more shocking when you consider that the AIIMS, New Delhi, batch was composed of many schools, district, and state toppers. 

The problem with biochemistry was there were lots of facts, tables, chemical reactions, biochemical pathways, and biochemical cycles to remember. Much of the facts were abstract concept making it difficult to remember and write in the exam. In contrast, in anatomy, you can actually see the structure of the human body and get a visual understanding making it easy to remember.

    A similar problem may arise in memorizing mathematical and physics formulae, dates in history, rules and regulations in law and finance, etc.

Although there are no absolute shortcuts, yet some strategies might be useful to remember such facts.

One strategy is to make large charts, poster, tables, printouts and stick them on the walls of your room so that you are literary surrounded by the facts. Just glancing around your room will serve to revise the facts. Make it a habit to quickly read/check the posters, charts, etc. every time you go out and enter your room.

Another strategy based on the subconscious mind theory is to read the facts, reactions, tables, and cycles, just before going to bed and first thing in the morning on getting up. You can do this in your bed if necessary. The poster on your wall can also be a source of such revision. This is supposed to take help of subconscious mind while you are sleeping in remembering the facts. 

Another strategy is repeated spaced revisions. For example, instead of reading the facts 10 – 15 times in a single day, if you have sufficient time before your exam, then read the facts 3 times daily for the next 5-7 days. This is based on the fact that we forget 70 – 80% of whatever we read in the first 24 hours itself. By daily revising the facts this gets reversed and what we have read gets converted into long term memory. Even after a week keep on doing periodic spaced revisions to keep facts in your long term memory.

Another method is not just read the facts, reactions, pathways, etc, but to write them down. Initially, you can copy them from your textbooks for 2-3 times. Then close the book and try to write them down from memory. As expected you will make mistakes, check the mistakes, read it and again close the book and write it down. This can be repeated until you get it right. Combine this with the above-mentioned strategy of repeated revision by writing to get better results.

So friends hope that some of these methods will be useful to you and you will remember me when you get your gold medal in biochemistry or other subjects.

(Based on allegedly true incident)

— ND

© Author. All rights reserved. 

Please share this post on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

Please give your valuable feedback via comments below. Please note that comments will appear later only after moderation. Please Log in with Google Id before writing comments.

You can receive a notification on latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norm. 

The Home Drive

Dr. Abhishek (Fictional Name) was a junior resident in the surgery department at AIIMS, New Delhi. He was on 24-hour call duty on Wednesday followed by Operation theatre on Thursday which ended with the senior resident’s round in the night.

After the round, Dr. Abhishek completed the ward work by late night. Although he was exhausted and sleep deprived due to continuous work for the last 36 hours he decided to drive to his home in the city and have a relaxing sleep.

While driving back home, the lack of sleep and mental exhaustion took its toll and his car overturned at a sharp curve.  People residing nearby saw the accident and rescued him from the overturned car. Luckily he suffered only relatively minor injuries. From that day onwards he vowed to never drive back if in mentally exhausted or sleep deprived condition.

After alcohol intoxication, lack of sleep and mental exhaustion is a very big factor in road traffic accident. At all cost avoid driving after long duty hours. Either take a cab or grab some rest in the hospital or office itself. It is better to have an uncomfortable but safe sleep in the hospital or office then a risky drive to get good sleep at home.

(Based on true incident)

— ND
© Author. All rights reserved. 

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norm. 

You can share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, etc, using the Buttons above 'Labels' and below 'Posted by:'.
Please give your valuable feedback via comments below. Please note that comments will appear after moderation.

You can receive notification on latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Morning Night Owl

Dr. Dev (Fictional Name) was surprised to see his senior class MBBS student studying in the morning in the BB Dixit Library, at AIIMS, New Delhi.

This senior was a confirmed night owl, study late in the night, sometimes till early morning. He is used to getting late in the day and used to start studying only in the evening.

Curious, Dev asked the senior for this change in his behavior.

The senior told Dr. Dev, “My final exams are approaching and they are scheduled in the afternoon from 2.00 to 5.00 pm. I am resetting my biological clock so that I can function with full mental ability at that time period.”

“In my old schedule, I was mentally sluggish in the afternoon. Therefore I had started sleeping early, getting up early and start studying from 11.00 am in the morning so that I am in my peak mental faculty in the afternoon.” 

“When I have exams in the morning schedule, I get up at about 6.00 am in the morning and study continuously from 7.00 am to 1.00 pm to train my brain to perform at its peak in the morning exam. Otherwise, I feel like a zombie in the exam.”

All of us have a biological clock with sleep and awake cycle with periods of mental dullness and mental alertness. This may not be sync with your exam or interview or some important professional meeting schedule. For peak mental ability we should sync our biological clock / circadian rhythm with our expected mental activity timing.

You need around 2 to 3 weeks to reset your biological rhythm. So, start at least 2 to 3 weeks before the crucial exams, etc. But even starting even few days before may also be beneficial. If in the early days you are too dazed to study then do some other mental activity such as play Sudoku, solve riddles and puzzles or take a quiz.

 (Based on true incident)

— ND
© Author. All rights reserved. 

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norm. 

You can share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, etc, using the Buttons above 'Labels' and below 'Posted by:'.
Please give your valuable feedback via comments below. Please note that comments will appear after moderation.

You can receive notification on latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Secret of The Disappearing Resident – Part 2

Please Note: Although not essential, but it may be better if you read first the earlier post, ‘The Secret of The Disappearing Resident' at  https://agnipathdoctors.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-disappearing-resident.html before reading this post.

This occurred in the Department of Surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi, similar to the case of Dr. CK Banner (Fictional Name).

A junior resident went to the resident’s changing room for some rest. After some when he was needed in the Operation Theatre, the hospital orderly was sent to call him. The orderly came back and reported that the junior resident could not to found in the changing room.

The senior resident now aware that what ‘low’ the tired junior residents can stoop to get some rest and sleep, sent the 3^rd year junior resident to thoroughly check in the resident’s changing room, including below the sofa.

The 3^rd year junior resident could not locate the missing resident in the changing room, even after checking below the sofa. When he made another round of the room he noticed a particularly large heap of discarded OT clothes lying in a corner between two locker cupboards.

He decided to take a closer look since it was middle of the day, such a large heap of discarded cloth was unusual, which usually get collected at the end of the day, when everyone changes to street clothes from their OT Scrub dress.

On close observation, he noticed some rhythmic movement in the cloth heap. Curious, he picked the clothes to reveal the missing resident, sitting and sleeping in a corner. He had placed the discarded OT clothes over himself to hide him so that he can technically remain in the resident’s changing room, while at the same time get some uninterrupted sleep.

 (Based on true incident)

— ND
© Author. All rights reserved. 

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norm. 

You can share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, etc, using the Buttons above 'Labels' and below 'Posted by:'.
Please give your valuable feedback via comments below. Please note that comments will appear after moderation.

You can receive notification on latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Secret of The Disappearing Resident

In the good old days, the junior residents could not think of disobeying their faculty members and senior residents. They used to follow their instructions literally, i.e. word to word. But some junior residents even then would find ways to avoid breaking the rules and still getting their way.

Dr. CK Banner (Fictional Name) came to do junior residency in the department of surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi. While the other junior residents (JRs) were in their twenties, Dr. CK Banner was in his forties, as he came after working as a medical officer for many years. Quite naturally he was not as physically fit as the other JRs in the unit.

The junior residents were expected to stay in the Operation theatre (OT) on their OT days. At the most, they can sit in the resident’s changing room which was just near the OT on the same floor so they can be called immediately if required.

Dr. Banner was on the 24-hour call duty the day just before the OT. In the middle of the day, with the permission of the senior resident, he went to the resident’ changing room, as he was not immediately required for assistance in the operations going on.

After some time the need for an extra hand was felt and the senior resident asked the hospital assistant – orderly to call Dr. Banner from the resident’s room. This was the days before the advent of the mobile phone. The orderly went and reported back that he could not find Dr. Banner in the resident’s room.

After 1-2 hours Dr. Banner came into the OT. The senior resident and other junior residents demanded where was he? Dr. CK Banner replied, “I was in the resident’s room.”

A few days later again Dr. Banner with the permission of the senior resident, went to rest in the resident’s changing room. Again when he was needed the orderly could not find him in the resident’s room. This time, they widened the search but could not find him in other OTs or in the ward or duty room one floor below the OT.

When Dr. Banner appeared after some time, the senior resident asked him sternly, “Dr. Banner, where you had disappeared when you were needed here in the OT?”

Dr. Banner replied, “Sir, I was in the resident’s room. If you had called me from there I would have come immediately.”

“I did send one hospital’s orderly to call you,” countered the senior resident. “He could not find you in the resident’s room.”

“I swear Sir,” protested Dr. Banner, “I was in the resident’s room only”. Not wishing to hurt a person senior to him in age, the senior resident let the matter end there only.

Sometimes later when again Dr. Banner could not be located by the hospital’s orderly in the resident’ room, the senior resident asked the other junior residents to go and check thoroughly the resident’s changing room so that he could confront Dr. Banner regarding his disappearing trick.

The junior residents checked the changing room and they could not find Dr. Banner anywhere. When they were just going outside the room they heard the sound of snoring. On following the sound, they found Dr. Banner sleeping on the floor hidden below the sofa in the changing room.

Dr. CK Banner (Fictional Name) obeyed the senior residents’ orders to stay available in the resident’s changing room, at the same time using a creative way to catch some much-needed sleep also.

(Based on true incident)

— ND
© Author. All rights reserved. 

If viewing from Mobile, switch to Webpage view to see a list of popular posts and index of topics of previous posts.

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Practice should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost. 

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only for fun purpose. The author does not promote or recommend any behavior illustrated here or claim it to be useful. Use of the information herein is at you one's own risk. Before trying to emulate or follow anything the reader is well advised to take into account ethical, moral, legal and other considerations. The author recommends that Medical Education should be of the highest ethical and moral level keeping in mind the interest of the patient as foremost and according to MCI and other Board’s norm. 

You can share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, etc, using the Buttons above 'Labels' and below 'Posted by:'.
Please give your valuable feedback via comments below. Please note that comments will appear after moderation.

You can receive notification on latest post by subscribing via clicking on the bottom of the page on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)