How to Be More Alert (Fast, at Work and Without Caffeine)

If you want to know how to be more alert, the fastest levers are physical. Light, movement, cold water and how you hold your body all change how awake you feel within minutes. Below are the ones with published numbers behind them, plus the 10 second option we keep in a pocket for right before work starts.

Get bright light on your face

Light is the signal your brain uses to decide whether it is day. In a 2008 study from the University of Surrey, Antoine Viola and colleagues fitted the offices of 104 white collar workers with blue-enriched white light (17,000 K) for four weeks and standard 4,000 K white light for four weeks. With the bluer light, the 94 workers who finished the study rated themselves more alert, and the effect held even after the researchers accounted for what people expected to feel.

You don't need new office lighting. Sit by a window, open the blinds, or take a call outside.

Walk for ten minutes (stairs if you have them)

In 1987, psychologist Robert Thayer at California State University, Long Beach compared a sugar snack with a 10 minute brisk walk in 18 volunteers. The candy bar raised energy at first, and an hour later tiredness and tension were up. After the walk, energy rose and tension fell, and those changes were still there two hours later.

A 2017 University of Georgia study by Derek Randolph and Patrick O'Connor went further. Young women who usually slept little walked stairs for 10 minutes at a low pace, about 30 floors. They felt more energetic and vigorous afterwards than when they took a 50 mg caffeine capsule, and the stair walk also came with a small rise in motivation to work.

Cold water on the face or in the shower

Cold water is the bluntest tactic here. In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 2000, Šrámek and colleagues put young men in water at 32, 20 and 14°C for an hour. At 14°C, plasma noradrenaline rose by about 530% and dopamine by about 250%. Nobody at work sits in a tub for an hour, but a 30 second cold finish to your shower or cold water on your face before a meeting gives you that sharp intake of breath and a wide awake jolt.

How to be more alert and focused when you're slumping in your chair

Posture changes how energetic you feel, and the effect is quick. At San Francisco State University, Erik Peper and I-Mei Lin had 110 students walk down a hallway slouched, then walk with opposite arm and leg skipping. Slouched walking lowered their self-rated energy. Skipping raised it. Both results were significant.

At a desk, that means standing up, rolling your shoulders back and taking a quick lap of the office. If you can stand for your next call, stand.

Drink a glass of water now

Mild dehydration shows up as tiredness before it shows up as thirst. Lawrence Armstrong's team at the University of Connecticut published two studies in 2011 and 2012 in which young men and women lost about 1.5% of their body water. The women reported headaches, fatigue and trouble concentrating, and rated tasks as harder. The men made more errors on vigilance and working memory tasks and reported fatigue and tension. Keep a bottle on the desk and finish it before lunch.

Nap for about 26 minutes, if you can

NASA's 1995 study of long haul pilots gave crews a 40 minute rest window in the cockpit. The pilots who napped (about 26 minutes on average) showed up to 54% better alertness and 34% better performance than those who stayed awake. Most workplaces don't allow it, which is why the next one exists.

How to be more alert at work in 10 seconds

Every tactic above needs a window, a staircase, a sink or 26 minutes. When the call starts in two minutes, you need something that fits in your pocket.

That is what Dragon Breath is for. It is a 50 ml mouth spray of chilcuague (Heliopsis longipes), a root also called golden root, from the Sierra Gorda mountains of Central Mexico. The root is wild-harvested from growth zones the Mara team selects with the help of local elders, then dual-extracted in organic solutions. The buzz comes from affinin (also called spilanthol), which lab tests have measured at 6.9 to 8.5 mg per gram of chilcuague root.

Here is what one spray feels like. For a second it tastes earthy and a little peppery. Then, within about 10 seconds, a bright electric buzz spreads across your tongue and mouth. Your mouth floods with saliva, fast, and a clean fresh feeling lingers after it. You come out of it switched on, present and in the zone, with a clear head for whatever is next.

In a reaction video, a customer tried one spray on camera and, moments later, said, "Definitely energized." Mitchell S., a verified buyer, put his review in three words: "Epic. Must buy".

Use it as a pre-work ritual. One spray before you open the laptop or walk into a meeting. Start with one spray and go up to five once you know the feeling. The bottle holds 250+ sprays and lives in a jacket or jeans pocket. A spray is also the practical form: a few sprays is all it takes, and the extract stays sealed in Miron violet glass, away from air and light, from the first spray to the last. Loose root and powder sit open to both.

Mexican ethnobotanists led by Cilia-López recorded it chewed for the teeth and gums and used as a spice, and you can read more about its history and how it grows in our chilcuague guide.

Dragon Breath – Chilcuague Extract

50 ml mouth spray. Wild-harvested chilcuague root, dual-extracted. 250+ sprays.

Add to bag

A ten minute routine before work

Stacked together, the tactics take about as long as making coffee.

1. Drink a full glass of water.
2. Walk two or three flights of stairs, or around the block, with your shoulders back.
3. Splash cold water on your face.
4. Sit facing the window with the blinds open.
5. One spray of Dragon Breath as you open your first task.

For more fixes for the first hour of the day, see our post on how to feel more awake instantly.

Dragon Breath considerations

The recommendation on the product page: "If you're pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or allergic to plants in the daisy family, ask your doctor before using it."

Questions people ask

How can I be more alert without caffeine?

Ten minutes of brisk walking or stair climbing, daylight on your face, a glass of water and a splash of cold water all have published research behind them. For the moment right before work, one spray of Dragon Breath gives you a bright buzz across the tongue and mouth within about 10 seconds.

Why do I feel so sluggish at work?

Common causes are dim light, sitting still for hours and drinking too little water. The University of Connecticut studies found fatigue and poorer concentration at about 1.5% water loss.

What is the fastest way to feel alert?

Cold water on the face and a Dragon Breath spray both take seconds. A 10 minute walk takes longer, and in Thayer's study the extra energy lasted two hours.