Usually in my timezone, the contest begins at midnight. So I have to keep awake and clear if I want to take part in it.
I've tried sleeping awhile before and drinking coffee/redbull. But still it simply didn't help or had some side effects.
If I sleep, I still feel tired during the contest and want to sleep.
If I drink coffee/redbull, not only will I feel tired, but also I will not be able to sleep even AFTER the contest.
In both cases, I simply can not come up with a solution to problems if they require some deeper thinking. And normally I will figure out how to solve them the next morning. I will blame myself for not being clear enough to solve them last night during the contest and become frustrated.
Do you feel the same if you take part in contests at midnight? How do you deal with this problem?
sleep is for the weak.
pro tip : directly consume coffee powder before contest.
Haven't tried this before...maybe in this way, the effect of coffee doesn't last long? :P
Other than trying to stay at the computer and listen to loud music (I hear screens wake you up a little?) the only advice I can give is to accept the possibility that huge mistakes can and will happen, and performing well under adverse conditions is not an obligation. I took part in the last three "unusual time" contests without sleep, did terribly in all of them but I'm not that angry because I kinda knew it would happen.
I don't know how significant this is, but it's kind of funny to think that this actually helps Russians to have a rating advantage, because usual contest time is very good for them.
Ah ha! Thinking of this somehow makes me feel better. :) Thanks
I participated Codeforces the first time one year ago. Most contests have been held at 23:30 in my timezone. Then I have had to wake up at 6:30 for school. In order to be conscious during contest and during school time, I pretend that I sleep enough and keep yawning to get oxygen for my body. At noon, I sleep more, for 1 or 2 hours. I try to sleep at least 6 hours a day.
It works fine to me, but I'm not sure what is happening inside my body lol.
If I want to sleep more, I will sleep at 20:00 (you can think about how this time is a good choice), or whenever I'm tired.