I never slept particulary well, but trading most actively on US markets while living in the Far East, while beeing involved in markets in a few other timezones with school age kids and regulary day time obligations is wreaking havoc. Feel a wreck regulary during market hours, happily I'm not day trading and try to plan when in good shape (usually some hours I'll feel much more alert ) than stick to the plan as much as possible, sometimes while waking up every hour or so during market hours to check what's going on, and try to improvise less when feeling in a mess. I know some guys here daytrade from Asia btw and seem to enjoy it, I've actually lived at night for long periods, but it gets tougher with family obligations, and possibly with age ( or I'm simply a retard at adjusting my rithm to a regular 5am to 12/1pm sleeping time wich would work for most purposes here) Drinking plenty of coffee btw. Op from the information you shared in another thread , if I got the poster right, your issue is not only the monotony of the market but also having to wake up very early while going to sleep late. Oh... and the US soon gets into winter hours, it gets worse then.
Also, as stated before, what about your night time routine the night before the trading day. You getting enough sleep or sleeping well...consistently ? As for exercise...gotta make the time. Seriously, not doing exercise may kill you one day or cause illnesses and it doesn't need to be before 0630am est. Heck, just a brisk 15min walk around the neighborhood (something to get you breathing a little heavier) with some exercise in your spare room or office before the trading day will do wonders. My point, never underestimate the stress of trading on the body. Best to be safe now via doing those things you don't have time to do than sorry later. When I lived on the west coast...I would get up about 0530am to do a 45min bike routine (outside or indoors) just before the markets open @ 0630am. I would go to bed at 9:00pm. Simply, early in bed and early riser. I had to make some minor sacrifices to stay healthy enough to properly trade. Poor health does impact your trading results especially when skipping on exercise and not eating a healthy breakfast. A sluggish mind does impact your cognitive decision making. Good luck.
Thank you for all the tips! I go to bed between 12 and 1 am. But I will try going to bed earlier. And I will make sure I have a healthy breakfast like eggs and toast. I usually exercise on the weekends because there is no time on weekdays. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Ok I trade same time zone as you, I am in Central Cal. I will pass what works for me after awhile of trial and error. Staying alert used to be tough especially towards end of week because I rarely get to sleep before 11pm, due to other activities of life. So this worked for me. Usually 6:30am to 8:30am fairly busy trading and following markets. From 8:30 am to about 10:15 am most days, I do not trade much so I get away from the screen , starting with a 30 to 40 min. walk, or a quick gym workout. I then grab a diet coke to hydrate ( sorry it helps and has not killed me ) and do a little research, then back to the markets. This routine has worked well for 14 years and kept me alert through the trading days. Get away from screens, and do research in afternoon latter or evenings depending what else going on. I do not know what markets or time setups you trade, but this has worked for me well on the West time zone. Free to PM me with any ?
These are the pre requisities besides eating well and sleeping well and exercising your body. passion for trading. Don't trade if no passiion. mind control and exercise. discipline to do what you supposed to do. some of the tools you can use to exercise and control mind which we have to do daily : - meditation eg Qi meditation - yoga - psycho cybernectics - chakra - tapping meridian points All successful traders exercise their mind every day without fail as so to achieve CALM and ALERT stage at all times. If you like something, u will do it for very very long, u will be able to concentrate and u wouldn't feel tired. So if you feel sleepy, perhaps you have to check if your passion for trading is there or not.
If you don't sleep enough, especially for a longer period, you will feel tired, passion or not. Besides motivation is important but one doesn't need passion to be succesful at their job, especially once the process becomes more of a routine.
Many people are not accustomed to sitting alot in front of the PC. You can have problems such as "mousearm", drowsiness and headaches. This may stem from bad sitting posture - even sitting too still! Mindfulness may help. At any moment, you can "recapture" yourself ("losing" yourself in work/play is only natural). Are you relaxed? Is posture stiff? Do you tense muscles or face? Try relaxing and tensing different muscles. Do spontaneous "eye-yoga". Try stretching shoulders backwards (we tend to tense shoulders forwards in front of a monitor), move spine gently, etc. Hold in deep breaths. Spontaneous yoga is superior to "training yoga", as the former is more creative and lively, while the latter may become tedious, technical and routine. People may look at you funny though. Part of the fun! Technical people often find some activity that breaks bad body habits, in order to sit for prolonged time in front of PC. Walking and talking may be good. You could set sound alerts on certain levels or email / sms. A good gaming chair with support for keeping spine erect may also be helpful. A bad chair will lack adjustability and may just be tolerable, which is not good enough for the longer haul.
%% YES, but not much ,why?? Because i enjoy 2 or 3 cups coffee, black. Assume enough sleep. Exercise ; for me its walk 30-60-120 minutes per day.Plus you have to take the time to do this. walk a bit every hour .Saturday i may walk- work 7 hours a day/+. Vitamins help a lot ; refined sugar tends to knock me out, like a thanksgiving feast nap Couch potatoe 5 days a week= sleepy time
Usually when I trade I am wide awake - unless I am trading late at night, which I avoid doing. So, no, I don't really have a problem with sleepiness while trading.