What's the best way to stay awake on election night?

Politicians, advisers, journalists and election enthusiasts around the country will be gripped to their televisions, laptops and mobile phones on Thursday night as the closest vote in a generation unfolds.

But as results from constituencies around the country slowly trickle in through the early hours, what exactly is the best, and healthiest, way to stay awake all night and still feel fresh the next day?

Dr Guy Meadows, the clinical director of the London Sleep School, speaking to the BBC’s Daily Politics on Tuesday, said there are three things to keep in mind.

Firstly, products high in caffeine or with lots of sugar like coffee, energy drinks and chocolate biscuits are “very short-termist” and should therefore be avoided.

You can take those and they’ll give you a very short energy spike but then you’re likely to crash afterwards.

You’re not looking in hours, you’re looking in minutes. With the coffee and the caffeine, you’re likely to get a spike up after 10 or 15 minutes and that’s going to last in your system for no longer than 60 minutes.

Instead, Dr Meadows explained the most important thing anyone can do is to have a power nap. Anything from as little as five to fifteen minutes will be beneficial.

The most important thing you could do would be to power nap. So a power nap would be 10 or 15 minutes. Even five minutes. Because what that does is it allows the brain to shut down, to process. It will hopefully relay the memories and sort of consolidate energy levels.

Thirdly, he says, anyone hoping to maintain energy levels throughout the night should look to be eating foods that offer a slow release of energy.

It’s so easy to go for those sugary things which offer a quick fix, but actually you’re much better off going for a much more stable, slower release. Things which are low GI, low glycemic index.

So as the BBC’s Andrew Neil summarised: “It’ll be porridge for breakfast, porridge for lunch and porridge for dinner.” Although other alternatives like wholemeal bread, pasta, or rice are good, as well as sweet potatoes. And don’t forget to stay hydrated.

Good night, and good luck.

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