How to stay awake in class?

Falling asleep in classrooms is quite a common phenomenon all over the world. This happens for many reasons, out of which inadequate sleep, lack of motivation, or dry matter during a lecture are quite common. With a huge load of studies, students often have to wake whole night to study and feel sleepy or lethargic in class the next day.

Sleeping in a class is frowned upon and is portrayed as rude and disrespectful towards a teacher and the institute. While you may not be dozing off on purpose in class, you should try different tips and techniques to stay active, fresh, and alert.

In this article, we have compiled ways how to not fall asleep in class.

Tips To Avoid Sleeping In Class

These tips are helpful in keeping students awake and active in class. Although depriving yourself of sleep for longer intervals can be quite harmful to the brain and the body. An adequate amount of sleep impacts the mental health, mood, and functioning of the body.

While sleep deprivation, on the other hand, impacts the students’ cognitive abilities and decreases their alertness and performance.

Bring A Water Bottle to Class

Carrying a water bottle is quite beneficial in class. Start sips of cold water if you doze through the class. The water intake hydrates the body improves your focus, and helps you feel more awake. Make sure you always carry a reusable water bottle filled with water in class.

Sit At the Front of The Class

Much research has shown that sitting in front of the class or near the teacher helps engage more with the subject. More participation allows the student to stay wide awake and indulge in healthy discussions with the teacher and other class fellows. Therefore, they perform better, stay alert and achieve better scores in the class.

The study suggested students sitting at the back are most likely to not participate actively in the class. This can further cause them to fall asleep or doze around with the lecture still going on in the class.

Be Active

Stay active throughout the class. Keep shifting around on the seat and raising your hands to ask questions. Even if the lecture is boring, keep your interest intact by engaging in the content.

Take Deep Breaths

Taking long deep breath help the brain pump blood faster in the body. This creates a surge of adrenaline, which help the students stay awake. This method is more effective in the early morning, as the air is cleaner and healthier. If you were up all night, go outside and take a deep breath to make your mind more awake and alert.

Chew Gum

A recently conducted research states that chew gum is a simple yet effective way to stay awake. This healthier exercise helps stimulate facial muscles, which results in increased blood flow. This helps you to keep calm and stay up in the classroom.

If possible, try to carry a pack of mints in your backpack. Mint flavors, like peppermints, help stimulate the brain. This gives you minty fresh breath and alertness that help you get through the whole lecture.

Go To Bed Early

Sleeping late is the major cause of dozing off during class. A sleep cycle is the best way to synchronize your sleep. Try to make a plan or install an app that helps schedule your sleep. After making the plan, stick to it, especially on the weekdays when you have a class in the morning.

You should train your body to sleep and wake simultaneously every day. This way, your body, and mind will be well-rested and awake in every class. A healthy individual needs to sleep at least 8 hours to function normally in a day. Any sleep lesser than this can negatively impact your health and your mind.

Get Some Exercise before Class

Exercising before class is an excellent way to increase the circulation of blood through the body. Do a set of push-ups, skip around or stretch to get your heart pumping faster.

If you feel sleepy during the lecture, you can stretch your feet, cross your legs or scrunch your toes to wiggle the sleepiness out of your system.

If the teacher gives a five-minute break, it is better to stretch in the class. Firstly, stretching allows you to breathe deeply and take in more oxygen. Secondly, it releases the stress stored in your system and makes you tired or sleepy. So, stretch your body while taking deep breaths to reinvigorate yourself.

Keep a Good Posture

An appropriate posture during class can help you stay awake. For example, slouching in a chair causes your body to take in less oxygen. This causes dullness and sleepiness during the lecture. Try to sit with your back straight as it helps maximum oxygen to reach the lungs.

Take Notes

Actively taking notes can help in staying active. Instead of recording the lecture or relying on printed notes, ensure you keep jotting down important points. Use markers to create headings, as this will help you take more interest in writing than sleeping. This will not only help you understand the lecture easily, but it will also keep you active and awake during the whole class. If you are too tired to take notes, try doodling or scribbling. This simple exercise helps you stay awake in class.

Change Seats

If you often doze off during a lecture, it’s time to change seats. Try to sit closer to the teacher, so you can stay active in the class. A recent study indicates that sitting near the teacher strongly impacts the student’s mind.

Get Some Fresh Air

If you are feeling tired and sleepy, get some fresh air. Going out of class and taking deep breaths of fresh air improves blood circulation. This helps you tackle drowsiness and return fresh and awake to the class.

Splash Some Cold Water

If you are too drowsy in class, it’s better to go to the restroom. Splashing cold water on your face will draw the circulation towards your face. This will readily make you awake and refresh your energy levels.

Hydrate

Dehydration is the major cause of fatigue in students. It keeps them drowsy, low, and sleepy throughout the day. Keep fluids in your body to remain active and involved in the classroom. Make sure you drink plenty of water or healthy juices to keep proper hydration.

Participate

Active participation is a healthy way to keep your mind active during class. Try asking questions, interacting with other students, indulge in healthy, fruitful conversation. All of this combined will be enough to stay awake in class.

Caffeine Intake

Although not a healthy option, caffeine helps keep you awake in class. If you slept late, and are tired in class, a cup of caffeine-induced liquid can help you. Just have a cup of tea, coffee, or an energy drink, and you are good to go. This psychoactive stimulant helps you regain energy and makes you more attentive during class.

Just keep in mind caffeine is only a temporary solution to your problem. The energy boost from these drinks lasts for only two or three hours. After it wears off, you might get hit with exhaustion. Too much caffeine in the body can make you addict, and your body will eventually crave more caffeine daily.

Morning Walk

If you were up all night, there is a great chance that you would end up sleeping in the classroom. If your school or institute is near your house, try to walk there. A simple walk in the morning boosts your metabolic rate, increases oxygen intake, and keeps you fresh for some hours.

Avoid Eating Large Meals before Class

If you were up the whole night, you should avoid a big breakfast before heading out to the class. A large meal, particularly full of carbohydrates, doubles up the drowsiness and makes you sleepier in class. Digesting a large amount of food can be exhausting for the body, which leads to sleepiness.

Talk to A Doctor

If all these remedies don’t help you, you might need to consult a doctor. This may be due to obstructive sleep apnea or any deficiency in the body. A doctor will properly guide you on how to deal with increased sleepiness (also check 8 amazing mattresses for sleep apnea) .

What Not To Do To Stay Awake

While these tips and techniques may give a temporary solution to keep you awake, you should avoid them in the longer run. Getting enough sleep during the night is necessary to function effectively and have healthy mental growth. Here we have mentioned some of the things not to do while trying to stay awake.

Say No to Stay Awake Pills

Some people take Stay Awake pills to avoid being sleepy during class. However, these pills are not the right solution for your sleep. Using it for a long can be quite harmful to your body and may become a habit. Use it only on a doctor’s recommendation, as sudden withdrawal may cause harmful effects on your body.

Limited Amount of Caffeine

A limited amount of caffeine might help keep you awake, but taking it at regular intervals can be quite harmful. You can become addicted to it or harm your body by a caffeine overdose.

In both cases, it becomes highly toxic, washing out important nutrients from the body and, in some cases, becoming lethal for the drinker. So, taking caffeine regularly in tea, coffee, or energy drinks for longer intervals should not be encouraged, especially for the students who use this to stay awake in classrooms.

Smoking

Many students smoke to get rid of their lethargic state. The nicotine in the cigarette disrupts sleep and helps you stay awake for a longer time. Although effective, this method is very self-injurious and does not help in keeping you awake in the longer run. Smoking only affects your health and encourages snoring, and risks sleep apnea in their consumers.

Sleeping Late As a Habit

Although these tips may help you stay awake in class once or twice, using them habitually is dangerous. The students must sleep for at least six hours to function like normal humans. Making a habit of sleeping late can decrease their overall performance and encourage various health issues like obesity in students.

How Long Is A Power Nap?

A power nap is the only solution if nothing keeps you awake. This quick nap lasts for about a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of 30 minutes. This is quite a practical approach used by students worldwide to help ease the tired mind.

Recent research indicates that a power nap increases the brain’s productivity and makes the mind more alert. If you have pulled an all-nighter due to studying or any other reason, take a power nap before heading to the class.

Remember that rest longer than 20 minutes can make you more tired. Therefore, if you get a break in between, you can set the alarm and doze off for about 20 minutes to avoid getting more tired and sleepy. A power nap increases efficiency and keeps you awake for the rest of the day.

How Many Hours Did A Student Have To Sleep?

According to CDC, school-going students should get up to or more than nine hours of sleep. Students sleeping less than nine hours showed less attention, decreased cognition abilities, and behavioral issues.

With studying and a part-time job, it can be quite difficult for college-going students to sleep for nine hours straight. However, six hours is enough for these students, as it allows them to freshen up their minds and improves their mental health.

The solution to this problem is a consistent sleeping schedule that trains the students to sleep and wake up simultaneously each day.

Key Takeaways: How To Stay Awake In Class

The Importance of Staying Awake in Class

Falling asleep in classrooms can be attributed to reasons like inadequate sleep, lack of motivation, or a less engaging lecture. Sleeping during lessons is seen as impolite and can impede a student’s learning process.

Effective Techniques to Prevent Dozing Off

Drinking water hydrates the body, thereby increasing focus. Hence, it’s beneficial to always carry a water bottle. Opting for front seats in class can promote better engagement, leading to higher alertness. Being physically active, like taking deep breaths, and maintaining a proper posture can aid in preventing sleepiness.

The Role of Sleep & Lifestyle Habits

Aiming for a consistent sleep schedule is crucial. Ideally, individuals should sleep for at least eight hours. Engaging in morning walks and avoiding heavy meals before class can also help in staying awake. On the contrary, relying too much on caffeine and habitually sleeping late can have adverse effects on one’s alertness and overall health.

When to Seek Medical Advice

If regular measures don’t alleviate excessive sleepiness, it might be due to underlying conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea. In such cases, consulting a doctor is recommended.

Power Napping: A Short-term Solution

Power naps lasting between 20 to 30 minutes can rejuvenate the mind and are beneficial, especially if one has been up all night. However, naps longer than 20 minutes might lead to increased drowsiness.

Conclusion

Excessive studies and the need to compete with their fellow beings often compel students to wake up all night and study. This results in students feeling lethargic, tired, and sleepy in the morning or in class. Sleeping or dozing off in a class is not a good practice and decreases the student’s intellectual state while lowering the attention span and causing health issues.

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/features/students-sleep.htm

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-5353/stay-awake-oral/details

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42972798_Late_Sleeping_Affects_Sleep_Duration_and_Body_Mass_Index_in_Adolescents