Stay Awake During School

Sometimes, it can feel impossible to stay awake during school. This could be because you're bored in class, or because you're exhausted because you pulled an all-nighter to study for a big test. Not only is this a problem because you won't be learning if you're falling asleep, but also because you could jeopardize your grade by seriously ticking off your teachers. If you'd like to know how to stay awake and alert during school, follow these easy tips.

Steps

Stay Awake in the Classroom

  1. Interact with your teacher. Though interacting with your teacher may sound like the last thing you want to do when your eyelids feel like sandbags, keeping up a rapport with your teacher before and during class will surely help you stay alert. Not only will this make you less likely to drift off, but your teacher will be impressed by your participation.
    • Greet your teacher when you walk in the door. Establish a level of communication before class even starts. This will also keep you from immediately slouching in your seat as soon as you walk in the door.
    • Sit near the front, near your teacher. Though this may sound like a bad idea, you'll be more motivated to stay awake and participate in class discussion if you're closer to your teacher. Your teacher's voice will also reach you more easily.
    • Answer questions during class discussion. Make a habit of raising your hand to answer questions during class discussion. Tell yourself you have to answer at least three or four questions per class. This will force you to pay attention to the class discussion so you can chime in.
    • If you're confused about something, don't be afraid to ask a question. If you have the kind of teacher who is open to questions, pose a question or two when you're unclear about a certain concept. This will make you engage further in the class discussion.
  2. Interact with your classmates — when the time is right. Your classmates can also help you stay awake during school. While you shouldn't be chatting with your peers when your teacher is talking, there will be opportunities to use your classmates to help you stay alert. Here's what you can do:
    • Talk to a classmate before class starts. Instead of slouching in your chair and slipping into half-slumber, talk to one of your classmates about the homework, or even his plans for the week.
    • Take advantage of group work. If you're working in groups or partners, be an active participant to stay alert.
    • Sit near the students who participate. Though you don't want to sit by a chatty student who can distract you, if you sit near someone who participates a lot, his/her voice will jolt you awake frequently. This will also keep you from sleeping because you'll know that your teacher will be looking in your direction often.
  3. Take knockout notes. In most classes, you'll be spending a lot of your time taking notes. While this can sound like a plan for falling asleep even sooner than you intended, if you make the most of your note-taking, you will be much more likely to stay alert. Here's how to take notes that help you stay awake:
    • Take very detailed notes. The more detailed your notes, the more carefully you'll have to focus during class. If you're falling asleep, listening will be impossible.
    • Read over your notes from time to time. Using the "reading" part of your brain instead of the "listening" part will help you switch gears if the classroom is starting to feel too monotonous.
    • Use different colored pens and highlighters. Use different pens to write about different parts of the class lecture, or just switch pens because you feel like it. Take out your highlighters and use them from time to time to keep awake.
    • If it keeps you awake, doodle in the margins of your pages. Just try not to tick off your teacher.
  4. Keep your body alert during class. Keeping your mind alert is only half the battle. To truly stay awake, you have to make sure your body is awake too. Though you won't be able to run around in circles or do jumping jacks in the middle of your Spanish class, there are a few small things you can do to keep your body alert.
    • Sit up tall in your chair. If you don't slouch, you'll be less likely to collapse into sleep.
    • Roll your shoulders.
    • Roll your head in a circle to get the kinks out of your neck.
    • Stretch your wrists.
    • If you're really struggling to stay awake, pull down on your earlobes or even pinch your thighs or forearms. In a desperate moment, you can even lightly bite down on your tongue.
    • Suck on a cough drop or a peppermint, if your teacher doesn't mind. Though gum is probably not allowed in your school, chewing it will snap you awake.
    • Cross your legs and bounce the crossed leg.
    • If your body is still asleep, excuse yourself and walk across the hall for a drink of water or take a quick trip to the bathroom and splash cold water on your face.
    • Stay hydrated. If your teacher allows it, sip from a cold bottle of water and your body will feel more alert.

Stay Awake Outside the Classroom

  1. Eat healthy snacks. Keeping some snacks to chew on throughout the day in your purse or your locker can keep you from crashing and will give you small boosts of energy at the right time. Sometimes you can go over six hours between breakfast and lunch, and grazing on snacks throughout the day will keep you from falling asleep because your body is drained of energy. Here are some snacks to keep around:
    • Nuts, such as cashews, walnuts, or almonds.
    • Fruit, such as apples, bananas, or grapes.
    • Veggies, such as carrot sticks or celery. You can carry a little bit of peanut butter in a container to dip the fruit in.
    • A granola bar.
    • Unless your school has a super-healthy vending machine, avoid taking a trip there. Most vending machines are stocked with foods that are too sugary or salty to have a positive effect on your energy level.
  2. Eat a healthy lunch in the cafeteria. Take advantage of your lunch break and give yourself the fuel you need to make it through the rest of your day. You should eat a healthy and balanced lunch. Your snacks should keep you from getting so hungry that you overeat and then immediately feel tired again. Here's what you should do:
    • Pack your lunch, if you have time. This will ensure that you can eat something healthy, and it will also give you time to digest your food instead of spending half your lunch period waiting in the cafeteria line.
    • Avoid greasy, sugary, or high-fat foods.
    • Have a healthy salad with fruit and nuts, or a sandwich with whole wheat bread. Have a yogurt or banana on the side.
    • If you need more caffeine, have some black tea.
    • When you're at lunch, try to interact with your friends as much as possible so that your mind is engaged. Take the time to laugh and be silly and to help your mind relax.
  3. Find time to be physically active during breaks. Though you may not have a lot of time in between your classes, you can make the most of the time you do have by moving around as much as you can in between classes. Being physically active is a way of telling your body that you're not ready to go to sleep yet. Here's what you can do:
    • If you get to school early, take a lap or two around the hallways to get your blood flowing and your heart rate up. Or you can even walk a lap around your school to get some fresh air.
    • If you have time left over when you move between classes, take the long way or walk up and down the hallway.
    • Take the stairs whenever you can.
    • If you get to the cafeteria early, take a walk around the room — just don't annoy your teachers in the process.
    • If you're in gym class, don't complain about it. Instead, make the most of whatever sport you're playing that week. Not only will this boost your grade, but it will boost your energy level as well.
  4. Be alert during passing time. When you're passing in between classes, you should focus on getting some extra physical exercise, but there are a few other things you can do to make the most of your time away from the classroom. Here are a few of them:
    • Strike up a conversation with a friend. The more excited you are by the conversation, the more alert your mind will be.
    • Take a quick trip to the bathroom. Splash cold water on your face.
    • Get to your classroom early and get some fresh air from an open window.
    • Open your locker. Even if you only need one book, opening your locker will keep your hands busy and your mind alert.

Prepare for a Good Day of School

  1. Eat a healthy breakfast. Don't underestimate the power of a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast will improve the entire course of your day and will give you more energy to handle your classes and anything school will bring your way. Eating a healthy breakfast won't take long and it will make you much more likely to stay alert. Here's what you should eat:
    • Eat foods that are high in Increase Protein in Your Diet, like eggs, ham, or turkey.
    • Eat fruits and vegetables. You can also drink them in a healthy vegetable smoothie.
    • Eat food with carbohydrates, like oatmeal, granola, or toast.
    • Eat yogurt. Avoid too much milk because it can make you sleepy.
    • If you're really tired, try some caffeine. If you're still in school, it's likely that you're not used to caffeine, so try it in low doses. Black tea is best, and a small cup of coffee will help you as well. Avoid soda or energy drinks unless you're extremely desperate for a quick pick-me-up, because they will make you crash after a brief spike in your energy level.
  2. Have a positive morning routine. Having a great morning routine to follow every day will help you be in the right mental and physical state to begin a long day of school. Being able to get up in the morning without problems will put you on the right footing to begin your school day.
    • Get enough rest the day before. Most teenagers need between 8-10 hours of sleep. Studies have shown that 6 hours or less is not good for your overall wellbeing, even if you think it is. If you oversleep or don't get enough sleep, you're setting yourself up to be tired for the rest of the day. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night.
    • Wake up at least an hour before school. This may sound like a pain because school already starts so early, but being more alert when you enter school will help you stay alert. If you roll out of bed and head straight to the school bus, you will still be half asleep when your day begins.
    • Take a cold, refreshing shower. Turn the lights on bright and sing to yourself. This will help your body wake up.
    • Stimulate your mind. Read the morning paper or even surf the Internet for an interesting article or two. This will help get your mind moving.
    • Listen to your favorite pump-up song.
  3. Prepare your mind for a great day of school. Feeling mentally prepared for a day of school will go a long way in helping you be mentally alert for the eight or more hours that you will spend in school. You should do whatever you can to make sure that you're going to school feeling prepared, positive, and ready for the challenges ahead.
    • Be prepared for school. Do all of your homework the evening before so you don't end up staying too late doing your homework, or rush to get it done in the morning and then end up crashing from working too fast.
    • Have a game plan. As you're waking up, think of the classes ahead of you and the tests, lessons, or events in store. Knowing what your day will look like will help you stay alert for it.
    • Feel positive about going to school. This can sound difficult, but you should give yourself at least three reasons why you're looking forward to going to school, such as going to your amazing English class, or even catching up with a friend during lunch.

Tips

  • Try not to feel desperate to get out of class, because time will feel like it is going by slower.
  • Take any chance you get to get up in class. Volunteer to stand up for activities, or get up to sharpen your pencil if you need to.
  • Eat a good and healthy breakfast.
  • Try to exercise in the morning.This will give you a rush and could make you feel less sluggish. Ride, walk, or even skate to school. There are easy ways to get morning exercise.
  • If you're allowed to chew gum in class, try chewing some strong peppermint-flavored gum. It'll help wake you up if you're lagging. But ask the teacher first!
  • When you feel the need to yawn, take a deep breath and jiggle yourself.
  • If it's cold outside, ask the teacher if you can open the window. The cold air will keep you awake.
  • Think of one good reason to stay awake. Try to find one thing in the class that you are genuinely interested in learning about.
  • If you have free time, do an activity that involves exercise.
  • Keep yourself busy. some things you can do are; Listen to music. make the music upbeat and happy. Do some work; It can be boring, but getting your mind occupied helps a lot. Send notes to your friends, but don't get caught! It's fun, and it keeps you awake.
  • Look at the wall and move your eyes so that you mentally "trace" a figure-eight (8) on the wall. This will stretch your eyes and keep you awake.
  • If it gets a little cold in school don't wear a thick jacket wear a thin one so it will make you more awake.
  • If you are allowed to bring a snack to class, eat it. It might help you stay awake.
  • Eating lots of sugar or drinking soda before school may seem like it'll keep you awake, but the alertness only lasts for about an hour and will cause you to have a sugar crash.
  • The rubber band trick! Keep a rubber band on your wrist. Whenever you feel your eyelids get heavy, grab the band and release it. The burn from the slap will wake you up, without severe pain.

Warnings

  • Drinking coffee or soda may keep you up and awake for about ten minutes of class and then have you get lazy for the rest of the period. Be sure you know how you will react to caffeine before you try it in class.
  • Sleeping in class can get you in serious trouble and ruin your chances of passing and graduating.

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