Stop Sleeping in Class

Paying attention in class is important for achieving good grades and doing well on assignments, but in order to pay attention, you must stay awake and be engaged. Whether you're in elementary school, middle school, high school, or even college or university, sleeping in class isn't polite to the teacher, and it means you won’t learn the things you're supposed to learn. However, falling asleep in class can be quite easy to do, especially if you don’t get enough sleep at night. To keep yourself from sleeping during class time, there are several things you can do, including keeping yourself energized throughout the day and participating in class.

Steps

Staying Awake in Class

1. Ask and answer questions. When you're sitting in class, it can be easy to doze off when the teacher is at the front of the room talking and you aren't doing anything with your mind or body to stay engaged. But just like you don’t fall asleep in the middle of a conversation with your friends, so too will participating in the class discussion help you stay awake.
   • As the teacher speaks, take down notes and formulate questions about the material you're learning. If there's something you can't figure out, put up your hand and ask a question about it.
   • When the teacher poses questions to the class, don’t be afraid to put up your hand and provide an answer. Some teachers will put you on the spot for a while because of any noticeable inattentiveness.
2. Get up and walk around. Your teacher may not allow this, but if you are permitted, get up and go to the back of the class or to get a drink of water if you feel like you're starting to doze off. Staying active is a huge key to staying awake in class, because it keeps your mind and body alert and focused.
   • If your teacher doesn’t have a policy about this, ask if it’s acceptable to walk around quietly during class. Many teachers would actually prefer that you do this instead of falling asleep during their lectures.
3. Stretch and move in your chair. In case your teacher doesn’t want you getting up during class time, you can still keep your body active in your chair. Move around in your chair, stretch, and exercise your limbs while staying seated.
   • If you feel you're nodding off, sit up straight and stretch. Move your head from side to side to make your neck limber, and gently twist sideways from the waist to stretch your back.
   • Kick your legs in front of your desk and stretch them out, and push your arms out in front of you to stretch them as well.
4. Fidget quietly while you listen. Just like stretching and moving in your chair, fidgeting can also keep your body active, and this will prevent you from getting sleepy. The important thing is to do this quietly, otherwise you may distract other students.
   • Quietly tap your feet on the floor and your fingers on the desk.
   • Keep your feet planted on the floor and, with your knees bent, pump your legs up and down as though you were walking.
   • Hold your pen in your fingers and twirl it around or tap it in the air.
5. Open a window. Warmth and poor ventilation are recipes for falling asleep in class, so ask the teacher if you can open a window to let in fresh air and circulate the air in the room.
   • If possible, sit near a window so that you can open and close the window as necessary.
   • If opening a window isn't an option, consider bringing a small, personal fan to class that you can use to blow air on your face when you start feeling tired.
6. Splash water on your face. You can either get up and go to the bathroom, or you can bring a bottle of water with you to class that you can use to wake yourself up. Just as washing your face in the morning will wake you up, so too will splashing yourself with water in the middle of the day help revive you.
   • If you do this in class, bring a small towel with you that you can dampen with water to wipe on your face.

Keeping Energized During the Day

1. Eat a balanced breakfast. Avoid sugary cereals and snacks at breakfast, as these will just cause a sugar crash in a couple hours, and this is a sure way to fall asleep in class. Instead, choose a breakfast that has protein, carbohydrates, and calcium. This could include:
   • Fruit and toast with peanut butter
   • Fruit and leafy green smoothies with dairy, soy, or almond milk
   • Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts
   • Homemade breakfast burritos with beans, avocado, and greens
   • Healthy homemade muffins
2. Start the day with exercise. Exercise gets your circulation pumping, increases the oxygen supply to your cells, releases good hormones, and promotes better sleep. Starting your day with a workout not only helps you get a better rest, but it will also energize you and prepare you for the day ahead. Good morning exercises include 30 minutes of:
   • Running and jogging
   • Swimming
   • Aerobics such as jumping jacks, skipping, or running in place
   • Biking or using the stationary bike
3. Avoid sugary foods and caffeine. Sugar and caffeine both cause crashes, and when this happens at school, there's a good chance you'll fall asleep in class. Sugary foods include candy, sodas, chocolate bars, and even juices.
   • Caffeine in the form of black tea or coffee can be consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet, but be sure to spread your consumption out over the day so you don’t crash.
   • Avoid energy drinks, which contain high amounts of sugar and caffeine, and can cause a big crash.
4. Eat well throughout the day. Keep healthy snacks with you in case you get hungry throughout the day, and eat balanced meals at lunch and dinner as well. This will give you the fuel you need to stay awake throughout the day and in class. Make sure your meals contain:
   • Vitamins and minerals (fruits and vegetables)
   • Calcium (dark leafy greens)
   • Lean proteins (legumes, nuts, beans, or chicken)
   • Good carbohydrates (whole-grain breads and pastas, or potatoes)
   • Healthy fats (seeds, avocados, and nuts)
   • Good snacks include plain crackers, crackers and cheese, vegetables and hummus, fruit, yogurt, and nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.

Getting a Better Night’s Sleep

1. Don’t sacrifice sleep. Students are always trying to balance work, school, and social lives, and trying to make enough time for all these things often means they skimp on sleep. But being tired during the day means you're more likely to fall asleep in class, and even when you are awake, you will have difficulty focusing, concentrating, and retaining information.
   • If you find you don't have time to get enough sleep because you're working too much, talk to your boss about taking fewer shifts. If you have too much homework, talk to your teachers about making more time for schoolwork during class time. If you're spending too much time with friends, restrict your social engagements to the weekends.
   • For students over the age of 12, you likely need anywhere between seven to 10 hours of sleep every night in order to function optimally. If you're younger than 12, you likely need around 11 hours of sleep every night.
   • Using caffeine to make up for a night when you didn’t get enough sleep can be dangerous, because the caffeine may prevent you from getting a proper sleep again, create a cycle of fatigue.
2. Go to bed at the same time every night. The idea of having a bedtime may seem childish, but the routine can help you get a better night’s rest. This is especially important for people who have trouble falling asleep, because getting your body used to going to bed at the same time can help your body get on a schedule, and this may make it easier to sleep at night.
   • If you are going to bed at the same time every night but still wake feeling tired, try moving your bed time ahead by an hour and see how the extra hour of sleep affects your daytime wakefulness.
   • It’s important to stick to your schedule at all times, even on weekends and holidays.
3. Avoid exercise, meals, and lights before bed. There are a number of things that can keep you up at night or prevent you from getting a sound sleep, and avoiding them will help you get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer.
   • Don’t exercise within three hours of going to bed, because exercise creates a rush of hormones and oxygen that will energize you and keep you from falling asleep.
   • Avoid eating a large meal within an hour of bed time, because feeling full and bloated can make you uncomfortable and make it difficult to sleep.
   • Turn the lights low and avoid electronic screens in the half-hour leading up to bedtime, as the lights will disrupt the natural circadian rhythm that governs your sleep and wake cycles.
4. Address possible medical issues that could be affecting your sleep. Sleep is extremely important for physical, mental, and emotional health, but there are a number of conditions that can prevent a person from getting to sleep or staying asleep throughout the night. If you suspect you're suffering from any of them, consult a doctor as soon as possible. Some of the more common sleep-disrupting disorders include:
   • Periodic limb movement disorder and restless legs syndrome, where jerking legs and arms frequently disrupt sleep.
   • Sleep apnea causes you to wake often because you stop breathing when you're asleep.
   • Insomnia, which is an inability to sleep, can be caused by a wide range of factors, including stress and underlying medical issues. While most people experience short periods where it’s difficult to sleep, you should consult a doctor if the condition persists.
   • Narcolepsy is a condition that causes people to suddenly fall asleep, such as while sitting in class, on the bus, at a party, or in the middle of a meal.

Related Articles

• Pay Attention in Class
• Avoid Sleeping and Yawning During the Day
• Fall Asleep Without Letting Your Teacher Know
• Stop Daydreaming in Class

Sources and Citations

See also

• Behave In a School Lock Down
• Get Out of Trouble at School
• Stay Out of Trouble in School
• Not Worry when You're in Trouble at School
• Behave In Class
• Deal with Your Child Being Suspended from School
• Gain the Motivation to Do Well in School
• Make Your Class Fun Without Getting in Trouble
• Be Well Behaved at School
• Survive a Trip to Your School Principal

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