<p>Hi guys,
I really need advice staying awake in class. I'm currently a junior, but I've actually had problems staying awake in class since freshman year. Sometimes, I can stay awake (due to coffee), but usually I nod off and start bobbing my head......It's really frustrating because I have to put in extra time going over lecture after class because I can't pay attention. The solution of getting 8 hours of sleep doesn't help either. I joke with my friends that I am allergic to schoool...but I would really like to have this solved :( I do fine in school (3.5 gpa), but I could do better if I can actually pay attention..There are some classes I have stayed awake in..but not many...and I don't take PE counts haha</p>
<p>Things that I have tried
1) coffee (works 50% of the time....I can drink a cup before class and still fall asleep in class. I have increased to two cups, but then I fall asleep...but I don't like the way this is going...)
2) 8 hours of sleep (I can't get this usually, but when I do, I still fall asleep. Heck I fell asleep every lecture in Sociology 1 with Ann Swindler who is an amazing lecturer that has a 4.5 on ratemyprof)
3) sitting in the front ( i sat in the 2nd row of one of my classes where the professor can see my face and see if i am sleeping. Nope. Still fell asleep most of the time. I felt bad but I still couldn't stay awake. Didn't help he had the most monotone voice ever...)
4) eating snacks (nope, doesn't work)
5) chewing gum (works sometimes, but I can still fall asleep when i chew gum)
6) laptop (I can still fall asleep if I am taking notes on my laptop)</p>
<p>I don't think I have any disease or any medical problems either. I do not want to use caffeine pills or energy drinks either....what do you guys think? :(</p>
<p>i have a similar problem and i think it’s due to light sensitivity. fluorescent lights make me yawn and really tired and i can’t do anything about it. i wish i was more helpful, but i feel your pain.</p>
<p>How do you know you don’t have a medical issue? Have you spoken to a Doctor? I’ve never known anyone with this problem and wonder if it could be a medical condition. Do you snore? Could you have sleep apnea? If so, you could be falling asleep because you are not getting proper sleep at night.</p>
<p>In my experiences it has to do with a mix of a boring class and the fact that you know you can do without the lecture.</p>
<p>You’re maintaining a respectable GPA while dozing off in class. It’s easy to give in and say to yourself, it’s fine if I space out for 2 minutes, I’ll just read about it later. Combine that with boring material and/or teacher…= Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.</p>
<p>If you really want to not doze off in class, you’re going to have to change your mindset from “I can recover from dozing off” to “If I doze off, the material isn’t going to come up again, listen now or fail”</p>
<p>1) you don’t need 8 hours of sleep but you do need to sleep and wake at a consistent time (if your body starts waking up automatically according to when the sun rises, your body is in sync), this is very important; a variation between 6-8 hours is fine, you just can’t sleep at 1 am one day, 10pm the next…it’s not gonna work even if you get 10 hours of sleep everyday.</p>
<p>2) don’t eat too much starchy things, try orange juice and any meat for breakfast/lunch</p>
<p>3) gradually reduce your coffee consumption (until the point where you only drink for leisure/taste), this messes with 1) above because you’re drinking coffee to stay awake at times when you should be sleeping i.e at night, that’s why the coffee in the day is not helping much</p>
<p>If you cannot maintain a consistent sleep schedule day in day out due to workload, schedule or some other stuff, then no one can help you cause something’s gotta give. I used to have the same problem, dozing off by noon classes and just staring blankly in lectures for late afternoon classes if I didn’t fall asleep.</p>
<p>ooo I need to try o0racle’s #2! I do all the other stuff (I don’t even drink coffee), but I still fall asleep in most of my classes. I found it had to with temperature in the room (warmer = sleepier), how fast I walk to class (fast walking tires me out even though I’m in decent shape) and time of day (especially after lunch, that’s a killer). But I eat a lot of starch and not enough fruits, so maybe that will help me and OP.</p>
<p>I was just gonna tell the OP to accept and embrace it…sleeping is fun.</p>
<p>I don’t snore, so I don’t think it is a medical problem haha…I am getting proper sleep when I actually go to sleep (12am-2am…though I wake up at 6:30am) </p>
<p>I think I’ll try #2 and seee haha I got some OJ. Though, I drink coffee in the daytime, usually never at night</p>
<p>Everyone has different sleep requirements. If you really want to try to solve it, try getting 8 hours of sleep every night for a few weeks. Some people actually require more than 8 hours per night. But, try 8 consistently for a while.</p>
<p>What time of day do you have trouble staying awake in class in?</p>
<p>Many people feel sleepy during “siesta time” (after lunch to a few hours afterward); if this applies to you, try to avoid scheduling classes during that time period.</p>
<p>afternoon…haha drank coffeee today and still fell asleep @_@ I think I’ll just keep increasing the cups…I would get 8 hours of sleep if I could, but honestly it is a little hard for me to get 6…</p>
<p>@princeofparties: seems like you’re not in college yet, you’re gonna have a fun time </p>
<p>I’ve taken a few classes where I honestly spent at least half of the time sleeping. It was either because the subject matter was boring and or the professor had a monotone voice and I wasn’t the only one sleeping in those classes. If it occurs in a class during the afternoon (around lunch time or after you eat lunch), there’s a natural blip in core body temperature (same kind that occurs before you fall asleep at night), that might explain it also.</p>
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