How to Stay Awake During Lessons
Imagine yourself in your classes, focusing intently on what your teacher has shared with the group. You can hear the teacher’s monotonous voice, and gradually, your eyes begin to get heavy. Have you ever had this experience before? Although many students would feel bad for responding “yes” to the question, there’s no need to be embarrassed. Students often find themselves nodding off during class, and this is especially true with online courses.
Even in the days before the pandemic, when schools were still physically present, it was not unusual to witness certain students nodding off during class. This is a result of lectures simply lasting far too long. Though prevalent, it’s also widely known that engaging in such behavior in class—whether in person or virtually—is not a recommended practice and may have an adverse effect on your grades if you overlook some of the lesson’s key points. It may also be detrimental to your rapport with your tutor or teacher. Do not worry if you frequently nod off in class. We’ve put together a list of suggestions to assist you stay awake in class and steer clear of this issue.
Table of Contents
What are the reasons students fall asleep in lessons?
In addition to the previously mentioned lecture length being too long for students’ attention span, there are additional elements that play a role in why students nod off or have difficulty staying awake in class. These could include working a part-time job after school, staying up late studying or doing other activities, or even eating a large meal before class. One other reason people may take online classes is that they are in a very cozy setting, such as their beds, where they can associate napping.
How to stay awake during lessons?
With the reasons we’ve mentioned, it seems that staying awake in class may be harder than you think. Well, that isn’t always the case. There are also measures you can take to help you stay awake and not doze off.
1. Eat a good meal
Going to class without eating is never a smart idea. Not eating can be distracting in addition to depriving yourself of energy for the lessons, particularly if you start to feel peckish during class. On the other hand, overindulging in food right before class is also not a smart choice.
After an extremely rich meal, postprandial somnolence, also referred to as “food coma,” is a condition in which one feels drowsy and exhausted. But this doesn’t always happen after meals—just the large ones, particularly if they’re high in carbs. You might be asking why this occurs at this point. This has to do with the chemical process occurring in your brain. When you eat a meal high in carbohydrates, your insulin levels will rise, allowing tryptophan—the amino acid known for its sedative properties—to enter your brain. Tryptophan first converts to serotonin, then to melatonin, which causes drowsiness. This explains why, after a large lunch, you could feel drowsy in class. As a student, you should eat a balanced meal that includes fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and protein. This will keep your energy up while avoiding drowsiness from food.
2. Get light snacks
Some benefits come with taking classes virtually these days that might not be available in traditional classroom settings. When the lessons start to get too exhausting for you, snacks like chocolate or chocolates with a high sugar content can give you the energy boost you need. These sugary foods can provide you with the energy boost you need, but they also tend to make you feel lethargic afterward. The person may have energy crashes and feel much more exhausted than they did before consuming those sweet foods.
If you wish to snack in class but don’t want to experience any energy crashes, we suggest snacking on food like nuts, yogurt, fruits, and even bread. These foods are high in glucose, which can help you stay awake and alert during your lesson. However, it should be noted that energy boosts may take a while to kick in.
3. Bring some mints
There is another option that is more covert but still keeps you alert in class if you are not allowed to nibble during lectures. Menthol is one of the reasons mints help you stay alert and focused. It’s not just food that contains menthol when it comes to consuming mint (or mint candies). In addition to ingesting it, mint helps stimulate the mind, making you feel more alert and focused for class.
4. Make sure to stay hydrated
Another factor that may be contributing to your exhaustion and drowsiness in class is dehydration. Your body needs fluids to support several bodily processes, including blood flow, which supplies oxygen to the brain. Dehydration can also cause you to lose electrolytes, which are essential for maintaining basic processes. Dehydration can cause weariness, dizziness, and muscle weakness. Therefore, rehydrating and drinking water can also help someone feel refreshed and refocus on the lesson. That being said, the next time you attend class, would you mind bringing a water bottle?
5. Drink some green tea
Some people who used to drink coffee have turned to drinking green tea for a reason. Research has demonstrated that green tea provides greater benefits than coffee in terms of increasing energy levels. With less caffeine than coffee, green tea might provide you with an energy boost. Furthermore, consuming green tea won’t cause you to experience energy crashes following energy increases, in contrast to coffee and other sugary drinks. Consequently, it can also help you prevent food coma by clearing your palate and keeping you full throughout the day. This will allow you to eat less during meals.
6. Get a good night’s sleep
Even though this is a really obvious tip, we’re still listing it. Even though it might seem evident, far too many people fail to recognize the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep. Additionally, it’s not unusual for students to put off going to bed in favor of engaging in other hobbies like gaming or watching movies. Some even believe that since classes are conducted virtually, they may be able to extend their bedtime enough to attend their classes. Nevertheless, the outcomes might remain the same whether they do it online or not—they will most likely still nod off in class due to insufficient sleep.
It’s recommended for growing people to get approximately 7-9 hours of sleep for the body to function properly the next day. Aside from getting those hours of sleep, it should also be consistent. A sleep schedule is just as important as every other schedule. It will help train your body clock to signal when to wake up and when it’s time to sleep.
7. Take cold showers before lessons
For the simple reason that getting up in the morning to take a cold shower doesn’t actually present a very good rationale, cold showers are not very popular among students. But we’re here to explain why, contrary to popular belief, having a cold shower can help you stay awake longer. Taking a cold shower right after waking up will help you feel more awake and aware. It makes you feel as though you are more alert by raising blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. Besides, we guarantee that the cold water will immediately wake you up if you wake up feeling drowsy.
8. Take notes during lessons
Taking notes will not only help you in studying for the lesson but also help keep your focus on the lecturer. When you are focused on the lesson and what the lecturer is saying, there are fewer chances of you falling asleep or your attention straying. It also engages your brain and helps you pay attention and write down the important details of the lesson and relevant information you may need for your tests.
Conclusion
You’re not the only one who finds yourself losing interest in or focusing on anything else throughout class. You are also not alone if you find yourself nodding off during lengthy lectures. You can focus effectively for 10 minutes on average, so it’s natural for your attention to wander or even go off to sleep.
Even though it’s common, you shouldn’t just accept it. As we’ve already shown, if you lose concentration or begin to nod off, you can miss some of the lessons. It may impact your grades and your relationship with your teacher and tutor. With the tips we’ve mentioned above, we hope that they can help you stay awake and maximize the time spent on learning.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
