We’ve all been there before. There you are, pen in hand, sitting comfortably in a quiet, warm classroom, and listening to the steady cadence of your professor’s voice. Suddenly, however, you find yourself drifting off and away from reality, your eyelids start to flutter and after a while, you open your eyes to realize they were closed and your professor is now staring daggers at you. Indeed, the struggle to stay awake in class is not an easy one.
The most obvious, foolproof solution would be to get enough sleep beforehand, but let’s be real – when is that ever possible? Once every six months? And sometimes, even you do get the perfect eight hours of sleep, you still find yourself fighting to stay awake in class. Another solution would be caffeine, but what do you do when you don’t have caffeine on hand? Here is the guide to one of the most important skills to master as a college student – fighting off sleep in class.
1. Keep drinking water.
Personally my favorite method, drinking water is one way to fight off the Zzz’s. Plus, water can help you lose weight, make your skin glow, be less cranky, and, what do you know, prevent cancer. The only downside, however, is that with all that water intake, you may soon be overwhelmed with the unpleasant sensation of your bladder nearing explosion. With this method, make sure you can access the bathroom!
Image via Pinterest
2. Sit up straight.
Whatever you do, no matter how tempted you are, do not put yourself in a position in which you can easily fall asleep. Try changing your position every now and then so you’re not in the same position for the entire class. Leaning your head back or resting your chin on your hand is comfortable, but sets you up for disaster as you find yourself feeling increasingly drowsy and more susceptible to the claws of sleep.
Image via Lumo Bodytech
3. Hold your breath.
Take in a deep breath of air, hold it in for as long as you are able to, and let it out in one swooping breath. Listen to the pounding of your heart, and then repeat, if necessary. Pretend you are a human in mermaid form swimming in the darkening depths of the ocean.
Image via Mermaid Melissa
4. Eat an apple.
Keep an apple or some healthy snacks in your bag so you can munch away, get energized, and keep your mind off of how sleepy you are.
Image via Pinterest
5. Focus on note taking.
Write as neat as possible, alternate the sizes of the letters, or draw some hamburgers. This may be hard at first, but focusing on something, such as note taking, gives your brain something to hold onto.
Image via Pinterest
6. Think about something. Anything.
Maybe plan the rest of your day, reminisce about the past, think about that special someone or the next series of events in that show you’ve been binging. Think about anything that will keep your mind busy because although you should be paying attention, daydreaming is a whole lot better than falling asleep right in front of your professor!
Image via Discover Magazine
7. Walk out of class.
If all else fails, walk away. Not walk away as in go home and never come back, but walk away as in take a little break. Go to the bathroom or walk around a bit outside to wake yourself up before going back inside to your class.
Image via Pinterest
In a perfect world, we would all be gifted with the supernatural ability to control the needs of our body. We would set up a schedule of when and when it is not appropriate for our stomachs to rumble, bladders to explode, or minds to drift off and life would be beautiful. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, and in a fight between you and sleep, sleep is one mighty opponent. You won’t be able to fight off sleep forever, however, so do make sure you get extra sleep when you can and take short naps between classes to help you get through the day.