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How To Stay Awake In Class With Some Outstanding Tips!
Pulling an all-nighter may appear gallant at first. But as soon as the morning comes and the adrenaline subsides, you may feel a bit unstable on your feet. Somehowremaining awake in class appears more challenging for students than staying up all night.
No matter how much you try to stay awake and attentive in class, you cannot pull it off after a night out. Sleeping in class is not a good practice if you wish to score more marks without spoiling your hard-made image in front of the teacher.
For tips on- How to stay awake in class or in any location that needs your attention, consider the subsequent strategies.
Why do we fall asleep in class?
Numerous factors come into play when you feel like sleeping in the class. Your body has an inner clock that functions when you are awake and when your body requires rest. This is called the circadian rhythm.
A compound referred to as “adenosine” also has a role. The level of this compound rises when you are awake and resumes to expand the longer you are awake. This alleviating level of adenosine causes a shift toward sleep. The body breaks down this compound when you eventually go to sleep.
When you do not receive enough sleep, you stock a sleep debt. If the sleep debt becomes too high, you may feel like sleeping in class.
The issue, of course, is that sleeping in class will lead to poor academic performance. Additionally, dozing off while an important activity or event can grow into a routine that you may carry into different areas of your life (e.g., during important gatherings or your career that needs your participation).
In this article, you will come across 17 simple techniques to feel energized and open-eyed while studying in class.
How to stay awake in class
1. Avoid consuming a large meal before your class
After consuming a large meal, most individuals have undergone the infamous “food coma.” This leads to a feeling of heaviness that depletes your energy. This occurs because the body discharges chemicals signaling tiredness after eating. This is especially true if you eat specific foods, such as those high in carbs.
Carbohydrates liberate more serotonin from your brain, which causes you to feel good. However, overly production of serotonin can boost melatonin production, causing drowsiness. Essentially, not all meals have an identical impact on the body. While some meals can boost your energy, others may make you fall asleep.
Also, assigning your body to digest a big meal is exhausting. Consuming large portions—particularly unhealthy foods—will leave the body with low energy to utilize elsewhere. You can maintain a steady energy level by consuming smaller meals more often. This provides your body the option to digest smaller quantities of food at a time. That, in turn, leaves you feeling energized rather than tired after the meals.
Prevent heavy meals and opt for nutritious, balanced meals instead. A nutritious meal before the class could incorporate fruit, vegetables, healthy fats, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates. A great example of a healthy breakfast to have before your class would be a cup of Greek yogurt topped with 1/4 cup of berries and sprinkled with bran flakes.
2. Sleep the night before an important class.
Students who nap in class usually skip sleeping the night earlier. Obtaining enough sleep is the first line of security for remaining awake in class. Make sure to sleep tight if you had an introductory class the other day. Nearly eight hours of sleep is adequate for most people to get through the day, but the body might need more.
Sustaining a regular sleep schedule by heading to bed at an exact time every night will prepare your body to understand when it requires sleep and when to awaken. Permit yourself time to rest before running to bed by keeping away the phone, TV, homework, or other things that may keep your brain active. Getting sufficient high-quality sleep can relieve daytime exhaustion.
3. Take a shower before the class
Showering allows you to feel rejuvenated and revives your senses. The warm water from the shower increases the body temperature. This also raises your circulation and heart rate so that blood circulates your body quicker. Finally, it allows the delivery of oxygen to your essential organs so that your body can function at an ideal level of efficiency.
For an additional boost of energy, complete your shower with an explosion of cold water. When exposed to cold water, the veins and arteries constrict, which lets your blood flow at more elevated pressure, signifying that the circulation increases. The cold water will likewise help wake you up due to the shock it gives your body, compelling you to breathe deeply. This will improve your oxygen intake, resulting in you being more mentally sharp.
4. How to stay awake in class by having some mints.
The refreshing scent of mint can wake your senses and hold you alert throughout the class. When you consume a mint, its menthol component exhilarates your senses and evokes the hippocampus part of the brain, which instantly influences your mental memory and clarity. The clean scent activates your mind to wake up and attend the class.
Studies have discovered that people who are revealed to peppermint grow more alert and less exhausted, have an improved sense of motivation, and evolve less irritable. Studies have also discovered that peppermint delays the departure of cortisol and can keep individuals calm by restricting the discharge of this stress hormone without letting them sleep.
5. Drink enough water, and carry a bottle to your class
Dehydration induces tiredness and sluggishness. Each cell in the body requires water to operate perfectly, and a lack of body water hinders various procedures. The blood concentration becomes dense due to a shortage of fluid, which causes the decrease of plasma in your blood, making your heart function harder to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body. Since more energy is required for blood circulation, you undergo weakness and exhaustion.
Secondly, a drop in hydration level is typically escorted by a shortage of electrolytes. These are chemical ions present in the bloodstream and perform a vital role in controlling your fluid levels, nerve reactions, and muscle function. An imbalance in electrolytes leads to exhaustion and fatigue, muscle deficiency, lightheadedness, and an uneven heartbeat.
Expand your water intake by intentionally taking drinks of water across the day. Furthermore, control dehydration and make sure you are taking a water bottle with you to class.
6. Munch on a light snack
If the teacher permits you to eat in class, you can fetch some light snacks too. Glucose offers a quick energy boost if you are feeling tired. A sugary snack is enough to give you a fast boost of energy. But it is followed by a crash in energy, which will leave you feeling more tired than you did prior to eating the snack.
Select a healthy snack that can keep you full and won’t generate a spike in blood sugar levels. Some valuable options include carrots with hummus, yogurt with almonds, and an apple with peanut butter. Healthy protein and fat will help give you enduring energy.
7. Don’t get too warm
Feeling warm and cozy leads to sleepiness. Typically, your body expends energy to maintain a consistent temperature, but your body has to work overtime to keep you cool when you get warm. This requires your heart rate and metabolic rate to increase, and this extra effort can make you feel sleepy.
Further, we often associate being warm or cozy, and coziness drives us to sleep. This psychological connection is more powerful than one may think. When you link something strongly to a feeling, such as sleep and comfort, it becomes easy for your brain to react accordingly by beginning to shut down when you grow warm.
8. Innovatively take notes
Speaking of different note-taking strategies, doodling has been demonstrated to be an effective way to hold focus and memorize. Doodling stops you from totally losing interest when you require to pay attention. This is because it needs enough brainpower to stop you from daydreaming, but not sufficient to make you lose focus.
In other words, doodling enables you to focus your attention and stay engaged instead of zoning out.
Doodling will also help you discover solutions to questions. Doodling is supposed to activate parts of the brain that assist you in analyzing knowledge in unique ways. Even if you are drawing on the bottom or corner of your paper, you are activating unexplored networks in your brain and contending with new and diverse information. Doing this will lead you to develop a unique solution to a problem.
9. How to stay awake in class by taking a quick walk.
Excuse yourself from the ongoing class and head to the bathroom. The brief stroll will help keep you open-eyed—not only because it gets you moving but also because there is a change in the environment for 2 to 5 minutes which helps your brain stay active.
Physical activity alerts or signals your brain that sleep is not the right time. Get the blood pumping a little bit to improve your sense of alertness. Sitting in one position for too long delays your blood circulation and negatively impacts your state of mind.
You can also try physical activities as a preventive step before heading to class. Take the stairs rather than using the elevator on your way to class. That increases your heart rate and provides you with some energy.
10. How to stay awake in class by sitting in the front row
Sitting in the front row lets you become more involved in the lecture. Same as when you are doodling or taking notes, seating in the front row of the class will keep your brain focused on what your teacher is communicating. And less on how exhausted you are.
Furthermore, you will likely be worried about getting scolded by the teacher for sleeping in class, so you will energetically keep your eyes wide open.
It is also more manageable to pay attention and partake in class when sitting in the front row. You will probably be sitting near students who are actively partaking in class. Listening to their voices may help keep you open-eyed.
11. How to stay awake in class by drinking green tea
Green tea contains properties that elevate your energy without the uneasiness others encounter when they drink coffee. It has approximately one-third the quantity of caffeine as coffee does, so it does not offer you that immediate rush of energy tracked by a crash. Green tea furthermore contains L-theanine, an amino acid that provides you with a feeling of calm and alertness.
Drinking green tea can also keep you satiated. This stops you from eating a large meal that will make you exhausted later. It will deliver you a constant stream of energy across the day. The action of sipping on your cup of green tea throughout your class will uphold your body engagement.
12. How to stay awake in class using isochronic tones
If your class teacher allows it, listen to specific brain-entrainment tunes to keep watchful and stay attentive. Hearing to isochronic tones is a quick and useful audio-based way to stimulate the brain. These voices can help you enhance your focus, improve your energy levels, and obtain a sound sleep without using any drugs or unique pieces of equipment.
Hearing isochronic tones guides your brainwave shifting to a separate frequency. This lets you change your mental state and how you are feeling. Some people notify feeling more attentive and having an increased ability to concentrate while watching videos having isochronic tones.
13. Use essential oils to raise your energy and perk you up
Essential oils have effects that keep you full of energy. The best aspect of oils is that they do not have adverse effects of palpitations, trembling, and heartburn that some people convey when consuming coffee. Inhaling essential oils can provide you with a speedy burst of energy that you require to stay awake in the class.
One of the most well-known essential oils employed to improve alertness or focus is rosemary. Peppermint and grapefruit essential oils are also widespread choices. Keep small bottles of essential oils in your bag. Use them in the middle of the daytime if you require a quick pick-me-up.
14. How to stay awake in class with simple stretches
Stretching helps reset the nervous system and boosts blood flow, providing you a quick boost of energy. Stretching is particularly significant to perform during class if you cannot get up or move around. You can do a few simple stretches in the seat itself.
Stretching triggers your energy reserves and assists you to breathe deeper, providing your body with surplus oxygen to deliver to your essential organs.
15. Splash water on your face (the simplest of all)
If you can get away for a moment, cleaning your face is a practical approach to staying attentive in class. The human body offers a quick reaction when it comes in contact with cold water. Water functions as a stimulation for your skin and brain. As a result, water will help to wake you.
16. How to stay awake in class with a bit of caffeine
Drinking a cup or two of tea, coffee, or different caffeinated drinks can be a straightforward but effective thrust to your senses. But what is the amount of caffeine you require to be attentive? It differs from one person to another or your sensitivity to the drink you are consuming.
Mayo Clinic mentions that approximately 400 milligrams of caffeine each day — roughly the amount you’d see in four cups of coffee — is generally surplus to keep you awake and watchful.
Coffee can occasionally cause higher spikes in energy levels and lower descents when the caffeine unravels off, so caffeinated tea might have a relatively milder, more uniform effect than coffee.
Without sugar, tea or coffee is also a more nutritious alternative than high-caffeine and sweetened energy drinks. A 16-ounce energy beverage loads a lot of calories (more than two times as much caffeine as a standard cup of coffee)
17. How to stay awake in class by participating
Writing notes or partaking in the classroom discussion being actively engaged will help keep you from sleeping during a class.
You might require to settle your mind more during the class, so take suitable notes. They can be comments or questions on the course if there are no facts to write down.
If the lecture permits questions and conversations, be a student who raises a hand to ask questions and keeps the discussion going.
How to stay awake in class- Final Words
You may not know this, but a person’s average attention span stays for as long as 10 minutes. However, full-class lectures will last more prolonged than this. The average class duration is at least 30 minutes.
It is understandable to fall asleep in classes where the professor is not conscious of this fact or decides to ignore it. The suggestions on how to stay awake in class given in this article act as a guide to help you stay focused and maximize your learning during the class. This also helps you eliminate the extra time you require to study for exams.
Try a couple of the given suggestions for your following few classes where you tend to fall asleep and note what happens.
Note: If you feel sleepy or tired in class because you are not well, it may be better to let yourself be absent for one to two days and rest.
That was- How to stay awake in class. Also, to motivate you to stay attentive during class hours, try rewarding yourself once you make it through the class without feeling tired or sleepy. The way you handle things and behave in class may significantly impact your lifestyle or career. So, handle things wisely.
