why do i get sleepy in class?
 

first a little background...

up till a year ago, i had pretty bad sleep apnea and was nodding off on a regular basis throughout the day.

i got a sleep machine (basically a fan that blows up my nose to keep my breathing regular) and for about 9 months now i've felt great, with plenty of energy.

anyway, i hadn't been to school in about 20 years. i started a new class last week and i feel like i have a whole new perspective on school. instead of dreading it, i was looking forward to learning the subject and meeting the other students. i was really excited about it.

the night before i got plenty of rest, woke up fresh, got a good coffee and breakfast and showed up 20 minutes early.

then to my chagrin, about 90 minutes into the class, i started feeling drowsy and nodding off. it was alarming! i really didn't want to but couldn't help it.

it was just like i remembered when i had apnea, but i know for a fact it wasn't the same thing.

whats going on? am i breathing wrong or is there not enough air in class? am i getting bored subconsciously?

and what can i do to combat this sleepy feeling?

You're probably sleep deprived.

It's a common misconception that boredom like this will make you sleepy. In most cases, boredom makes you restless—unless you're sleep deprived.

A single night's sleep won't have a far-reaching effect on you if you're sleep depreived. Do some research on "sleep debt," but be sure to look at legitimate resources, as there is much misinformation out there about it.

Get more sleep. You said you had sleep apnea. What's the status on that? Are you sure it's not related?

How much sleep do you get nightly on average? Most people need at least 7 to 8 or so hours per night (a few of us need as much as 9 or 10). Very few can go below 7 and not have some kind of status that can be considered sleep deprivation. Many people now have at least some low-grade sleep-deprived status. It's becoming common. We're not sleeping enough.

Unlike Baraka, I'm going to assume that you know what you're talking about when you say that the apnea is under control and not the cause of this problem.

So that leads me to the body's natural rythems. If this class is in the morning, it could be that you need a break around that time, and your heart rate drops because of it. That can cause drowsiness. Also, intense focus can also cause drowsiness, especially if you're approaching one of those times a day that your body wants a rest.

Sleep usually matters two days later when it comes to performance. The night before is important but not as important as two nights before. Anything unusual there?

I'm not sure if this is a one-off or a regular occurrence for this class. If it's a regular thing, perhaps you can excuse yourself to the bathroom to get your heart rate back up. If it's a one-off, see what happens next class.

Time of day can definitely impact my alertness, especially when it came to class setups.

If the room was dark with a projector and it was an afternoon class, I would be struggling to stay alert. 9am in the morning, absolutely no problem whatsoever.

Also, what is the room temperatue in the classroom? Are you taking notes or just passively listening?

The more I did to stay engaged in the class, the better luck I had.

i've felt like a million bucks since i started using the machine. but to be honest, i usually only sleep about 6 hours a night. i've always been that way.

i never knew that 2 night rule before. i can't remember if last thursday was particularly restless but i know last night i got good rest... so i'll make sure i get good rest tonight with an extra hour if i can swing it and see if that helps. to be fair i only have done the one class.

and i do have to get up a couple hours earlier than i'm used to for class so that natural rhythm might be a factor.

i'll look up that sleep debt; sounds like a interesting read.

I may get my wrist slapped for not knowing anything about anything here . . . but if your breakfast boost has run out and you need a blood sugar rush, how about a snack bar, a pack of lifesavers, anything to get a quick dose of glucose into you while you're in class? Thermos of sweetened coffee/tea? Bottle of fruit juice in your pack? I know, the sugar rush leads to a crash 'n burn, but by then you may be at a lunch break where you can get another dose of real food, a 10 minute period of restful eyes closed meditation, a peek in a good book to reset your mental state . . .

How bright is the classroom lighting?
I've experienced extreme fatigue in overly bright rooms.
Just one idea.

Over-illumination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

we go between average lighting and darkness depending on if we're being shown something on the projector so far. i hadn't thought of snacking either. i don't snack much away from home but that might help keep me going. i have to figure out something; i like the teacher and don't want him to think he's boring me at all.

So, I also have sleep apnea (OMG, breathing machine is awesome, right? I didn't think anything would be worth having to sleep like Darth Vader, but there is no underestimating a good night's sleep, is there?!), and I know just what you're talking about, and I've done a lot of playing with the mix.

First off, anytime I've got something important in the morning, I always try to get to bed a little earlier than normal, because extra sleep really does help.

Second, don't underestimate the natural rhythm factor. I am, biologically, very very much not a morning person. So I know that when I have to get up at the hairy ass-crack of dawn for stuff, I need to prepare. Not only going to bed earlier, but also, drinking some caffeine in the morning (though I've managed to cut way, way down on my overall caffeine intake).

And though I'm usually a light breakfaster if it's a weekday, if it's really early, I eat a good breakfast. This is totally key: eggs and oatmeal. Not together in the same dish, but having the two for breakfast. I have a couple of scrambled eggs and a dish of steel-cut oatmeal (raisins, little splash of maple syrup, half a pat of butter, pinch of salt-- no milk, no sugar, nothing else) and a couple of vegetarian breakfast sausages, and I swear to you, not only am I energized and good to go, but I don't get hungry or snacky at all until at least four o'clock. Breakfast of champions, my hand to God.

Finally, drink a lot. It wasn't until my doctor told me that I had to drink way more water than I was drinking (and it wasn't like I was going around thirsty) that I figured out the full range of benefits from being well hydrated. Personally, I like a little flavor in my beverage, so I mostly drink Crystal Light from my water bottle-- nice flavor, no calories or carbs or anything, no carbonation, and the flavorings don't impede maximum hydration. On an average, not too hot day, I probably go through a 25 ounce bottle of that stuff every couple of hours, not including what I drink with meals or snacks, and not including what I drink during/after exercise.

My whole fourth year of rabbinical school I was falling asleep in classes and other places. Once I got the machine, figured out that I needed more sleep than I thought I needed, and started balancing my energy with the right kinds of food and lots of hydration, I was awake and involved in every class, and my classroom teaching sharpened up-- my whole life changed.

I think you're just bored (combined with sleep deprived = nodding off). I didn't pay attention to most of my classes in college (just studied the books) because the professors didn't know how to teach, they were there for research. I'm not saying you should ignore classes but I got by with a pretty high average.

Most people don't realize teaching is a really difficult skill.

Congratulations on going back to school, high_jinx. I'm jealous.

My dad suffers from sleep apnea, and used one of those machines, I think, for about a year and a half before he got sick of it and decided to try something else. That something else was to radically change his diet. He went from McDonalds a few times a week to the South Beach diet. Fast forward a few months and he was sleeping a lot better. He joined a gym and started doing regular aerobic exercise and it got better still. He's still overweight, but diet and exercise really did help him.

Do you eat well and get plenty of exercise? While it's not a universal cure for everything, eating well and exercising can really help to raise energy levels, among many other things.

Hello High_Jinx, i was just wondering can you feel when you're in a dozing off state? I know for me I can tell when I'm in that mood, so i also try to find triggers to get me out of that state. IDK if it's work for you but, it works for me sometimes when i know i need to refocus.

Hah, TnA always woke me up.

Funniest thing for me was that several of my professors would comment on that out loud as a joke (it was usually funny, except this one time I was super focused on a girl a prof called me on it...)