Every student has ambitions to perform academically well and excel. This requires one to have dedicated, uninterrupted & focused study time. Even when students have zero distractions, they often find themselves yawning and feeling sleepy while studying.
The educators, at JBM Global which is one of the best schools near sector 137 Noida, walk the students through the ways to optimize their study sessions which help them in their studies in school and at home.
Many academically brilliant students boast about their ability to study for long hours and control sleep while studying. Here are the ways they use to get concentrated hours of deep study with sleepiness at bay. Take a peek!
Now let’s explore 15 effective strategies to help you stay focused and avoid sleep during your study sessions.
The common reason for daytime sleepiness is sleep deprivation. It can be a sign that your body needs rest. Give your body and mind the required recharge with uninterrupted sleep of 7 to 8 hours and replenish energy levels every day.
Ensure you have a bedtime routine in place for quality sleep at night. Switch off your gadgets half an hour before sleep time. Set up a sleep schedule by waking up and sleeping at the same time every day. Also, light stretching, followed by a warm bath at night helps you sleep better.
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Food that contains high fat tends to make one lethargic and sleepy. You can stop having bouts of sleep while studying by consuming a well-balanced diet, nutrient-rich and packed with fibre. Have soups, salads, lentils, and a lot of fruits and green vegetables. If you have a sugar tooth, go for oranges and bananas rather than eating cakes and chocolates. Also, include nuts and seeds in your diet.
It is very easy to miss your water intake when on a tight study schedule during exam time. But the reason why you have trouble concentrating and are getting bouts of sleep can be not having enough water in the system. Ideally, you should drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. Studies indicate that even 1% dehydration can make you experience a 5% decrease in cognitive function. So drink enough water to keep performing at optimal levels.
A power nap of 15-20 minutes can make you feel refreshed and alert. It reduces feelings of stress and improves focus and memory. The window of taking a power nap is usually 3 hours after wake up time and 4 hours before sleep time so that it doesn’t disturb your sleep cycle.
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Stimulate your senses when you feel a sleeping spell coming onto you. Wash your face with cold water and you will immediately feel awake.
Getting up and moving around for a short while can help the blood flow and activate your body and mind to be wide awake. Do 10 minutes, dance to a song or go for a walk. You can even study and revise your lessons while walking.
While studying for long hours, we tend to be too comfortable, revising on the bed, laying down, and more. As our minds associate bed with rest, it is bound to make you feel sleepy.
For better focus, study sitting up with your back straight, shoulders back and chin up, preferably on a desk and chair in well-lit surroundings to keep you awake and focused. If you get too comfortable in your study spot, you can try switching it to somewhere else.
Long hours of study are bound to make you tired and sleepy at a certain point of time. To get your concentration and interest back on track, you can make your study sessions active by doing the following:
This will activate your mind and make you feel awake.
At times, studying alone can become uninteresting but when preparing with a friend who has the same goals, study time can be exciting. You can help each other in staying motivated to reach your study goals, play quizzes, discuss your doubts and difficulties.
Also Read: What is the Daily Routine of a Student?
When studying for long hours throughout the day, you are going to feel drowsy at a point. Use Pomodoro technique to balance study with breaks and increase your productivity.
It involves 25-minute stretches of focused work, divided by five-minute breaks. Begin each study session with a clear objective in mind. Break big chunks of study material in small chunks and gulp them in each energetic 25-min slot.
Tackle tough subjects in the morning when you are much more energetic to take on the challenges and reserve night time for revisions and easy study that is light and interesting. It will help you be productive in your studies tremendously and will keep sleep at bay.
We also tend to feel drowsy during a study session due to a lack of challenging or interesting topics for us or maybe the subject is too challenging that students lose heart. To encourage oneself to take on the task either way, use affirmations and bring on your A game. They set a tone for positive self-talk which inspires action.
You can use affirmations such as :
A sure-shot way to control sleep while studying is choosing to light up your study space as dull light such as yellow light tends to induce sleep. Blues and whites of LED lights that mimic daylight are the best for productive study sessions. They will keep you attentive and alert. At night, use red and orange lights to study so that you get sound sleep later on.
Blast your headphones with some energetic tunes that wake you up out of your stupor. Play some good study music after to improve your concentration. Upbeat music will help you beat the sleep and study soundly.
Studying one subject for long hours is bound to make you lose interest. When you start to feel sleepy doing one subject, hop onto another one for a while to get your energy and alertness back on track. Shuffle, learn, and revise.
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These tips will help you study well during your exams and keep your sleepiness away. Study hard, and study smart to acquire more and more knowledge.
JBM Global is one of the top schools in Noida that helps students optimize their learning through active learning. We ensure interactive teaching sessions and help students develop tools to do self-study effectively.
You can stop feeling sleepy while studying by washing your face, listening to upbeat music, taking a walk, doing active learning, using affirmations, taking a power nap, getting quality sleep at night, having a balanced diet, shuffling between subjects, and more.
The common reasons you feel sleepy while studying can be sleep deprivation, studying in bed, studying for long hours, consuming food high in fats, and more.