Introduction:
Sleep is a natural phenomenon that gives rest to the entire body system and thus keeps us fresh for the rest of the day. Typically, a healthy human requires seven to nine hours of sleep every night to stay fresh and function better. However, sleep duration varies from person to person, and different age groups need different hours of sleep. For example, children and teenagers need more sleep. And it is known that with age, sleep demand decreases.
What Are the Best Tips to Avoid Sleep While Studying?
During examinations, the body and mind feel more stressed, but at the same time, students need more hours to study to perform their best and excel in this competitive world. Most children feel more comfortable while studying at night. The common problem they face, whether studying at night or in the morning, is sleep. This happens for two main reasons: the lack of interest and the other is studying for too long at a single stretch. However, several remedial measures can help avoid feeling sleepy while studying. Let us read them one by one.
-
Choose the Right Kind of Lighting: It plays a major role in keeping a person brisk. Studying using a table lamp or a single light alone in a dark or dim room triggers the brain to look for a more cozy environment and ultimately hit the bed. Hence, use a bright light that lightens the whole room.
-
Use a Chair Rather Than a Bed: A bed is meant to make the body lie comfortably and sleep. Do not study sitting on the bed as it will make one feel sleepy again. Sitting on a chair allows a better body position and keeps one active. It is advisable to keep moving the body parts at regular intervals while sitting on a chair for long hours as the body tends to go dormant if seated in the same position for too long.
-
Avoid Heavy Meals and Eat the Right Food: What and how much one eats affects energy levels. While eating a sugary snack or junk food while studying may be tempting, it does not help to stay awake. Instead, switch to a diet of small but frequent meals. Choose a nutrient-rich meal containing protein (lentils, beans, poultry, peanut butter, and tofu), a complex carbohydrate (fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans), and a source of healthy fat (avocado, salmon, eggs, and nuts) to stay energized and alert.
-
Consume More Water: Water plays a very vital role in the overall health of an individual. However, it also has a trick involved in it. Drinking a lot of water increases urine output; hence, one tends to use the washroom often at frequent intervals, which keeps the body moving and, thus, active and alert. It also hydrates the body and mind, increasing the brain's memory and understanding ability.
-
Get a Good Quality Sleep: This method provides enough sleep to the body and brain and, thus, keeps one fresh. A fresh mind increases concentration and helps to grasp information in a better way.
-
Take Power Naps: When studying for long hours or the whole day, taking a short nap in the afternoon is advisable, which will refresh the brain, enhance long-term memory, increase creativity, better logical reasoning, and improve cognitive performance.
-
Keep Moving: Studying for long hours in the same position can make the body dormant. Hence, it is advisable to give frequent movements to the body. Otherwise, one tends to feel drowsy. Therefore, take short breaks every 30 to 50 minutes to do activities such as walking, dancing, or jumping jacks.
-
Read Out Loud: It keeps one more active. Listening to your voice increases captivation and memory power. In addition, one can try as if you are teaching to teach the syllabus or material to a classmate, friend, or study group.
-
Do Writing Practices: Visualizing the book or studying only by reading silently or looking at it makes it monotonous and can make a person sleepy. Writing is also a movement that keeps one active and helps to recall whatever you have studied.
-
Create a Study Strategy: Keep rotating or changing the topics while studying to avoid monotony with the topic. This will also bring a change in brain activity and helps to get active again and concentrate on another topic. Also, avoid studying difficult topics at night because biologically, one tends to be sleepy at night. Hence, learning difficult topics or solving challenging problems at night is not advisable. Keep them for the morning hours. Read or do simple, short, interesting topics in the night.
-
Practice Yoga and Meditation: Meditation is an efficient way of enhancing concentration levels. It is advised that students should meditate for at least 20 minutes a day to stay concentrated. It also helps them maintain calm throughout the day. Yoga is also beneficial in improving breathing and helps in faster blood circulation. Moreover, doing yoga for at least 15 to 20 minutes daily improves physical and mental health.
-
Avoid Alcohol: Avoid taking alcohol. It can make a person feel drowsy by limiting oxygen flow to the brain. In addition, people often tend to get a hangover the following day, interrupting their studying, focusing, and memorizing abilities.
-
Drink Minimal Coffee: Although coffee is an energy booster, consuming more than 600 mg of caffeine daily can cause delayed sleeping at night. So, the students should drink less coffee to boost the preparation journey and help them stay active while studying.
Conclusion:
Many students feel sleepy or very tired while studying. As a result, their effectiveness in learning reduces, resulting in decreased performance. Many students struggle with this issue. However, it can be easily sorted using various approaches. There are ways to boost wakefulness and avoid sleeping in the middle of a study session. The solution is to adopt healthy practices, such as staying hydrated, eating well-balanced meals, exercising, creating a study strategy, and prioritizing sleep whenever possible.
