It has reached the point of the semester when school starts to pick up and the nights of studying turn into early mornings. When this happens, we can find ourselves drifting off during class. We have all been there and here are some of the thoughts we have had while falling asleep during class:

“If I blink slowly, I can rest for like five seconds.”

Wait, what just happened? Did I end up closing my eyes for a couple of minutes? But that was a foolproof plan. How could this happen? I was just blinking! It is probably okay, no one even noticed.

“If I just look down the professor will never notice.”

It just looks like I am concentrating on my notes really hard, right? Of course it will, because this is genius. Why do I even need to be in this class anyway? I’ve got this all figured out, I should write a book.

“If I blink enough that will count as sleeping and keep me awake, right?”

Nope, that did not work at all. I just ended up closing my eyes and looking weird in the process. Maybe nobody noticed; maybe it just looked like I got something in my eye. Yes, if anyone asks, I had something in my eye.

“If the professor calls on me, what will be my answer? To make it seem like I’m not sleeping.”

Yes, that’s always a good answer for this class. Or maybe I will just ask her to repeat the question because I do not understand it. That will totally work—but what if it is an easy question? Oh well, I’ll figure out if she calls on me. I’ll be rested anyway and will be thinking better.

“If I rest my head on my hand, I won’t fall asleep.”

I’ll just rest my head here for a couple of minutes. It will be fine; nothing bad can happen. OUCH! Did I just hit my head on the desk? How did that even happen? Did anyone notice? Of course they did, it was a loud bang on the desk.

“If I keep nodding off, does it just look like I am agreeing with what the professor is saying?”

It is a lecture class, so I could just be agreeing with everything the professor is saying. That makes total sense; now I don't have to worry about it looking like I am sleeping. I don't even know what this lecture is about. Wait, what class am I in right now? Oh, it’s Tuesday and this is a history class.

We have all had these thoughts sometimes all together in the same class or we have witnessed people in our classes go through this. Either way, we can all relate. So don't worry; everyone has been there once. Keep hanging in there, and drink some coffee.