I have been falling asleep a lot when I don't want to, lately. Any suggestions on preventing it?

Question

Ok, for some reason, when I am jam packed with a lot of homework to do, I start working on it and get really tired. Then I'll sit down to cool off and just fall asleep. Even when I study I'll fall asleep. I am pretty sure it's the fact that I am looking at the massive amounts of homework as opposed to the one small individual assignment. This has occured very frequently lately, and I keep falling asleep during the day as opposed to at night, forcing me to stay up pretty late, and thus making it even worse.

I also fall asleep in class, which isn't good. When we are reading a story out of the text book, I find it hard to keep up with the speaker, because I either read too fast or too slow. And because I can't listen and read at the same time, it's hard for me, so my body completely shuts down.

It's gotten really bad lately, and I am not finding time to do what I need and want to do, and a bunch of time just slacking off and wandering.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

Don't try to work on everything all at once , because such a massive workload is intimidating! It'll make you want to avoid it until the last minute. Write down a list and prioritize what needs to be done first. What do you do when you slack off? I would go on AIM or myspace and waste hours just talking to people or surfing the internet. If you do something out of habit and it's taking too much out of your study time, try to regulate your usage. You can even use it as part of a reward system. Tell yourself that if you finish your first assignment on your list, you'll allow yourself to spend 30 minutes doing whatever it is you like. If you're tired, take a nap for less than an hour. If you sleep longer than that (say a few hours), you'll wake up only to feel unmotivated and sluggish.

Hopefully you aren't really a narcoleptic and the reason you're falling asleep is because you've accumulated sleep debt.
Take the hours you're awake during the day and divide that number by half. That number is how long you should sleep to "pay off" your sleep debt. Now if you continuously miss your sleep payments, you'll amass a large debt. That's why you can sleep for a ridiculous amount of hours on some days and only a few hours for other days. Caffeine is a stimulant and will keep you awake. You should never use caffeine or energy drinks to replace sleep. If you don't like drinking energy drinks, tea, coffee, etc. try caffeine pills.

I've been a procrastinator ever since high school and at some point each year, my mind and body would get worn down to the point where I feel drowsy every day. I've stayed up late just to finish homework and major assignments. I've gone to school a couple of times without sleeping at all. I graduated as a saludatorian last Summer. Good luck to you until you graduate!

Answer 2

You are lacking some vitamin more than likely. Lots of things can cause you to feel this way. Unusual sleep habits would be my #1 guess, maybe a vitamin deficiency, poor diet, stress etc. Lots of things added up can do it. You should first go to bed by 10 or earlier. I know I know, that is to early for a young person, but obviously you need to. Don't take naps during the day, it will keep you from sleeping at night. Get yourself some Vitamin B Complex, not vitamin 12 or just B but the "B COMPLEX" it has all of the B's which make energy.
Why don't you just try an experiment for a week and see if it makes you feel better.
1. eat good food, no junk
2. drink plenty of water, (a lot)
3. don't drink alcohol(not implying you do)
4. do your homework early and go to bed by 9:30 or 10 at the latest.
5. Take the Vitamin B Complex in the mornings
6. eat breakfast, even if it is just toast & chocolate milk!
7. try to do some type of activity, walk the block, do a treadmill maybe you get exercise at school I don't know.
8. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!
It could be as simple as that, however you may have a condition of some kind. I know that thyroid disease is becoming more common, I have it. It will ZAP you of your energy, you will gain weight, loose hair and not even realize what's going on. The more you sleep the more you want to sleep. You should go have some tests if the simple change of sleep habit and vitamins do not work! Alcohol will drain you as well as smoking to. I'm not promoting caffiene cause it can cause headaches if you don't get it it is addicting in other words. But if you must drink a soda at lunch for energy maybe aglass of tea of coffee at breakfast. Cokes are bad, but they are so goood aren't they!!!!
Would you do me a favor and let me know if this helped.

Answer 3

Be in sync with the rest of the world, like sleep during the nite and study and work and activity for the day. instead you are doing it the opposite way and missing out on all the goodness the day has to offer. You also may be lacking in vitamins and balanced good meals which should be eaten regularly and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegg and lots of water to flush the toxins. Also empty the bowels once a day regularly. You are falling asleep because you lack energy that comes from good food that your body requires for sustiance.

Answer 4

Caffeine....or take a small nap (30-40 min) during the day. This way you do not sleep too much and still able to sleep at night.

When doing homework, take breaks. My homework is SO boring. If I did it for hours straight, I would get sleepy. I take a 30 min break, watch a show, then hit the books again. It must work, I have a 4.0 GPA and made the deans list.

Answer 5

Try drinking more water, when you're dehydrated it tires you out. I used to fall asleep all the time when I would get 81/2 hours of sleep. But i started drinking more water and it made me feel a little energized. Oh, and a red bull here and there helps too. Oh and try not to study for hours at a time, spread the homework out throughout the day and give yourself lots of mini breaks, not only will it not tire you out as much, it will also help you retain the information better.

Answer 6

Try eating Vegetables and Fruits. Take a Daily Multi-Vitamin. You might force yourself to drink more WATER and much less Soda (if you are) I doubt it is the homework that is making you sleep. You probably have a diet that is too low in what you need to be healthy.

Answer 7

You need to see a doctor. You could have something as serious as narcolepsy(uncontrolled falling asleep) or maybe sleep apnea(stopping breathing while sleeping which interferes with your normal sleep pattern. There are many other things that are less serious but anytime you fall asleep when you don't want to, it is time to see a professional. One of these times, you might fall asleep while driving. See your doctor.

Answer 8

Maybe you should try taking a nap before you start your work. Setting an alarm for about a good 30 to 45 minutes should help out alot.

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

You maybe aren't getting enough rest? If that isn't the case then go get a check up. Could be blood sugar, or low thyroid.