Reading and getting sleepy or sleeping when trying to read is a very common problem faced by students and non-students, it happens even to the very best scholars we know.
This is to say that almost everyone is in the battle to improve or build good reading habits.
To some people, you can activate sleep for them, simply by giving them a book to read. This sounds funny, right? Yet it happens especially for people reading at night.
Many times I have seen people on social media and online forums complaining and asking the following questions:
“Why do I get sleepy when I read or study?
“How to read at night without falling asleep”
“How to stay awake while reading textbooks”
“Why does reading makes me sleepy?”
If you ever asked any of the questions above, don’t worry as this guide is specially baked for you…
I know pretty much that the level to which people sleep while reading will leave you thinking if there could ever be a possible solution to read and never feel sleepy.
You can read without sleeping, yes you can…
I will be glad to share with you some techniques that will help you overcome sleeping while reading. Some people get asleep easily while reading a particular type of book, like a friend would always complain “I don’t know why I get sleepy while reading the bible”.
Sometimes I don’t only sleep while reading, I could also be seen sleeping while trying to write a post on Realupdatez.com, this happened to me repeatedly until I’m able to discover certain secrets behind why people get sleepy reading and how to read at night without falling asleep.
Just tell me why won’t I share the secrets with you, want to find out how I conquered sleep while reading? Then read on!
Fun fact… lengthy article, but worth the time, read and don’t sleep okay?
The definitive guide on how to read without sleeping:
Below are some of the things to do if you can’t read without falling asleep, regardless of the types of books you are reading:
1. Keep your feet in a bowl of water:
Ha! This sounds crazy, but works for most people, to be sincere with you, this was the first step I took and it helped me to study without falling asleep.
A friend of mine shared that with me, and it has been helpful, although this might tend to make one feel so uncomfortable but will integrate well with you as time goes on.
2. Develop a passion for what you read
Once you’re forced to read, you will be seen getting sleepy. This is so because you don’t have a passion for the book or material you’re reading.
You’re just going to sleep soon…
What point am I trying to drive home here with you?
I’m trying to let you know that you have to develop an interest in what you read, make your book an interesting part of life.
It is becoming common to see some school students complain about a particular subject. They could be seen saying the following…
I hate Mathematics, students who hate maths will always sleep trying to solve a math problem. But why then will you hate maths since your daily activities involve mathematics?
3. A little exercise will help
Sitting at a place for a long time can make your nerves weak and the next thing your brain could figure out is to have a rest.
After reading for a long time, you should stand up and exercise parts of your body, let’s take for example you can sit up for a while and begin to stretch your legs and arms, to become relaxed again and by so doing you’re driving away sleep from your reading.
4. Get some chewing gums from the store
Chewing gum can make you stay away from sleep while reading. This is a major approach I use to avoid reading and getting sleepy because the gums will keep my jaws busy.
If you have health issues that could make you skip this step, you may have to ask your doctor to recommend other types of chewing gums for you that won’t have any effect on your body system.
Keeping your jaws moving while reading, will make you stay awake throughout the scheduled time you have to read your books.
5. Discomfort yourself a bit while reading
Many people find that reading is very relaxing, and this leads them to fall asleep when they’re engaging in it…
It is obvious that while sitting, we are advised to maintain a good sitting posture, this does not also contradict the fact that sitting in a slightly uncomfortable posture will increase your reading hours.
Most people can’t sleep if they don’t feel comfortable, this can even make them stay awake throughout the night, reading in such a way won’t be different. You may have to give it a try to see how best it can work for you.
6. Do not read in a noisy environment
…I still remember having a friend who said he understands better and can read for hours staying in a noisy environment.
This doesn’t work for the majority of the people I know.
Study in a calm environment with less noise…
Reading in a noisy environment will conflict with your understanding of the book. When the environment becomes noisy, you have to relocate to a less noisy place as the noise is capable of increasing your reading and sleeping rate.
7. Work on your diet
Most of the time, what causes sleeping while reading, isn’t that immediate. It could be a result of many factors in the past, including our current day activities and diet.
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food – Hippocrates
Some of the foods we take are capable of causing sleep. To read lone, you need to minimize the intake of starchy foods as they are capable of making you weak or falling asleep.
Hence the body needs nutrients for fast development, we should be very selective in what we eat and most importantly avoid reading while hungry.
Hunger can cause a bunch of discomfort to the body, in this case, you might not even fall asleep, but you won’t be able to understand what you are reading.
Eat what is good for your body, to make it stable and function very well without seeing you yawing every now and then.
8. Don’t read when you are stressed.
Reading with stress is also a major factor why most students fail to understand what they are reading or are even unable to remember all they have read.
Whenever you are stressed, you can take your bath, eat, have some rest and then get a good position for your reading.
We all are humans, our day-to-day activities could be the type that is very stressful. Even when the type of jobs we do isn’t that stressful, we can easily be stressed driving home from work and staying too long under the road traffic. All this can reduce our strength a lot. This might not be a problem for some students as their stressful day can deprive them of better sleep.
9. Do not read while sitting on the bed
Ever tried reading while laying on the bed before?
Bed calls…
You can do that only when you do not intend to read for a long time, maybe you want to read for just a few minutes and sleep.
If you want to spend more time reading your books, especially at night, you have to stay off your bed I strongly recommend it.
When you want to read, don’t do so in bed. Get for yourself a seat and a desk which you can place the book on, whether you’re reading a textbook, novel, newspapers or what may have you to read.
10. Do not start reading immediately after waking up from sleep
Immediately you wake up, there are still traces of sleep in you, and if you try to pick a book and read after asleep, you are definitely going to see yourself sleeping.
Always give some gap between the time you woke up from sleep and the time to start reading.
11. Maintain a normal body temperature while reading.
Reading in a well-ventilated environment will help you improve your reading skills, but this shouldn’t be in a place where the weather is very cold.
Cold alone is capable of seeding one to sleep…
12. Do you play music while reading?
“I read for long and understands it better when I’m playing music”
The above was a response I got from a fellow coursemate and that works for him perfectly.
Your own case might be different as different things work for different people and in a variety of ways.
If you can read long listening to music, that’s pretty fine. I can always recommend you stick to what works best for you…
13. Use Mnemonics techniques
A mnemonic is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in human memory. Using mnemonics can push off sleep when you are reading.
After reading a while, try to figure out what you have learned, teach someone or pretend to talk to a virtual class, test your skill, etc. All these simple gestures will help you stay active while reading.
14. Engage in group reading
Reading in a group, especially at night, will help you read without sleeping because you have got a group of readers with you and you don’t like to be the first to sleep likewise others.
You can always schedule night readings with your friends or coursemates. This will help you read long without getting tired or sleepy, as different hands will always wake you up whenever you try to sleep.
15. Take short breaks as you read
Even if Superman still exists in Robin hood, that shouldn’t be you…
Readers are leaders according to an English proverb. To be a good reader, you don’t have to stay at a point and read for long hours, it might fail. Most of the time it fails because your nerves will become weak easily.
If you want to read long, you should always take short breaks from time to time and then sit back to continue your reading.
16. Don’t read while watching a movie
What happens when you sit in the living room and try to read?
Your favorite movie is in play, and you want to read as you look at the TV? This will stress your brain as the brain can’t handle both your reading and responses to the movie you are trying to watch.
Stay away from the TV, even if you have a guest or sibling(s) watching the TV, you can always plead with them to reduce the sound to a minimum. This doesn’t only make you fall asleep quickly but will distract you for the little time you are awake which will affect your understanding of the book.
17. Change positions as you read
No reading rules or regulation mandates you to a particular position while reading. As you try to read, if you start feeling sleepy you can always change your position.
Sometimes I stand and read, sit up or even wrap my legs and sit on the floor while reading just to make sure I never give sleep a chance to stop my reading. You can always switch positions if sitting makes you sleep while reading, you can consider standing up and continuing your reading.
If you believe time can affect how to read without forgetting, you will need to study the “MySchool Gist Formula” for the best time on how to study and memorize.
Conclusion:
In reading, we gain more knowledge, but sleep can be a very big hindrance. Every serious person who wants to read long would like to know how to stay awake late at night to study. That’s why everyone who wants to improve his/her reading skills, is advised to make proper use of this guide in order to maintain good reading hours without sleeping.
However, different options work for different people because individual differences exist and will always be there as a factor. You can check out from the tons of option which one works best for you and then stick to it.
If you find this post helpful, don’t keep it to yourself, share it on social media with friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp, to help them learn how to read at night without sleeping.