What happens if you fall asleep in college?

I bet you searched this topic or found yourself reading this article because you have fallen asleep during your college class and are wondering if it’s normal or it’s something you should be worried about.

Or you might just be the student who is too tired to attend lecture but would rather go and just doze off instead of missing class.

In this article, I am going to explain what happens when you sleep in class BUT from a professor’s perspective because I was one for 15 years.

I saw plenty of students sleeping during my classes, and I will tell you what I thought, how I handled it, and what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Not only that, but I will tell you how many of my students actually slept during my classes.

This is important for you because some professors might actually embarrass you if you are caught sleeping in their classes.

Let’s jump into the discussion.

Can you sleep during your college classes?

College students are not expected to fall asleep during their college classes, but it does happen. Some college students will fall asleep during their class, but their professors may notice and could wake them up and tell them to pay attention.

As a former professor, it can be disrespectful to your professor if you fall asleep during their lecture. Your professor may find it rude that you are ignoring their lecture and may think you don’t care enough to pay attention.

It can appear insulting.

I know we shouldn’t take it so personal, but sometimes we do.

So, while you can likely fall asleep with few consequences, your professor is going to see you ignoring their lecture and it could hurt your participation grade, if they have one.

I knew a professor who would require their students to attend the lecture to earn an attendance grade. If students slept during the lecture, they would not get their attendance grade for that day.

Even though it seems pretty strict, it makes sense. While you are physically there, you aren’t mentally there and you shouldn’t get credit for attending if you are just going to sleep the entire time.

Most professors aren’t that hard on students though but it’s something to consider if you are planning on sleeping during class a lot.

Check your professor’s attendance policy and see if they mention this at all. It will really be up to the professor if they will tolerate students sleeping in their classes.

Later on I talk about how to deal with being sleepy in class so keep on reading if that’s what you came here for.

What happens if you fall asleep in class?

If you fall asleep during class in college, your professor may choose to wake you up from your slumber, ask you to leave if you are being a disruption, or they might just ignore you and let you sleep.

Let you sleep

When I was a professor, I never woke any of my sleeping students. I never had any students become a distraction so I didn’t worry about it too much.

Although I always spotted the students who were snoozing during my classes because it is very obvious. CHANCES are your professor sees you too but won’t say anything to you.

If students fell asleep in my class, I would not say anything to them. But I ALWAYS noticed.

I don’t care how much students tried to hide it, it was very noticeable that they were napping during my classes. It didn’t matter if they tried resting their head on their hand to make it look like they were taking notes, I still knew.

No matter how sneaky you try to be, you’re going to be noticed if your professor is paying the slightest bit of attention.

Ask you to leave

It could be a distraction for other students. If your sleeping becomes a distraction, your professor could ask you to leave the class for the day and return the following class.

That would an unlikely circumstance, but it could happen because you might be a person who snores really loudly and it could be a problem for your classmates.

Professor calls on you

You might also embarrass yourself in class because your professor might be the kind of instructor that calls on students during lecture. If this happens, you won’t know and can’t respond. This would make me too nervous to fall asleep. I couldn’t risk it.

But if you are in a really BIG lecture hall, you could go undetected because your professor probably doesn’t call on students with such a large class size.

You know your professor best so just gauge their classroom demeanor.

Let’s recap here.

If you fall asleep in the classroom, your professor might go up to your desk and ask you to pay attention. Although your professor is not trying to embarrass you, it is definitely going to bring a lot of attention to you.

They might simply ignore you and keep on lecturing (most common).

Finally, if you are disrupting the professor or other students, they could ask you to leave.

What do professors think of students who fall asleep during class?

When I was a professor, when students fell asleep in my class, I thought that they were either really tired and had a long night or my material was really boring.

If a student was doing this all the time, I would think that something personal was going on with them. Maybe they have a sleep condition and they can’t control it. Or they struggle staying on a regular sleep schedule.

If it was a rare occurrence, I just assumed that they had a really long night and didn’t get much sleep. Maybe they worked all night or had a big test that they were studying for.

It can be really hard to ignore it though.

Some instructors are just going to assume that they aren’t exciting enough and will blame themselves for the behavior.

Or they might just think that you are disrespectful.

It is best that you do everything in your power to avoid falling asleep in class. I will give you some practical solutions later.

I find that the more experienced professors are, the less likely they are to take this behavior personal.

How many college students fall asleep during class?

When I was a professor, I would say that approximately 5% of my students fell asleep during my lectures. This is my personal experience and can vary depending on several factors.

The vast majority of my students NEVER fell asleep in class.

But when students did fall asleep, it happened more often in my earlier class times. If students have an 8:00am class, it may be harder for them to stay awake as opposed to an afternoon class.

I typically taught morning classes so I could have significantly more students falling asleep compared to other professors. This is just my best estimate during my 15 years lecturing.

However, you should just know that it isn’t that common for students to be sleeping during lecture. You shouldn’t plan on going to class and napping.

Should you just skip class if you are tired?

Coming from a professor, if you are too tired to attend class, I would muster up the energy to attend instead of skipping class because there are things you can do to try and stay awake.

However, you should also carefully weigh the risks and rewards of skipping class. Every now and then, it might be okay to take a break to give yourself some rest. You might have something personal going on and it might be healthier for you to stay at home.

However, if you find yourself tired a lot, you need to work on some possible solutions to give yourself the best chance to stay awake in class.

I would not recommend students skip class just because they are tired, unless it is a rare occurrence or it significantly impacts your health.

Attendance does really matter in college so try and figure out a solution instead of missing class.

How to fall asleep in class without getting caught?

As a professor with years of experience, students are not going to be able to fall asleep and not get caught because it is VERY obvious when students are sleeping in class.

Let’s say you devise the BEST strategy to hide yourself before falling asleep. Maybe you sit behind your book bag, or you lay your head on your hand instead of resting it on the table.

Whatever you do to try and avoid detection, your professor is going to NOTICE.

Why?

Because you are going to stand out.

People who are asleep don’t have the same behaviors of people who are awake. Next time you are in class, take a look around the classroom. Do you notice if anyone is sleeping? If they are, you are going to be able to recognize it right away.

And your professor has the advantage because they have a better view of everyone.

Maybe your professor is oblivious to things in the classroom but chances are they see all the sleeping students.

Therefore I don’t have any recommendations to help you hide the fact that you are taking a nap during class because I do not think you can get away with it.

Why do I keep falling asleep in class even when I am getting enough sleep?

Students are likely falling asleep in class even when they are getting enough sleep because the lecture isn’t engaging enough, they are suffering from an illness, or they aren’t getting as much sleep as they really need.

I am not an expert in sleep, but coming from experience, I would expect that college students find themselves nodding off during lecture despite getting a good night’s rest because the professor isn’t good at teaching.

If your professor is boring, doesn’t engage the classroom, or just reads their PowerPoints, it could cause students to become drowsy.

Even as a professional, I would get tired during a faculty presentation if the presenter was incredibly boring. It happens to the best of us.

Another explanation is that you might just be incredibly tired because you are suffering from an illness. If this describes you, you might want to let your professor know you are sick and can’t attend instead of suffering.

Finally, it is quite possible that YOU NEED MORE SLEEP. The amount of sleep each person needs is highly dependent on the person’s characteristics. It is different for everyone and it isn’t a one-size-fits-all.

You might need to adjust your sleep schedule.

How to avoid falling asleep in class (Professor TIPS)

• Adjust your schedule - If you cannot stay awake in class, it might be the early class times you are selecting. Try and register for classes that are in the afternoon or evening. If that isn’t the problem, maybe you could take online classes instead.

• Get more sleep - You should consider your sleep schedule and try and get more sleep at night. Even if you think you are getting plenty of sleep, it might not be enough for you.

• Visit your doctor - There could be something going on with you internally and you could get a doctor to review your medical history. You might also be taking medications that cause drowsiness.

• Take a bathroom break - Take a few short breaks during class to go to the bathroom, take a quick walk down the hallway or up a flight of stairs. It can help keep you alert.

• Sit in the front row - When you sit up close to the professor, you might be more engaged in the lecture. Not only that, but the stakes are higher if you fall asleep on the front row.

• Actively take notes - Try taking notes or drawing on paper to help keep you awake. When you are actively doing something, it can keep your brain active enough to avoid falling asleep.

• Ask questions - Raise your hand during lecture and ask your professor questions to help you stay awake.

Finally, TALK TO YOUR PROFESSOR about why you are so tired in class to let them know you do care about their course and it isn’t personal.

As a professor, I would feel responsible when a student would fall asleep in my class. I always wondered if I was boring or not engaging enough.

But I came to realize that it isn’t entirely my fault and some students might just be that tired. Some professors might not be able to discern that so it would be helpful if you just let them know.

You can check out the Sleep Foundation’s website for more tips about your sleep schedule.

FEATURED POSTS YOU’LL LOVE