Finish the School Year Strong with These Tips on Staying Attentive in Class.
Students can be unmotivated at the end of the school year. Here is how to stay energized.
April 27, 2023
We have all sat in class fourth block in a comfy hoodie, eyes feeling heavier and heavier as the sound of our teacher lecturing sounds more like gibberish every second.
The academic minded voice sits on one shoulder pleading, “write this down, you aren’t going to magically remember the Haitian Revolution during next week’s exam.” The body lazily whispers back, “relax, just listen with our eyes closed.” Next thing you know, you are jolted awake scrambling to look up who in the world Toussaint Louverture is.
Often students want to learn, wish they had a coffee, some ATP, anything to keep them attentive. Between school, sports, homework, and clubs, teens have a lot on their plate. A common theme among the majority of highschoolers is exhaustion. There are ways to combat this, beyond monstrous amounts of Celcius, that can help keep highschoolers at a higher energy level. Not only can this improve grades, but also improve the overall enjoyability of being in a learning environment.
Move Your Body
Whether it is using the full six minutes between classes to walk, doing some stretches during a break, or twisting in a chair – simply moving helps the body to be in a more alert state. According to the National Institutes of Health, “exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain.” Not only will this flow help keep students awake, but also increase mood and cognitive function.
Put effort into your outfit
Putting a bit of effort into one’s appearance is proven to subconsciously lead one to focus on their task at hand. This is the same concept of not doing homework in bed; the more we differentiate school life from home life, the more our brain will register that school is the setting to work.
According to the BBC, those who ‘dress for success’ pay more attention, feel more confident in their abilities, and are more likely to be recognized as hard workers.
Sarah Archer from CareerTree states, “For a lot of people, choosing to focus positively about how they dress and present themselves can help them feel confident about what they do and how they operate at work.”
Stay Hydrated
Keep a bottle of water on your desk to remind you to drink throughout the class, and fill up regularly. Drinking cold water helps to give a quick jolt to your senses, staying hydrated fights fatigue, and helps keep blood and oxygen flowing.
Beyond these tips, the best thing one can do to have energy during class is having a good sleep schedule and participating in class; and yes, a little bit of caffeine can work wonders on productivity. However, if those three core techniques aren’t helping, or are not realistic to your lifestyle, moving your body, putting effort into your school outfits, and staying hydrated are three small things that can be implemented into your life to make school that much easier and enjoyable.
