Meeeehhhnnn, Dozing off in public can be embarasing! Come to think of it, I've never seen anyone admit to it when typically seen dozing off and asked about it. Have you? Haha....
Whereas this life hack may help, do not try to use it while driving. Kindly halt and have a good power nap, you can continue your journey afterwards.
Introduction
Sleep is a natural phenomenum, so is the feeling of sleepiness. It is the body's why of telling you it's tied and needs a rest. There mostly is a reason for such fatigue or exhaustion especially at night when we've been up and working the whole day.
'Sleep' in itself is a complex process where the brain is in a relative state of rest, but keeps some automated processes of the body running such as breathing and pumping of blood (controlled more by electrical discharges from the heart). Of the many theories on why we sleep, statpearls.com briefly explains the inactivity theory, energy conservation theory, restorative theory, and brain plasticity theory as such;
Inactivity theory is based on the concept of evolutionary pressure where creatures inactive at night were less likely to die from the predation of injury in the dark, thus creating an evolutionary and reproductive benefit to being inactive at night.
Energy conservation theory posits that the main function of sleep is to reduce a person's energy demand during part of the day and night when it is least efficient to hunt for food. This theory is supported by the fact that the body has decreased metabolism by up to 10% during sleep.
The restorative theory states that sleep allows for the body to repair and replete cellular components necessary for biological functions that become depleted throughout an awake day. This is backed by the findings many functions in the body such as muscle repair, tissue growth, protein synthesis, and release of many of the important hormones for growth occur primarily during sleep.
Brain plasticity theory is that sleep is necessary for neural reorganization and growth of the brain’s structure and function. It is clear that sleep plays a role in the development of the brain in infants and children and explains why infants must sleep upwards of 14 hours per day.
Alright, enough of that. Let's delve right into our topic for discussion, how to avoid dozing off in public.
There is still a lot of things about sleep that isn't fully understood but here is what we know; When the process of sleep kicks in, there is decreased metabolism and if your body is at a 'state of rest' (probably seated at one place), there is decreased heart rate and blood pressure resulting in decreased oxygen supply to the brain as compared to being in an active state causing you to doze off.
What to do?
In an event where you do not want to sleep just yet but is dozing off, just hold your breath for a few seconds. This causes an elevated heart rate, increasing respiration and blood pressure as well. All that circulates more blood around your body including your brain. This buys you a few minutes off the doze until your heart rate drops again then you can simply repeat holding your breath to buy more time. Give it a try!
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