Look up your dress code rules or review the guidelines for that class to make sure you can wear your hood in class. If your teacher asks you to take your hood off, they’ll realize you’re asleep.
To throw your teacher off even more, open a textbook in front of you so that it looks like you’re reading.
This trick makes it look like you’re about to take notes or are reading over what you’ve just written.
This strategy can look obvious, so only use it when the class has a lot going on and is a little louder, such as during group work or a lab activity. Your teacher will be distracted and won’t pay as much attention to your sleeping.
This is best when the person in front of you is noticeably taller and broader than you. Make sure that the class won’t be getting up and moving any time soon, such as for partner or group work. If the person in front of you stands up, you might be caught.
Be careful if you’re right in the center of the class, as well. This will put you right in the teacher’s line of sight.
You can also make this work if you’re using a laptop. Slouch in your seat a bit to hide your face behind the laptop. If your class is using a tablet, prop your head up with one hand and keep the other on the tablet screen to pretend like you’re working. If you don’t think you’ll be able to wake yourself up, you can disable the screensaver on your computer. Just be sure to turn it back on before class is over so you don’t get caught.
Doodle a little every few minutes to show that you’re working, then doze off again.
This will give the teacher the impression that you are paying attention through the whole class, even when you’re asleep. Don’t call too much attention to yourself or it will seem really obvious when you stop responding.
You could say, for example, “Hey Alex, I was up super late last night and I’m exhausted. If I fall asleep, will you wake me up if we start the lab or do partner work?” This is best if you are friends or at least acquaintances with the person next to you. If you don’t like each other, you probably can’t rely on them to wake you up, and they might even report you to the teacher.
Train yourself to sleep lightly by forcing yourself to open your eyes every few minutes or asking your friend to tap you on the shoulder once in awhile.
