So this semester I guess I discovered I have a learning deficiency. When it comes to getting work done I don't have a problem. Comprehending information I don't have a problem. My problem is energy. And when I don't have energy I often drift off and lose my focus. This semester taking Chemistry the teacher moved at a pace I've never been accustomed too. The amount of material we covered and the time we covered it in was just shocking to me. It was one of those classes where literally if you lose focus for a minute you will fall really far behind. It also did not help I had no interest in the subject. It wasn't until our midterm break that I caught myself up reteaching myself all the material from day one. I don't know what it is about Chemistry but I could not focus. Physics and Calculus I never had this problem, but I would often have this aura of tiredness and drift off every five minutes.

One day I started using energy drinks and when I went to class it was a completely different experience. I filled out two pages of notes (usually I had 1/2 page of gibberish) fully organized and made to comprehend easily. I continued using energy drinks for about a week before I started getting really bad headaches and stopped. Back to square one. Today I took my Chemistry final and while I'm confident I did enough to pass the class I know my GPA is going to take a little dent. Even in my other classes I feel low on energy, but because I have an interest I can get by alright. So what can I do to improve my focus and energy? For some reason, as hard as I try I can only sleep seven hours max (internal clock never allows me to exceed this), andI always make sure to have a good breakfast (usually applesauce with cut up apples heated up, OJ, bagel, vitamin supplements).

You could drink coffee, or go get some 5 hour energy shots and are how those work.

Also is your chem class before or after lunch, maybe you need to eat lunch.

Or maybe change your breakfast, maybe cereal instead of a bagel.

Vitamin B complex.

Well Chem is done and over with but it was @ 1pm and usually I wake up everyday at 7am, lunch at 11am, dinner by 6pm, sleep at 12:00am. I'm tempted to try 5 hours next semester but they give me headaches (guess its a sacrifice) but I'd like to avoid trying coffee. Also I take multivitamin supplements. Not sure if they contain B+ complex but if its proven to help give you energy I'll definitely invest.

Have some protein at breakfast instead of lots of carbs.

Losing focus in a class that you don't like is typical; the fact that you're uncomfortable with it is a bonus

How much exercise do you get? That can play a part in your day's energy level and sleep habbits. In my glowry days, I worked-out often. It gave me great energy through the day, but I needed 9 hours of sleep each night.

Change where you sit to avoid tedium, or to get you towards the front where the action is (although there's a ton of action in back as well

Chat with your prof's. Any decent teacher would allow you to sit in the back and, when you feel yourself drifting, allow you to get up and move about in the back to boost the energy and refocus.

Also, some courses are weeder courses; designed to move quickly and get rid of those who might not able to keep up with later courses.

They say exercise helps improve overall energy levels. I'm not sure who they are though. Frankly I think they are full of [censored].

I understand there's a certain level of information you can take coming at you before you just involuntarily start to lose focus. Whiteout in class sort of things, look down at your notes and that is not what the teacher said at all, or worse, it's exactly word for word what the teacher said as he was calling out a student's name and berating them for sleeping.

I've actually no joke hallucinated in class a few times trying to stay awake. Whiteboard filled with snow and trees and wind. Crazy stuff. But then I was doing the same course every day from 0700 to 1600 plus about 3 hours mandatory study after and mandatory PT till you die every morning with a missed breakfast because mandatory PT took too long...

Anyways you do what you can. I advise against energy drinks though, they don't really work after a point anyways. Spicy snacks always did something, I liked Wasabi peas. If they let you stand up and move around that also works (especially moving your arms and upper torso around and out of their default hunched over note-taking posture). Remember to breathe. Big breaths, lots of oxygen keeps you awake, less oxygen will knock you out and the next thing you know you no longer understand the English language.

Engage your mind, play with the concepts as they come at you, actively ponder them rather than go into machine mode transcribing notes. Ask questions, or raise your hand and answer questions. All of these break the monotonous robot mind and bring you back to wakefulness.

The best advice I can give is to generally try to live what others would consider a "healthy lifestyle". It is no lie that you end up with more energy if you go to sleep early and wake up early, if you get a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, exercise a little, by that I'm not saying you should hit the gym, it's enough just not to always take the easy route to places. Don't always use the elevators when you can take the stairs and sometimes walk rather than drive to places, and if you can get a crappy meal from a vendor in your school or you can take the time to walk to some store and get yourself something nice and healthy then do that.

I myself don't follow any of those right now (posting at 04:04 in my country, I sure am getting my sleep now aren't I ), I used to and I used to have a lot more energy, but I decided I spent way too much time taking care of myself and way too little time eating junk food and taking it easy. I'm about as happy with both lifestyles to be honest and I tend to switch around from time to time. But it's no lie leading a healthy lifestyle leaves you with more energy to spend on productive things over the day.

Energy drinks are cheap BTW, get some orange juice instead.

They are most certainly not cheap. They are expensive as hell. (one more reason not to use them)

Well I meant cheap as in function, but not in price. They don't truly give you energy, they only trick the brain into thinking it does not need to restore energy through resting yet.

Thanks for all the comments! I stretch daily, but I haven't been able to exercise as much due to time constraints. As I said I did try energy drinks (specifically 5 hr energies) and after about a week of use I started getting terrible headaches and I felt drowsy but couldn't go to sleep. Next semester I'll definitely try sacrificing at least an hour a day to physical activity and try eating more protein for breakfast with cereal maybe?

arrange it so that the chores/activities that you feel like doing the least and tend to not do out of laziness will kill you in the most absurd ways if you do not complete them in a timely manner. either portal themed (a series of obsticles to overcome) or more like that one movie with jason stasien or whatever where he dies if his heart rate falls below a certain level.

Music? I find good music provides me with inspiration, motivation and energy. I tend to play music at work and it helps me focus.

Instead of cereal, you could keep your bagel, but put on peanut butter.

http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/110356064/venusaur_bigger.jpg
He seems to have a bulb of energy these days.

But humanly - Go to bed early, 8+ hours before you need to get up.
On top of the sleep eat a lot more meaty foods - stuff with high energy intakes.

Don't go drinking coffee/Relentless/Rockstar/Monster - this should only be temperory fixes for activities like running / excerising.

I don't even get 6 hours sleep and I have enough energy to roll me over into next week. All I do is eat a whole lot of meaty foods, on top of 2 Cans of Irn-Bru and a glass of milk. I think I inherited my dads trait with this one, he only get 4 hours sleep before a 8 hour shift, I am roughly the same.
Some of people need a lot more sleep than others and thats just nature but for learning students it should be 8+ hours - I have always stuck to this when on my courses, and even my old Head Teacher proposed it to the students because of their lack of attention/energy.

Cocaine.

Honestly, if this a problem you're just now starting to realize, you should get your b12 levels (and other b levels while you're at it) checked. I had this exact problem and recently it got REALLY bad. (To the point that I couldn't get out of bed somedays.) Let's just say that I now have to give myself shots to correct my b12 levels (I seriously doubt you would), but the difference is night and day. I don't feel exhausted or "foggy" anymore and I have enough energy to actually get things done.

And I suggest this only because you seem to be doing most everything else to already fix your energy levels. I also wonder - because energy drinks are actually loaded to the teeth with b vitamins - if that's why you functioned better in the short term. (But those things are terrible for you - don't drink them.)

Edit: Not sure where you're from, but if try to supplement b12 - don't do it in pill form. Get the tabs you put under your tongue and let dissolve if you can. Your body breaks it down and absorbs it better in that form.

Make sure you're getting enough iron, in addition to what everyone else has said.

If this is a serious, dramatic issue, and not just a slight tiredness, you might want to get your bloodwork done. I know my sister has some serious lethargy issues which turned out to be caused by some major nutrition deficiencies.

Some weird tips that might work for you:

Mucinex makes a noticeable change in your breathing (by reducing your mucus levels, even if it is just from low to lower), so every breath, while not being distracting, will be felt, and keep you alert.
Cough drops, I find, have a similar mild invigorating effect.
Doing wind sprints (running as fast as you can until you can't, and then just flat stopping) are the form of exercise I find to be best for making me alert.
You might want to try and shift your sleep schedule one hour in either direction. That could be what's causing your issues.
Try sitting in a better lit seat.

I was going to suggest crystal meth but the end result is a lot of sleeping.

You can try playing brain games for concentration, I think that's the most effective way of getting more concentration/focus.


It's probably because you don't like Chemistry. If I had Chemistry I'd lose my focus in 1 second because I hate it

Since I've entered university I almost never understand anything on the classes, the pace is just too fast, and if you miss something from behind you can't understand anything else. This is specially true in mathematics and physics (I'm a physics undergraduate). The way I got good grades was by studying from the notes. I got a focus problem too though, probably worse than yours. And it gets much much worse when I don't like what I'm learning...

And about fixing that with vitamins I don't know... I don't know if they really do anything or they're just a placebo, I'd have to see some serious studies on that matter to know if they really help or not.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1572244143/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=16AN7M77NTMQV68Z8DY1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Might be useful. Just found them yesterday so don't quote me.