Times have changed, but falling asleep in class is still a common occurrence (常事) among students.

Why do students sometimes fall asleep in class? An obvious reason is lack of sleep. However, there are also causes for getting too little sleep.

Homework is a daily occurrence for most students, one that can take three to four hours per night. A student who wants to be able to take part in any activity besides homework must stay up late to fit everything in. Club activities, sports, computer-game playing, and TV viewing, for example, all make students have less time for both homework and sleep. Sometimes students lack sleep because of after-school jobs for their families.

Physical problems can also cause students to fall asleep in class. For example, insomnia (失眠), which may keep a student up at night, causing exhaustion (疲惫不堪) during class hours, is a serious problem. Medical evidence also supports the idea that each person has a body clock that helps to decide his or her sleep pattern. Unluckily, these body clocks don’t always work according to school timetables.

The effects of falling asleep in class can be quite serious. First of all, sleeping in class is not a good way to endear (使受喜爱) yourself to teachers. And other students may make jokes about those who sleep in class. However, the most harmful effect of sleeping in class is missing out on important points. In the long run, sleepers may end up failing classes.

Since students are probably not going to deal with the problem, falling asleep in class will probably remain an all-too-common occurrence. It will continue until more teens find a way to balance their personal and social lives with school and work on their own, while still finding enough time to sleep.