YOU ARE IN CLASS trying to concentrate on what is being taught. But your eyelids are getting heavy and the teacher's monotonous tone is not helping.
Then before you can say 'wakey-wakey!', your classmate next to you gives you a nudge. The entire class (except the teacher) is laughing because you have just let out a loud snore.
Nodding off in class is becoming a problem that a growing number of students cannot ignore.
Research in the United States showed that up to 15 per cent of students had fallen asleep during class, and many felt sleepy during the day.
In a study conducted by the Prince of Wales Hospital's Sleep Assessment Unit, preliminary figures showed that the Hong Kong situation was similar - around 15 per cent of students fall asleep in school.
The study interviewed more than 580 local students aged eight to 16 about their sleep patterns over the past 18 months.