Falling Asleep While Meditating

[Eyal Bor]

I've been meditating regularly for a year now, but I never managed to solve to problem of very often falling asleep during my session. Suddenly my head falls forward while sitting, i get my back straight again, and it falls again. I'm desperate, I don't know what to do. Doesn't matter the time day, after waking up, afternoon, evening.

I sleep decent amount of hours at night (7-9), so I don't know what's the problem. Maybe my body doesn't know when to put me in a meditative mind state and when to prepare me to sleep? 

Do you have any tips on how to deal with this problem?

Thanks a lot.

Edited October 7, 2017 by Eyal Bor

[nice shot]

Where are you meditating? If you're meditating on your bed, or in a chair, or anything that supports your back, you might try sitting on the ground. It can be uncomfortable so maybe sit on a cushion. Also, how long do you spend meditating? If you find yourself falling asleep after only half an hour, you can try cutting your meditation sessions shorter and doing more of them throughout the day. Another thing you can try is focusing your mind on something, say, your breathing, for five minutes before you begin your meditation session. I believe Leo covered a similar topic in one of his videos.

 

Ultimately, I feel that if your meditation routine is consistent enough, this type of thing will go away on its own. You will just have to experiment with different techniques involving position, location, duration, etc. Great job for keeping at it for a year!

Edited October 7, 2017 by nice shot

[Max_V]

I usually take a little nap (15 to 25 minutes ) before meditation on days where a lot of stuff has happened. Mental processing costs me a ton of energy.

So I suggest you try this too. Maybe not for the same reason as I do but you can still give it a shot. Also if you don’t have time for a nap, splash some  cold water in your face. You’d be suprised of how much that can actually help wake your body up.