In short: it happens to everyone, even the Buddha's great disciple Moggallāna. "Are you nodding off, Moggallāna?" the Buddha asked, and gave him eight things to try, one after another (AN 7.61).
- 🔄 Change your focus from what you were on
- 📖 Reflect on a teaching you know
- 🗣 Recite it in detail
- 👂 Pinch your ears, rub your limbs
- 💧 Wash your eyes, look at the stars
- ☀ Think of light: "as by day, so by night"
- 🚶 Walk mindfully (how)
- 🦁 Rest in the lion's posture, and get up when you wake
"Then get up from your seat, flush your eyes with water, look around in every direction, and look up at the stars and constellations. It's possible that you'll give up drowsiness in this way."
AN 7.61 · Five hindrances · Balanced effort
Questions people ask
How do I stop falling asleep when meditating?
Try the Buddha's sequence from AN 7.61: change your focus, reflect on a teaching, rub your ears and limbs, wash your eyes and look at the sky, think of light, walk mindfully, and if nothing works, rest properly.