I have a struggle with the temple...

[carlimac]

..staying awake! It's so embarrassing. It's like I turn narcoleptic the minute the movie starts. I went this morning after a full 8 hr night's sleep and still, as soon as the lights went down I started drifting, bobbing and weaving.

Then after the movie I still was dozy. I heard things through the haze and thought- Wow that's neat. I haven't noticed that before but once I was fully awake again I couldn't remember what it was I thought was so great.

Any suggestions besides drinking 20 oz of Diet Pepsi right before the session?

[RipplecutBuddha]

Go hungry. I noticed the same problem myself and I realized I'd eat before I went to the session, and then by the time it begins, my body is busy doing other things than helping me pay attention. So I don't eat before the session anymore, I eat afterward, and staying awake is much easier, and the experience is far more enriching in general.

Hope this helps.

[selek]

Uhhhmmmmm.....NO.

(But still funny).

[Wingnut]

I fall asleep every time I do an endowment. When I was younger that wasn't the case, but since having kids, it's without fail, every single time. Even before that started, though, I never really got much out of the whole thing. I have found that I participate more actively and I have a richer experience if I do initiatories and/or sealings instead of the endowment.

[MarginOfError]

I was an ordinance worker for a few years from the ages of 23 to 26. I probably dozed off in most of the sessions I was officiating. No one seemed to care.

[Guest]

It's warm and relaxing. I've had that struggle sometimes, too!

[Jennarator]

So, my sister in law fell asleep when the whole family was doing a session together. She woke up enough to say yes.........when it was the men's turn! LOL! We still tease her.

[skippy740]

So, you're literally entering into the "rest of the Lord" in the temple? The temple is a place away from the world... who wouldn't find rest and comfort being there?

[Vort]

I have never had that problem, in large part (I believe) because I always pay very close attention to everything being said and presented.

[Leah]

Go hungry. I noticed the same problem myself and I realized I'd eat before I went to the session, and then by the time it begins, my body is busy doing other things than helping me pay attention. So I don't eat before the session anymore, I eat afterward, and staying awake is much easier, and the experience is far more enriching in general.

Hope this helps.

I usually fast before I go. Then the sisters sitting on either side of me comment on how loudly my stomach is growling.

[carlimac]

I have never had that problem, in large part (I believe) because I always pay very close attention to everything being said and presented.

I pay attention, too but it goes through the sleep center of my brain first.

[Wingnut]

I pay attention, too but it goes through the sleep center of my brain first.

Another post that requires both a laugh and a thanks. :)

[Vort]

I pay attention, too but it goes through the sleep center of my brain first.

I find it impossible to pay attention to a narrative, any narrative, and go to sleep. In order to sleep, I first have to "zone out" and quit paying attention to the narrative. By forcing myself to pay close attention at the temple, I never risk going to sleep.

I understand that many people think it's funny to sleep at an endowment session. I don't think it's funny at all. I have sympathy for those who struggle with doing so, but I think it's a fairly serious problem. We should be awake and alert for all such important, celestial presentations.

[Guest]

The long stretches of dialogue are hard for those of us who aren't auditory learners. Even when there's video. It would be much easier for me to focus if there were subtitles to read.

My husband has ADD and has a terrible time.

It's not that we find it funny, at all. It's distressing sometimes. DH doesn't hardly go anymore.

[Vort]

The long stretches of dialogue are hard for those of us who aren't auditory learners. Even when there's video. It would be much easier for me to focus if there were subtitles to read.

For the record, I was not an "auditory learner" until I was about 40. It is a learned skill, or at least a learnable skill.

[MarginOfError]

Funny or not, my temple president sure liked to laugh about it. He also admitted to being just as bad about falling asleep as the rest of us.

It's great if you're able to stay awake and focus the entire session. But it doesn't work for everyone. When I sit down to read a book that I'm really interested in, I have trouble staying awake more than 10-15 minutes. Being in a sedentary state just leads me to fall asleep.

It's also worth noting that the events in a person's life can have an effect on their ability to stay awake. As a college student, it wasn't uncommon for me to pull 8-10 hours at the university and then have to go to work at a fast paced Pizza Hut for six hours every day. Combine that with getting up at 4:00 AM to make it to my temple shift, and it seemed nearly impossible for me to stay awake.

I'll also add that as an ordinance worker, I very rarely felt the Spirit in the temple. But many of the greatest lessons I've learned from the temple were taught to me during the drive home. The Lord seemed to understand my dilemma.

One more funny story. I was officiating an endowment one day, and began dozing off. I was aware enough, however, that I knew that I had a couple of minutes until the first time I would need to stand up. I was also aware enough to notice that I seemed to be in that certain stage of sleep men sometimes have that prompts an anatomical response. I spent the next few moments trying every imaginable trick to reduce that response so that I wouldn't embarrass myself when I stood up.

If God can't laugh at that, I'll never understand Him.

[Suzie]

[dahlia]

I went to the temple a few weeks ago and was so proud of myself for not falling asleep for once! I wanted a gold star with 'I'm a big girl now' on it. : )

[NightSG]

Awkward moment; elderly Baptist minister giving the invocation at a local political rally starts to slur a bit, about ten seconds in, then mumble, then snore gently.

Fortunately, he woke up quickly, and was clear headed enough to mumble "amen," sparing anyone else having to take over, and making it one of the shortest prayers I've ever heard from a Baptist.

Presumably, he'll be praying with his head up and eyes open from now on :)

ETA: I have, in the past, partaken of the great pastime of leaving a snoozing person in the office/church/theater/bus while everybody else sneaks out quietly and turns off the lights. Might be hard to organize in the temple, though.

(Oh come on, you know the Lord has a sense of humor, too.)

Edited April 11, 2013 by NightSG

[dahlia]

Awkward moment; elderly Baptist minister giving the invocation at a local political rally starts to slur a bit, about ten seconds in, then mumble, then snore gently.

He fell asleep while he was praying OUT LOUD??

[NightSG]

He fell asleep while he was praying OUT LOUD??

You know how to tell when you're in a Baptist church? You wake up and they're still praying.

I've "drifted" during a meeting to the point of wondering who was talking, then realized it was me.

[mnn727]

To the O.P. DO you have sleep apnea?

Do you snore?

Do you wake up multiple times during the night?

Do you ever wake up in bed sitting up?

All 3 are signs (there are more signs also but these are the big 3)

[skalenfehl]

For the record, I was not an "auditory learner" until I was about 40. It is a learned skill, or at least a learnable skill.

Ditto. I became an auditory learner after downloading the scriptures in mp3 format to my ipod and have listened many,many times to them. I used to become very drowsy during endowment sessions. In the last year, however, I find myself very attentive and have learned deeper meanings and mysteries pertaining to conversing with the Lord through the veil. I look forward to attending every week nowadays.

[pam]

Sometimes reading the posts in some of the discussions here on lds.net gives me the same effect. Maybe I need to read them more carefully. :)

[mirkwood]

Switch to initiatories. That will take care of any sleeping issues and is just as important work.