It might seem like a drastic solution for staying awake to revise for exams, but this Chinese student say it works.
Chen Tang ties her long hair to a beam in the ceiling to stop her nodding off! (When I showed this to my 12-year-old stepdaughter, she responded: "Don't get any bright ideas!")
Chen, 20, had struggled to cope with her late-night workload and so with her roommate Huang Lu, 21, she looked for a solution.
The students at the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in Fuzhou, southeast China, took inspiration from 'historic scholars' to fight the urge to drop off.
Chen remembered two legendary Chinese scholars who chose more painful methods to ensure they stayed focused.
One would stab himself with needles every time he started to fall asleep and the other would tie his hair to a beam in the ceiling so that it was pulled every time he started to nod off.
Huang, who posted the pictures of Chen said: "Chen is so keen to succeed that she decided to give the hair trick a try, as you can see her hair is more than long enough.
"As we didn't have a beam in our dorm, she used the clothes dryer and claims it worked really well."
According to Chen it helped to keep a clear mind and she plans to use it again to help focus.
Chen said: "The preparation is so boring, but the hanging hair practice makes it interesting and I really feel much more energetic by studying in this way."
Hmmm... cup of coffee might have been less painful, though!
Some slightly more helpful ways to help your children revise here.