10 Tips That Can Stop Sleep Problems From Resulting In A Fall In School Grades
Friday, September 19th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
It has been felt for some time now that inadequate or low quality sleep in teens leads to a fall in performance in school, however it was not until fairly recently that a formal research study confirmed that teenage children with poor sleeping habits do in fact suffer from lower grades.
Here are 10 tips to ensure that an otherwise healthy child does not suffer from sleep problems and can get the level of sleep needed to do well in school.
1. Set a regular time for going to bed and do not vary this time by more than a few minutes from day to day.
2. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers generally have a lie-in at the weekends and throughout school holidays and, instead of helping to make you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.
3. Should you find that you are unable to get to sleep within say 15 minutes of getting into bed then do not merely lie in bed trying to sleep, because the more you try the more difficult it will become. As an alternative, get up and do something such as reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. Once you begin to feel tired, climb back into bed and you will be asleep in next to no time.
4. Do not be tempted to stay up late finishing homework or preparing for a test. Despite the fact that this might appear to be the solution to a specific problem in the short term, and might keep you out of trouble for handing in your homework late or get you through a test, in the long run your overall performance will suffer and any short term benefits will soon be lost.
5. Do not be tempted to take a nap after school. If you do find that you are so tired you cannot keep your eyes open then go ahead and take a nap but for no more than 45 minutes or an hour.
6. Steer clear of any form of drink that contains caffeine after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This of course applies to tea and coffee, but also includes colas and chocolate drinks.
7. Avoid eating a heavy meal close to bedtime. You clearly do not want to go to bed feeling hungry and eating a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, but climbing into bed on a full stomach will make it difficult to fall asleep and affect the quality of your sleep.
8. Despite the fact that teenagers will generally spend a great deal of time in their bedroom and turn it into more of a ‘living’ than a ’sleeping’ room, avoid the temptation to use the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed reading, writing, playing games, watching TV or anything else but reserve it solely for sleeping so that your body learns to associate getting into bed with going to sleep.
9. Avoid strenuous exercise within several hours of bedtime. If you wish to play football or engage in other sports or strenuous activities then do these shortly after school and not an two or three hours before you go to bed.
10. When it comes to bedtime see that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut the room up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, lower the heat, open the window a little if possible to let in some fresh air and have the room as dark as you can get it.
Follow these 10 tips and within no time at all your quality of sleep will improve, you will feel more awake and active during the day and your school grades will improve.
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