10 Tips To Stop Sleeping Problems From Causing Low School Grades
It has been felt for some time now that too little or poor quality sleep in teens leads to a drop in grades at school, but it was not until recently that a research study confirmed that teenage children with poor sleeping habits do in fact have lower grade point averages.
Below are 10 tips to make sure that a healthy child can enjoy the quality of sleep needed to do well in school.
Tip 1. Do not take any strenuous exercise within several hours of going to bed. If you want to play baseball or engage in other sports or strenuous activities then do these shortly after finishing school and not an two or three hours before bedtime.
Tip 2. Avoid eating a heavy meal close to going to bed. You clearly should not go to bed hungry and eating a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, but climbing into bed on a full stomach can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect the quality of your sleep.
Tip 3. Although teenagers will sometimes spend a great deal of time in their bedroom and turn it into much more of a 'living' than a 'sleeping' room, avoid using the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed, writing, watching TV, reading, playing games or anything else but reserve it solely for sleeping so that your body associates getting into bed with going to sleep.
Tip 4. When you find that you cannot fall asleep within say 15 or 20 minutes of getting into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to sleep, because the harder you try the more difficult it will become. Instead, climb back out of bed and do something like listening to some relaxing music or reading a book. Once you begin to feel tired, climb back into bed and you will be asleep in no time at all.
Tip 5. Do not eat a heavy meal too close to bedtime. You certainly do not want to go to bed hungry and taking a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, however climbing into bed on a full stomach can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect your quality of sleep.
Tip 6. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing homework or preparing for a test. Although this may appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and might well keep you out of trouble for handing in your homework late or get you through a test, in the longer term your overall performance will drop and any shorter term gain will quickly be lost.
Tip 7. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, regardless of whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers commonly get up late at the weekends and during the school holidays and, instead of helping to make you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.
Tip 8. Although teenagers will generally spend a lot of time in their bedroom turning it into much 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, writing, reading, watching TV, playing games or anything else but reserve it only for sleeping so that your body learns to associate getting into bed with going to sleep.
Tip 9. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing your homework or studying for a test. Although this may appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and may well keep you out of trouble for turning in your homework late or get you through a test, in the longer run your performance will drop and any shorter term benefits will quickly be lost.
Tip 10. Should you find that you are unable to get to sleep within about 15 minutes of climbing into bed then do not simply lie in bed trying to get to sleep, because the harder you try the harder it will get. Instead, get up and do something such as reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. As soon as you start to feel tired, get back into bed and you will be asleep in no time at all.
If you follow these 10 tips you will find that within no time at all the quality of your sleep will improve, you will feel much more awake and active during the day and your grades will be on the up.
