10 Tips That Will Prevent Sleep Problems From Resulting in a Drop in School Grades

It has been believed for some time now that too little or poor quality sleep in teens results in poor performance at school, however it was not until recently that a formal research study confirmed that teenage children with poor sleeping habits do indeed have lower grades.

Here are 10 tips to ensure that a healthy child can enjoy the quality of sleep necessary to do well in school.*ï At bedtime see that the bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not close your bedroom up, turn up the heat and get into bed to watch TV. Rather, lower the heat, open the window a bit if possible to let in some fresh air and have the room as dark as you can get it.*ï Avoid vigorous exercise within several hours of going to bed. If you want to play baseball or engage in other sporting or vigorous activities then do these shortly after finishing school and not an two or three hours before bedtime.*ï If you find that you cannot get to sleep within say 20 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 become. Instead, get up and do something such as listening to some relaxing music or reading a book. As soon as you begin to feel tired, get back into bed and you should fall asleep in no time at all.*ï Steer clear of any type of drink containing caffeine after 3 oï clock in the afternoon. This of course applies to coffee and tea, but also extends to chocolate drinks and colas.*ï Decide upon a regular time for going to bed and try not to vary this by more than a few minutes from day to day.*ï Avoid the temptation to stay up late doing homework or studying for a test. Despite the fact that this could seem like the solution to a particular problem in the short term, and may well keep you out of trouble for turning in your homework late or see you through a test, in the longer run your performance will drop and any shorter term benefits will soon be lost.*ï Make sure that you get up at the same time each morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers normally have a lie-in at the weekends and during the school holidays and, instead of making you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.*ï Despite the fact that teenagers will frequently 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, playing games, reading, writing, watching TV or anything else but keep it only for sleeping so that your body learns to associate getting into bed with going to sleep.*ï Do not be tempted to take a nap in the afternoon 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 limit it to no more than 45 minutes or an hour.*ï Avoid eating a heavy meal close to going to bed. You clearly do not want to go to bed hungry and eating a light snack before bedtime is okay, however going to bed on a full stomach can make it difficult to get to sleep and affect the quality of your sleep.

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 more awake and active during the day and your school grades will be on the up.

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