10 Tips Which Will Stop Sleep Problems From Resulting In A Drop In School Grades

It has been felt for some time now that inadequate or low quality sleep in teenagers results in poor performance in school, however it was not until recently that a formal research study confirmed that teenagers with poor sleeping habits do in fact suffer from lower grade point averages.

Below are 10 simple tips to make sure that an otherwise healthy child does not suffer from sleeping problems and can get the quality of sleep needed to perform well in school.

1. Set a regular time to go to bed and do not vary this by more than a few minutes from day to day.

2. Ensure that you get up at the same time each morning, regardless of whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers normally get up late on weekends and throughout the school holidays and, rather than making you feel better, this merely disrupts your pattern of sleep.

3. When you find that you cannot get to sleep within say 20 minutes of climbing into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to get to sleep, as the harder you try the harder it will become. As an alternative, climb back out of bed and do something like listening to some relaxing music or reading a book. Once you start to feel tired, get back into bed and you will be asleep in next to no time.

4. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing homework or studying for a test. Although this might appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and could keep you out of trouble for handing in your homework late or see you through a test, in the longer run your overall performance will fall and any short term benefits will soon be lost.

5. Do not be tempted to take a nap in the afternoon school. Should you find that you are so tired you are unable to keep your eyes open then take a nap but limit it to no more than 45 minutes or an hour.

6. Steer clear of any form of drink containing caffeine after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This of course applies to tea and coffee, but also extends to chocolate drinks and colas.

7. Avoid eating a heavy meal close to bedtime. You certainly should not go to bed hungry and having a light snack before bedtime is fine, however going to 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 often spend a lot of time in their bedroom turning 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 writing, reading, playing games, watching TV or anything else but reserve it only for sleeping so that your body learns to associate getting into bed with going to sleep.

9. Do not take any strenuous exercise within several hours of going to bed. If you want to play football or engage in other sports or strenuous activities then do these shortly after school and not an hour or two before going to bed.

10. At bedtime ensure that the bedroom is dark, quiet and cool. Do not close your bedroom up, turn up the heat and get into bed to watch TV. Rather, turn the heating down, open the window a bit if possible to allow in some fresh air and make the room as dark as possible.

Follow these 10 tips and 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 school grades will be on the up.