10 Tips Which Will Prevent Sleep Problems From Causing A Fall In School Grades

It has been believed for some time now that inadequate or low quality sleep in teenagers leads to poor grades at school, but it was not until quite recently that a study confirmed that teenagers with poor sleeping habits do in fact suffer from lower grades.

Here are 10 tips to make sure that a 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 time by more than a few minutes from one day to the next.

2. Ensure that you get up at the same time each morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers generally have a lie-in on weekends and during school holidays and, rather than making you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.

3. If you find that you cannot fall asleep within say 20 minutes of getting into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to get to sleep, as the more 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 should fall asleep in no time at all.

4. Avoid the temptation to stay up late finishing homework or getting ready for a test. Although this may appear to be the solution to a particular problem in the short term, and may 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 soon disappear.

5. Do not be tempted to take a nap after school. If you do find that you are so tired you are unable to keep your eyes open then take a nap but for no more than an hour.

6. Do not consume any form of drink that contains caffeine after about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This naturally means tea and coffee, but also extends to colas and chocolate drinks.

7. Avoid eating a heavy meal too close to going to bed. You clearly should not go to bed hungry and taking a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, however going to bed on a full stomach will make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect your quality of sleep.

8. Although teenagers will frequently spend a great deal 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 reading, writing, playing games, watching TV or anything else but reserve it only for sleeping so that your body learns to associate climbing into bed with going to sleep.

9. Avoid strenuous exercise within several hours of going to bed. If you wish to play football or engage in other sports or vigorous activities then do these shortly after finishing school and not an two or three hours before you go to bed.

10. At bedtime see that the bedroom is dark, quiet and cool. Do not close your bedroom up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, 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.

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 throughout the day and your grades will be on the up.