Staying Healthy in School | Quality of Sleep
Staying Healthy in School | Quality of Sleep
It may seem obvious, but we cannot stress the importance of a full nights sleep for protecting and promoting the health of your child. Through years of speaking to parents concerned with their child’s energy levels, attention in school and proneness to sickness, we see that in the majority of these cases lack of quality sleep is a contributing factor.
Daily routine is often disrupted during the freedom of the summer holidays and the transition back to school can upset sleep patterns. To avoid the stress of over-tiredness and poor concentration at school, good sleep hygiene leading up t the start of school and continuing through the term is crucial.
Some tips for promoting good sleep hygiene include:
- Keep consistent bedtimes and wake times – including at weekends.
- Avoid spending non-sleep times in bed e.g. reading, listening to music, watching TV.
- Bedtime should follow a predictable series of events e.g. brushing teeth and reading a story.
- Avoid high stimulation activities before bed e.g. watching TV, playing video games etc.
- Include physical exercise as part of each day.
- Avoid caffeine or sugary drinks in the evenings – although it may not prevent falling asleep, they can lead to early awakenings or shallow, disrupted sleep.
- Children should be put to bed drowsy, but still awake. Letting them fall asleep in other places forms habits that are difficult to break.
- Keep a sleep diary, to keep track of naps, sleep times and activities to find patterns and target problem areas when things are not working.
