Sleep - Your Secret Superpower
One of the keys to success in secondary school is a simple yet easily forgotten aspect of wellbeing: getting enough sleep.
Studies show that teenagers need between 8-10 hours of nightly sleep to meet their needs and to perform at their best during the day (Breus 2017). However, this amount of rest is often ‘easier said than done’, with teenage bodies biologically programmed to stay up late and the frequent usage of electronic devices also making it more difficult to switch off.
Getting a decent quantity of high-quality sleep can be your secret superpower, making you more likely to remember material, take in and retain new information, make connections, and achieve better test scores.
Conversely, when you don’t get enough sleep, it becomes more difficult to take in, retain and process information. You’ll likely find yourself irritable throughout the day, with a lack of focus and concentration in class. A chronic lack of sleep can also impact mental health, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, which in turn affects not just school life but home life too.
Developing a healthy sleep routine is therefore one of the easiest ways to achieve success.
Here are ten tips on how to get more sleep:
Try not to exercise too late in the day – try to slow the body down.
No naps after school.
Have a set bedtime and wake up time. Avoid playing catch up on the weekend.
Find a routine that helps to slow down the body before bed.
Keep your bedroom cool.
Avoid large meals late at night – eat dinner two hours before bed.
Keep bedroom as gadget free as possible and switch to softer yellow light.
Get up out of bed if you can’t sleep after 20 minutes.
Prioritise sleep over late night studying.
Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon.
Making these adjustments will supercharge your day-to-day life, giving you more energy and alertness to succeed. Activate your superpower now to unlock these advantages – you won’t regret it!
Mr James Ramsey
Deputy Principal Senior School