10 Tips To Prevent Sleep Problems From Causing Low School Grades

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It has been believed for some time now that inadequate or low quality sleep in teenagers results in poor grades in school, however it was not until quite recently that a research study confirmed that teenagers with bad sleeping habits do indeed suffer from lower grades.

Below are 10 tips to ensure that a healthy child enjoys the level of sleep needed to do well in school.

Tip 1. Avoid vigorous exercise within several hours of bedtime. If you wish to play baseball or engage in other sports or vigorous activities then do these shortly after school and not an hour or two before you go to bed.

Tip 2. Avoid eating a heavy meal close to going to bed. You clearly should not go to bed hungry and eating a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, but climbing into bed on a full stomach can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect the quality of your sleep.

Tip 3. Decide upon a regular time for going to bed and do not vary this time by more than a matter of a few minutes from one day to the next.

Tip 4. At bedtime make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut your bedroom up, turn up the heat and climb into bed to watch TV. Instead, lower the heat, open the window a bit if you can to let in some fresh air and make the room as dark as possible.

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

Tip 6. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing homework or preparing for a test. Although this may appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and might well 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 quickly be lost.

Tip 7. Steer clear of any form of drink containing caffeine after about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This naturally applies to tea and coffee, but also extends to chocolate drinks and colas.

Tip 8. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, regardless of whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers normally get up late at the weekends and in school holidays and, instead of making you feel better, this simply disrupts your sleep pattern.

Tip 9. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing your homework or studying for a test. Although this may appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and may well keep you out of trouble for turning in your homework late or get you through a test, in the longer run your performance will drop and any shorter term benefits will quickly be lost.

Tip 10. Set a regular time to go to bed and try not to vary this time by more than a matter of a few minutes from day to day.

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.