July 29, 2021
July 29, 2021
Helping children to learn healthy habits is one of the ways that teachers can help to improve their lives both in and out of the classroom. One healthy habit that will serve students long into the future is developing a healthy sleep schedule.
There are many ways to help students get better sleep. Here’s what you need to know to help your students understand why sleep is so important, how it can impact their performance at school, and how schools can help students get more sleep.
The Benefits of Getting Enough Sleep for Students
When a person goes to sleep at night, their body and mind have a chance to rest and rejuvenate. That’s what makes proper sleep such an important component of a student’s success.
Proper sleep helps a student to have more control over their emotions and behavior, two things that can help to improve their learning experience. Some of the other benefits include:
These are just a few of the ways that sleeping well can help students, but it’s important to impress upon them that they’ll simply feel better and have more energy (both in school and outside of it) if they improve their sleep quality.
How Much Sleep Do Students Need?
How much sleep a student needs depends on how old they are. For example, middle-school-age kids generally need between 9 and 12 hours each night, while teens needs between 8 and 10 hours (even if they tell you they need more!).
It’s important to keep in mind, however, that how much sleep a person gets at night isn’t the only factor that matters. There are other aspects of sleep that contribute to a student's health and wellness, such as sleep quality.
Students who are getting enough hours of sleep each night but don’t have very good sleep quality or wake up a lot at night may complain that they don’t feel rested in the morning.
Do Students Perform Better With More Sleep?
Research has found that students who get enough quality sleep do perform better at school. In fact, some studies have shown that how much sleep a student gets each night is one of the strongest predictors that they’ll be successful academically. Basically, students who don’t get enough sleep may work harder, but not perform as well.
What Helps Students Sleep Better?
Sleep is an easy thing to get more of if you can help your students understand how to set themselves up for success each night. You can help your students to improve their sleep in a few simple ways:
Kids of all ages must understand why sleep is so important. As an educator, it’s crucial to view students as whole people and help them to understand that the choices they make or the habits they have outside of school can affect them academically.
Featured image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash