July 29, 2021

July 29, 2021

7 Ways To Help Students Get Better Sleep

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:

  • Improved decision-making and social interactions
  • Improved ability to form memories and learn
  • Improved neural connections

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:

  • Help them understand the sleep they need. Students need to be informed about the optimal amount of sleep they should be getting each night; then they can work toward getting that sleep.
  • Have them understand the importance of a sleep schedule. Depending on the age of your students, it’s a good idea to help them to know that if they can create a bedtime routine for themselves, they’ll get better sleep at night. Waking up and going to bed at roughly the same times every single day (even the weekends!) is important.
  • Show them how to create a good sleeping environment. The best rooms to sleep in are free of distractions, such as televisions or phones, and are also cool and dark.
  • Have them keep a journal. A journal is a great tool for identifying patterns, but also for bringing to light things a student may not be aware of. Suggest your students keep a sleep journal to help them write down worries or thoughts that may be keeping them from getting to sleep when they need to. They don’t even need to write them down; they can even create a mental journal where they imagine writing down all the things that are bothering them and then putting them away.
  • Suggest they get snuggly. Nothing is better than an inviting bed to rest in at the end of a long day. Suggest your students find ways to make their beds more comfortable with pillows or blankets. Some kids may benefit from weighted blankets to help slow down their heart and breathing to get to sleep at night, creating a sense of calm. Let them know what types of things are available to them!
  • Help them understand that not all sleep is the same. Once kids know how sleep can benefit them, then move on to help them understand that quality of sleep is important too. Share information about REM sleep, deep sleep, and the sleep cycle to help build their understanding of how sleep works and the importance of going through each sleep cycle several times per night.
  • Tell them to cut the caffeine. Some substances can make sleep even more difficult – and it may be things students don’t suspect. Of course, caffeine is the biggest culprit, especially if they’re hitting Starbucks after school each day. But other substances can be an issue too – even spicy food right before bedtime can affect sleep.

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