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10 Tips To Stop Sleeping Problems From Causing Low School Grades

By: Donald Saunders. It has been believed for a time now that too little or low quality sleep in teens results in a drop in grades in school, however it was not until recently that a study confirmed that teenage children with bad sleeping habits do indeed have lower grade point averages.

Below are 10 simple tips to make sure that a healthy child can get the quality of sleep needed to do well in school.

Tip 1. Do not take any strenuous exercise within several hours of going to bed. If you want to play baseball or engage in other sports or strenuous activities then do these shortly after finishing school and not an two or three hours before bedtime.

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. Although teenagers will sometimes spend a great deal of time in their bedroom and turn it into much more of a 'living' than a 'sleeping' room, avoid using the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed, writing, watching TV, reading, playing games or anything else but reserve it solely for sleeping so that your body associates getting into bed with going to sleep.

Tip 4. When you find that you cannot fall asleep within say 15 or 20 minutes of getting into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to sleep, because the harder you try the more difficult it will become. Instead, climb back out of bed and do something like listening to some relaxing music or reading a book. Once you begin to feel tired, climb back into bed and you will be asleep in no time at all.

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. Avoid the temptation to stay up late finishing your homework or getting ready for a test. Although this could seem like the answer to a particular problem in the short term, and could well keep you out of trouble for turning in your homework late or see you through a test, in the long run your performance will fall and any short term gain will quickly be lost.

Tip 7. If you find that you are unable to fall asleep within say 15 or 20 minutes of getting into bed then do not just lie in bed trying to get to sleep, because the more you try the harder it will become. As an alternative, climb back out of bed and do something such as reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. As soon as you start to feel tired, climb back into bed and you should fall asleep in no time at all.

Tip 8. Make sure that you get up at the same time in the morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers commonly get up late on weekends and in the school holidays and, rather than helping to make you feel better, this simply disrupts your pattern of sleep.

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.