Sleeping at school? Find out how sleep affects your children’s school performance!

Summer is coming to an end and it’s already time to start thinking about going back to school! Whether your child is in high school or college, it’s important to know that good academic performance also depends on getting enough rest.

During this seasonal transition, the sleep-wake cycle can be particularly disrupted. This is a very simple and perhaps obvious concept, but one that is worth examining in greater depth.

Read this article and find out how sleep can positively or negatively affect your children’s academic performance!

Sleeping at school: that’s where sleep problems begin!

So is school bad? No, of course school isn’t the real problem! It’s true, however, that during their academic years from high school through college, many young people begin to suffer from insomnia or are no longer able to get the hours of sleep necessary for healthy rest.

This can happen due to an excessive study load or exam anxiety, but also because young people often tend to stay up later at night: parties and overly noisy roommates, for example, certainly don’t make for a good night’s sleep!

What are the most serious health effects?

The most serious consequences of a lack or reduced sleep among students can include:

1. Poor judgment: and here we’re not talking about grades, but about the main cause of accidents among young people, namely, the misjudgment of one’s own abilities and reflexes when one is in the habit of getting little sleep at night. Just consider that if the body doesn’t get the necessary hours of sleep at night, it’s as if it had a blood alcohol level of 1.0!
2. Bad mood: a study by the University of Pennsylvania showed that subjects who slept no more than 4–5 hours a night exhibited signs of stress, anger, and mental fatigue after just one week.
3. Bad memory: yes, that’s right! A lack of adequate rest significantly reduces the brain’s ability to memorize information.
4. Health problems: according to a recent study, 73% of teens who don’t get enough sleep are at greater risk for health-related problems.
5. Lower grades: recent studies on academic performance have shown that students who sleep fewer hours at night also have lower grade point averages!

5 simple tips for improving sleep while studying!

As a parent, you can help your child develop habits that promote better sleep:

1. Encourage regular physical activity, but avoid exercising in the evening.
2. Encourage them to engage in relaxing activities before bedtime to help them fall asleep.
3. Help them maintain a healthy diet, including plenty of fruits and vegetables.
4. Encourage them to get the 7-8 hours of nighttime sleep their body needs to recharge. And this applies on weekends, too!
5. Make sure they sleep on a proper bed! It’s during these early years that the first sleep-related problems can arise. Starting now, it’s important to establish healthy sleep habits so that their quality of life and health aren’t compromised over time.

Bonus tip!

Sleeping on a mattress, bed base, and with a pillow that are suited to your child’s physical characteristics can help them make the most of their sleep time!