Tip #3 Try to get enough sleep

This can be a really hard one with the demands of school, sport, social life and work. Getting enough sleep to have energy to get through the day can be a problem.  Teenagers need about 9 hours sleep each night (by adulthood most of us need between 6 and 8 hours a night) - but this is a challenge when trying to enforce a bedtime is a futile exercise and sleeping through to lunchtime is seen as a preferable option.  Unfortunately the sleeping to lunchtime is a holidays and weekend luxury and even then it doesn't always work like that if you have work or sport commitments.
11 ways to improve your sleeping habits
Sleep tips for teenagers

There are some pretty major consequences to not getting enough sleep:

  1. You could be irritable, grumpy, quick tempered, argumentative and generally not nice to be around - this is the one that affects your family the most.
  2. You might be unable to perform at your best whether it is at work, school or sport.
  3. Lack of sleep limits your ability to learn, concentrate and solve problems.
  4. Lack of sleep can make you forgetful
  5. Not getting enough sleep can make you more prone to pimples and acne.
  6. Lack of sleep is linked to eating too much or eating the wrong sort of foods which in turn leads to weight gain.
So the guts of it is that you need to get enough sleep.  Try some of these tips to help you get the sleep you need - unfortunately one of the suggestions made by many experts is that school should start later for teenagers - this isn't going to happen - so don't ignore the advice while you wait for action by the school.
  1. Make sleep a priority - there are no prizes in any home for who stays up the latest.
  2. 20 - 30 minute naps can help refresh you.  Just don't take them too close to bedtime and don't get carried away and sleep for too long you don't want to miss appointments and commitments because you were taking a nap.
  3. Set your room up for sleeping not gaming - keep it cool, dark and quiet.  Don't watch t.v in bed try a book instead to help your brain wind down.
  4. Get some regular exercise - but not just before bed.
  5. Don't eat and drink just before bedtime.
  6. Decide on a bed time and wake up time and try to stick to them.
Check the links in this post for more tips and information.

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