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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lamb Shanks with sweet chilli and black bean

Image
This dish has a rich, tasty sauce. The shanks are browned and then cooked in the sauce until the meat is very tender. This can be done in the oven, crockpot, stove top or in a deep electric frypan. Best served with mashed potato sweetened with carrot, kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin or parsnip.  Ingredients Lamb shanks - 1 per person 1/4 cup black bean sauce 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce 1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic - crushed Method In an electric frypan Heat the pan on the highest setting place the shanks (no oil needed) in the pan, pop the lid on and brown on all sides - this will take 15-20 minutes.  Turn pan down to a simmer setting combine all the other ingredients and pour over the shanks. Place the lid back on and leave to simmer until meat is very tender approx 1 1/2 hours. Turn the shanks from time to time to make sure they are coated in the sauce. Keep an eye on the sauce and add more water if needed....
Read more

Community consultation, conversations and questions

Image
Many of you will have seen that my fellow Cromwell Community Board (CCB) member Robin Dicey posed some questions for our community in The Bulletin last week.  Like all of us on the CCB Robin is looking for ways to engage and connect with the community.  We all want to be doing the best for those that we represent and to be making decisions that reflect what the residents and ratepayers of Cromwell actually want to see in our great wee town.  So, well done to Robin for trying to get the conversation going on a range of issues.  I've popped an image of Robin's questions below - you can also find them on page 12 of The Bulletin dated 12 January 2017.  Robin has included his contact details for anyone interested in contributing to the discussion.  I would be very happy to be contacted too - anna.harrison@codc.govt.nz or via my Facebook page Anna Harrison Cromwell Community Board. One of the questions Robin asks is in regard to the level of community con...
Read more

Circus Time!

Image
I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of weeks.  I've attended all meetings required of me, engaged in discussion and discourse, listened and expected to be heard and thought that there had been a resolution to halt the action to remove Neil Gillespie as Board Chair with only 13 months to an election and with the immensely important Master Plan Project in full swing.  I left a meeting on Tuesday 21st August thinking that a decision had been made to seek further governance training and to set out a rules of engagement document outlining roles and responsibilities of board members and their relationship with each other, council, the mayor and council staff.  So when I was contacted less than a week later on Monday 27 August I was surprised to hear that a requisition letter calling for the removal of Neil as chair had been sent to Sanchia Jacobs, CODC Chief Executive.  I relayed that surprise to the journalist who rang the next day.  I was not blissfully unaw...
Read more