Quality sleep is essential for your health and productivity. While it’s easy to cram and lose some sleep to review your lessons or finish more tasks at night, getting enough sleep is vital to keep your body and mind active during the daytime.
But how can parents help their children, and how can children help themselves sleep better at night? Is it possible to come back to healthy sleeping habits after the school break or holidays?
If you are a student who struggles to catch some Zzzs and is suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation, continue reading the article.
Why is Sleep Important for Students?
Adequate and quality sleep is vital to everyone’s health, especially for students to stay focused when studying. A regular sleep schedule and adequate sleep are paramount to helping you stay focused and improve your memory and concentration when studying. Adequate sleep can also aid in improving your energy and academic performance.
Lack of quality sleep, on the other hand, can cause you to wake up feeling groggy and irritable in the morning. This can also impair your memory and put you at risk for various health problems like obesity, high blood pressure, and heart issues. Moreover, sleep deprivation is one of the causes of many mental issues, including depression.
Children who lack quality sleep are more likely to have behaviour and attention problems, which are essential factors for development and academic performance.
How Much Sleep Do Students Need?
The amount of sleep that you need will depend on many factors, including your age. Generally, younger students need more sleep than adults. Here’s a quick guideline for different sleep requirements:
|
Age |
Category |
Recommended Hours of Sleep |
|
3-5 years old |
Preschool child |
10-13 hours a day |
|
6-12 years old |
School age child |
9-11 hours a day |
|
13-17 years old |
Teenager |
8-10 hours a day |
|
18-25 years old |
Young adult |
7-9 hours a day |
Newborn babies and infants need more sleep, while adults tend to sleep less as they grow older. Studies show that students don’t sleep enough during school nights and especially during weekends and holidays.
This lack of proper sleep can affect both the students’ performances as well as their health.
Tips to Achieve Good Quality Sleep
If you are a busy student, it can be challenging to get enough rest when dealing with deadlines, which can lead to poor sleep habits and the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Here are some tips that you can follow to help your body get back to its healthy rhythm.
Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Keeping a consistent sleep schedule can be challenging, especially during busier days or when your schedule loosens up and allows you some time to relax and binge-watch your favourite series. However, whether it is a busy day or a weekend, it’s always best to stick to a regular sleeping schedule. Setting a sleep schedule can help you create healthy sleeping habits amidst uncertain schedules.
We get how tempting it is to cram on busy days and extend the hours you spend relaxing on weekends, but sleeping for indefinite hours can make you tired and groggy the next day. In that way, you’ll end up having a hard time focusing and retaining information. You are also more susceptible to sickness due to your compromised immune system. To prevent this, make sure to follow a consistent sleep schedule and work on your habits to preserve your health and performance.
You may start this by setting up a regular time to wake up, then slowly adjusting your bedtime based on your wake up schedule until you establish a healthy bedtime routine.
Take Daytime Naps Wisely
Power naps are necessary to keep your energy going, especially when the schedule is packed with exams and school activities. However, it’s also important to limit your daytime naps to 20 minutes or less to make sure that you can still comfortably sleep at night. Napping efficiently can help you retain more memories and stay focused during the day without compromising the quality of your nightly sleep.
Exercise in the Morning
No matter how busy your day is, dedicating some time to do light exercises in the morning can help boost your mood and energy for the day. However, do not do high intensity exercises in the evening to avoid being too alert to fall asleep.
Limit Your Caffeine Intake
Like exercising late at night, drinking coffee close to bedtime can interrupt your sleep schedule and lead to insomnia. To prevent sleep deprivation, limit your caffeine intake and avoid drinking caffeinated drinks after 4 p.m.
Swap Screens into Books Before Bedtime
If you need to squeeze in extra time to review before bedtime, we highly recommend reading a physical book or writing on a physical notebook rather than using a gadget. Gadgets like phones, tablets, and computers emit blue light that represses your melatonin production and causes you to stay awake even when it’s already time to rest.
However, while we recommend reading an actual book close to bedtime, it’s important to not do any school work on your bed and reserve it for resting.
Create a Cosy Sleeping Environment
In addition to following healthy sleep habits, creating a comfortable sleeping environment is important to keep your body and mind rested and prepared to face a new day. To build a conducive environment for sleeping, you must first make sure that your mattress is supportive enough for your sleeping position and body type. Keep your room dark, and make sure that your room is cool enough to keep you comfortable when you’re about to rest.
Experience the Value of Sleep with Somnuz
Knowing the value of quality sleep can help you develop healthy routines to keep your mind and body ready to face the day. Overall, high quality sleep can help you stay awake, focused, and motivated while studying. It can also reduce your stress and help you maintain a healthy immune system. Sleep is not only important for your academic performance but for your overall health as well, so make sure to make the most of it!
Sleep well with our thoughtful collection of high-quality mattresses in Singapore. Whether you are a side sleeper, back, sleeper, or someone who shifts their position a lot, our premium pocketed spring mattresses can give you the right surface for a healthier snooze. Check out our online mattress collection to see which one fits your sleeping needs, or visit our experience centres to get a personal feel for the ultimate Somnuz quality.