How to Help Your Student Develop Healthy Sleep Habits

Students often have find it hard to develop healthy sleep habits. The pressures of school homework and the distractions of TV, games, family activities and social networking make it necessary for parents to step in to help them establish and maintain a sleep routine that will allow them to function at their best. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Help your student develop the habit of going to bed early. Ben Franklin's advice, "Early to bed, early to rise," is more than just an old saying. Students often get started on homework too late in the evening to get a good night's sleep. Those who do finish homework early sometimes feel the reward should be spending late hours watching TV, playing computer or video games and catching up with friends by phone or texting. Parents need to set limits and enforce a reasonable lights out/electronics off policy.
2. Help your student wind down in the evening to signal that it's time to slow down and prepare to rest. Dimming the lights and turning down the volume of the TV or music helps. Teens need about 9 hours sleep a night and younger students need about 11 hours.
3. Help your student develop the attitude that the bed is for sleeping. Discourage lying in bed to watch TV, study, read, or talk on the phone. When the head hits the pillow, its time to sleep.
4. If your student has trouble falling asleep, allow him to get up for a short period and engage in some relaxing activity. Reading is good, if it isn't done in bed. Playing stimulating games or getting on the computer are not. Keep the lights low and try serving a warm drink like hot chocolate.
5. A light bedtime snack may be helpful. Growing bodies need lots of calories, and you don't want your student going to bed hungry. Don't serve a big meal late in the evening. This makes the body work too hard to induce sleep.
6. Help your student avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening. With the abundance of coffee bars, students are tempted to stop off on the way home for a jolt. Encourage them to choose other drinks like smoothies instead of caffeinated coffee drinks. Don't serve soft drinks during or after dinner. Have a supply of juices or other low stimulus drinks available instead.
7. Limit napping. Short naps early in the afternoon can help your student keep her energy up. Discourage long naps or any nap after 3:00 p.m. These can interfere with an early bed time and disrupt a good night's sleep.
8. Try to keep your student on a regular routine on weekends. The temptation is to sleep in Saturdays and Sundays to catch up. Give your student a little leeway, but don't let her spend the morning in bed. Breaking the routine of the week by much will only make it harder to get your student back on track during the week. Consistency is the best way to help your growing, active student stay healthy and get the rest he needs.