Published on August 15, 2024
“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.”
― Homer, The Odyssey
The topic of “Sleep” is the cause of many a debate. The importance of sleep has been documented by a raft of scientific and psychological studies over the years. In the all-important formative years of our young people, we are told that their sleep habits will change quite significantly when they hit their teens. The nightly sleep-average ideally should be around 9 hours. This seems fair enough, but many parents find that difficult to achieve. We are then told that, as physiological changes occur in teens, they will tend to want to go to sleep later than in pre-teen life (blame that on the delay in melatonin production), and sleep in to compensate. Life’s schedule does not seem to take that into account.
So – why is sleep important, what impedes sleep, and what sorts of things can we do to improve the sleep health of our students?
In my previous article, I wrote about online safety and the appropriate use of social media. Researchers have established a strong link between the habits of many people online and their sleep health.
One statistic which caused me to stop and think relates to the difficulty of falling asleep which many people report. Some research conducted recently has shown that 25% of young children aged 7-8 years report using a mobile ‘phone between the hours of 10pm and 6am. This figure rises to over 80% by the time they have reached the age of 17. (Sleep Health Foundation research). When you consider the amount of stimulation being online provides the brain, along with the blue light satu ration which has been shown to prevent the normal process of falling into a deep sleep, it is easy to see how this can become very problematic.
Students also report that much of the negative online behaviour and commentary tends to happen later at night. So, added to the impact of the blue light and the stimulation, we also need to consider the worry and anxiety which can arise from negative online commentary. For our young people, FOMO also comes into play. It is highly likely that this will prevent sleep from coming naturally at a time when it is so essential for growth and development, and for that all-important battery recharge after a day at school.
This is not just the case for adolescents – many of us can probably think of times we have been on our mobile device just prior to going to bed. The likelihood is that this will impact the ability of many to drift off to the land of Nod.
Research has established that this is a significant cause in the deterioration of sleep health.
That sleep is extremely important is evidenced by the fact that many institutions have departments which focus on sleep and assist people with the varying numbers of sleep conditions which exist, along with conducting research in this field. Some of you might be aware of the late Dr Michael Mosley’s documentary series “Australia’s Sleep Revolution” on SBS On Demand. This came out of a dedicated sleep research facility at Flinders University and is but one example of the work being done in this domain.
The University of California (Davis) Health lists the main benefits of sleep. Sleep…
- Promotes growth (especially in young people)
- Helps heart health
- Supports weight management
- Helps combat germs and keeps your immune system strong
- Reduces the risk of injury
- Increases attention span
- Boosts memory and learning
Sleep is regarded as one of the three pillars of good health. The other two are nutrition and physical exercise. In fact, interesting research points to the fact that if you do not sleep well, you also tend not to eat well, which then impacts energy levels and makes you less likely to exercise. A vicious cycle!
Lack of sleep also impairs cognitive ability and concentration and creates mood swings. Lack of sleep due to late nights on devices and gaming will have a direct and detrimental effect on how students focus in class, and also on their interactions with their peers and teachers. The comment “they got out of the wrong side of bed this morning” might relate directly to a lack of sleep – the negative impact of poor sleep on a young person’s mood is something that we as parents and as teachers have no doubt experienced! Notably over the last few years, the number of Australians who are sleep-deprived (including our school-aged young people) is growing due to our changing lifestyle behaviours, and the belief that we can “get away” with less sleep on an ongoing basis.
A new research report from health promotion foundation VicHealth and the Sleep Health Foundation has found Australian teenagers are missing out on crucial sleep, with screen time, caffeine and stress keeping them awake. The research found that the average teenager only had between 6.5 and 7.5 hours of sleep a night, well under the recommended 8-10 hours, and that this was having a direct and measurable impact on their mental wellbeing. The impact on their focus at school was also obvious.
But the study also found a simple way for teens to reclaim some much-needed shut-eye. Teens who put down their smart phones an hour before bed gained an extra 21 minutes sleep a night and an hour and 45 minutes over the school week.
Creating better sleep habits
Assisting our young people to adopt better sleep habits is, of course, not necessarily a straightforward matter. Our actual individual sleep requirements can differ somewhat as well, so what works for one person might not work for another. In general terms, some of the strategies many have found useful include:
- Modelling – our young people look to the adults around them as examples in a whole range of areas. Sleep habits is one of those areas.
- Mobile device usage – no mobile devices should be in bedrooms (as I wrote in my last article) and we should all become well-practiced at turning devices off at least one hour before going to bed.
- Set a regular bedtime and wake up time.
- Try to relax before bed – mindfulness activities like meditation or gentle yoga may help.
- Avoid stimulants in the evening like coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks.
- Set up a comfortable sleep environment.
- Be active during the day.
- Try to spend time together as a family in the evening
Useful fact sheets and information:
Teenage Sleep | Sleep Health Foundation
https://headspace.org.au/assets/download-cards/HSP032-MythBuster-Sleep-and-Young-People-RGB-FA04.pdf
Sleep Ninja is an evidence-based smartphone app, free and readily available to support young people with sleep problems (by tracking their sleep, learning about and implementing healthy sleep habits) and support their health & wellbeing. Sleep Ninja® – Black Dog Institute | Better Mental Health
If you are interested in why we dream a whole new dimension, here is a good starting point:
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams
My thanks for the guidance and feedback provided by Dr Jeanette Lightfoot from our Psychology Team for this article.
Sweet dreams!
