Bedtime for Headtime: How MVA Supports Healthy Development through Healthy Sleep
Teenagers have long had an unfair reputation for staying up late, not getting enough sleep, and ending up snoozing through the first few lessons of the school day.
And while there are certainly environmental factors, like social media, that push teens to resist the urge to drift off for as long as possible, research now suggests that it is also an intrinsic part of growing up.
Sleep is governed by your circadian rhythm, a complex internal clock that keeps you generally waking up and going to sleep at regular times each day. During puberty, as with so much else, the rush of hormones throws this rhythm completely off kilter, and teenagers will naturally both feel tired later at night (due to a delayed melatonin production) and need more sleep once they do drift off.
This, combined with environmental factors as well as a traditional school schedule that doesn't account for this, can leave teens failing to get their full night's rest which then disrupts their biological clock and spirals into a self-perpetuating cycle of tiredness, which can eventually take a real toll on their wellbeing.
This is not new research, but its impact on the traditional school timetable has been almost non-existent. Students are still expected to turn up bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 8:30, which leaves very little time for the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep, particularly when factoring in a commute to school.
As today is World Sleep Day, we're highlighting all the important ways that a full night's sleep is a crucial part of succeeding at school.
Because healthy sleep doesn't just ensure you have the energy to tackle the day, it also:
- Increases mental performance and attention span
- Supports good mental health and stabilises emotions
- Enables good problem solving skills
- Strengthens memory
- Supports healthy brain and body growth and development
- And much, much more!
MVA already helps to support this through our flexible approach to learning, meaning students can choose to study at a time that works for them, and wake up when they're ready instead of when they're forced to.
Roughly half of student learning is done outside of our Live Lessons, so they can build a schedule that supports their natural rhythm.
Night owls can start late and work into the evenings, and early birds can have most of their work done before lunch. It's all down to when your focus and energy is naturally at its best. Because what value is there in imposing a schedule on children who are, scientifically speaking, likely to struggle with it?
That said, there are still extra things we could all do to look after one of the most vital functions of our bodies, and make sure that the Zs start flying as soon as we hit the pillows.
Here's a few tips for students and parents for supporting regular sleep.
- Routine: Getting up and going to bed at similar times each day can help solidify your internal rhythm and get to sleep easier.
- Bed-Room: Make sure your bedroom is set up to be cosy, safe, and, if possible, not strongly associated with active daytime activities. In particular, make sure that it can be made dark even during daylight.
- Screens Off: The blue light from electronic devices can confuse your body's systems that make you tired and stop you falling asleep. Try to keep devices outside of your bedroom if possible, and put down anything with a screen at least an hour before bed.
- Get Moving: If you are physically tired, sleep will often come much easier. If you're regularly struggling to drift off, try doing something that gets your blood pumping, like a walk around the block or a gentle yoga session.
- No Last Minute Panics: If you're regularly leaving homework until late on the night before it's due, you'll struggle to properly relax. Try to keep on top of things so that your nighttime mind is free of worry.
- Goldilocks Eating: When it comes to sleep, eating too much or too little is not a recipe for success. A quiet mind comes much harder when your stomach still has a lot to say. Try to find the sweet spot so you can feel comfortable when you get into bed.
The theme of this year's World Sleep Day is Sleep Well, Live Better, and at MVA we wholeheartedly agree.
Supporting healthy sleep, particularly when it comes to school and learning, is vital for overall success, both for students and education as a whole.
After all, it doesn't matter how good the teaching is if students are asleep at the desk.
