It’s a fact that 9-11 hours of sleep for kids aged 5-13 can improve your grades, help you concentrate, and put you in a better mood. It’ll even help you fight off colds and flu, heal injuries faster, build muscle more efficiently, and reduce the amount you eat by controlling your hunger and fullness cues. But how do you get good sleep?
Try these tips to help you set the mood for a restful sleep:
- Make your room a sleep sanctuary. The room needs to be dark, comfortable and cool for sleeping well. Plus, turning down the thermostat saves energy.
- Let your electronics sleep too. An hour before bedtime, put your phone or tablet away, and switch off the TV. The bright light from screens can mess up the release of melatonin*, the hormone that makes you feel tired. High action or “scary” movies that you’re watching on your screens can also affect your ability to fall asleep
- Get out, and get active. Regular physical activity during the day can help you fall sleep at night faster and get a better quality of sleep too. Getting at least an hour of moderate to intense exercise each day will totally help, as long as you don’t do it right before bedtime. Exposure to sunlight also helps the biological clock to reset itself each day, so exercise out of doors has an added advantage to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Set an evening routine. Go to bed at the same time, and try to chill out before you sleep by reading a book, listening to soft music, or having a warm bath. Relaxing before bed helps your body get into sleep-mode. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get up and try reading or listening to soft music again till you feel sleepy. Then try to sleep again. Keep your sleep times on the weekend within a couple hours of your weekday sleep and alarm times.
- Humans only. Pets in the bedroom can interrupt sleep. It’s generally best for you (and your pet!) if they sleep away from your bedroom.
* Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness is associated with quality and quantity of sleep
