Year 11 Sleep

​Year 11 Meeting

Sleep Hygiene and Sleep Schedule

Poll

How many hours of sleep do you get per night?

• 4-5

• 6-7

• 8-9

• Less?!

Poll

How much time do you take away from devices before sleeping?

• none

• 5 - 30 mins

• 1 hour

• more than 1 hour

Open Ended

What do you do to get yourself ready for sleep? (What do you do that helps you wind down for bed).

Poll

Do you notice a difference the next day if you haven't slept well or gotten enough sleep?

• Yes

• No

• Sometimes

• Nah

Trading Sleep for Study is Counterproductive

Research reference: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01834.x

• From a study in 2012 (yes I know thats a while ago), results showed that regardless of how much study or prep a student did per day, sacrificing sleep to study more negatively impacted their ability to learn new material or complete tasks in the following days. This was particularly relevant regarding tests, with students who crammed the night before struggling significantly more in their exams.

Consequences Worsen Over Time

Research Reference: 10.1080/15402000701796114

• As you get older, your propensity to sleep less and/or pull an all nighter increases. Research shows that as you get into higher years, trading sleep for study is very closely linked to higher academic struggles. With a cohort of university students, 60% reported pulling an all nighter before an exam. On average, these students did 10% worse than students who slept well before the exam.

Common Sleep Mistakes

​Research Reference: https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/all-nighters-and-grades/

• Going to bed at different times each night

• Being on your phone/laptop in bed

• Consuming caffeine late at night

• Spending hours online killing time even when tired

Sleep and Study

Combine your study and sleep habits for ultimate success. Making yourself an evening schedule that includes both your study time but also your wind down time will help with this.
In another study, students were assigned either five or nine hours of sleep and were either told to cram or space out their study. Not surprisingly, sleep-deprived students who crammed performed the worst. However, students who used Spacing performed better, even if they had the lesser sleep time.

Research Reference: doi: 10.5665/sleep.6092

Sleep Hygiene Tips

• Get consistent with your bedtime.

• Avoid caffeine after midday and absolutely no energy drinks at all.

• Try to keep your bed just for sleeping rather than using it as a couch or a place to relax. That way, your body associates it with sleep.

• Try not to nap unless your absolutely have to. If you do, 20 minutes is the sweet spot.

• Find nighttime rituals that help you wind down for bed. Reading, stretching, writing in a journal - all these types of things can help become part of a routine that gets you in a mindset for proper rest.

What you don't want to hear:

Ditch the Tech.

Technology Keeps Your Brain “Switched On”

Scrolling, watching videos, gaming or messaging keeps your brain active and alert.

Your brain stays busy because:

• new content keeps appearing

• notifications grab your attention

• emotions get triggered (funny, exciting, stressful)

Sleep works best when the brain has time to slow down gradually.

Screen Use is Linked to Poorer Sleep in Teens

Large studies of adolescents consistently show a relationship between nighttime device use and reduced sleep.

A major review published in Oxford Academic journals found that evening screen time is associated with:

• shorter sleep duration and less restful sleep

• delayed sleep onset

• increased daytime fatigue

Researchers suggest that both light exposure and mental stimulation contribute to these effects.
Technology exposes users to unpredictable or emotionally charged information just before bedtime (news, social media, messages, etc.).

This can activate the body’s stress response and increase cortisol levels, which are associated with wakefulness rather than sleep.

Your Turn

Study and Night Schedule

• Time for you to make your own. And yes, I am dead serious.

• I would like each and every one of you to make your own evening study and bedtime routine. From the end of prep to lights out.

• This isn't something that you have to make and completely stick to, you can adjust it as your figure out what works for you. But it is really important.

Routines Help Your Brain to Sleep

Routines Help Train Your Brain to Fall Asleep

Doing the same relaxing activities every night helps your brain recognise bedtime.

Over time your body starts to think:

"Oh, this routine means it's time to sleep."

This helps you:

• fall asleep faster

• sleep more deeply

• feel more rested in the morning

What Does It Look Like to Wind Down?

• drawing, colouring books, sketching, watercolour painting

• knitting or crocheting

• bracelet making

• origami, journaling, scrapbooking

• bullet journaling

• decorating a planner

• writing a short journal entry about the day

• gratitude journaling, brain dump journaling, reflection journaling

• writing goals or intentions for tomorrow

• writing letters (not necessarily to send)

• quiet reading of a physical book

• gentle stretching

• deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation

• stretching while listening to calm music

• taking a warm shower

• skin care routine

• brushing/braiding hair

• drinking a warm caffeine-free drink (like herbal tea or warm milk)

• jigsaw puzzles, sudoku, word searches, crossword puzzles

• tidying a desk, packing school bag, organising tomorrow

Example:

My routine at Uni (after dinner):

• 7 - 9pm: Uni work, assignments, study etc.

• 9pm: Shower, skin care etc

• 9.30pm: make a herbal tea, look at my schedule and finalise a to do list for the next day, put on soft music and either craft, read a book or listen to a podcast or audiobook. Lights out by 10pm latest.

• (by the end of uni, I had brought my bedtime earlier by half an hour as I there was a big difference for me with just an extra 30 mins!)