Sleep is about conquering the next day. So often we wake up tired and drowsy, already feeling defeated before our first task. It becomes part of our routine to feel this way if our sleep isn’t done right. So, is it time to view a quality sleep as our first successful challenge of the day?

How Can We Achieve A Better Nights Rest?

If our aim is to sleep 8–10 hours, what we must make sure is that it is quality sleep. Several factors are important: simple things such as exercising, and having consistent sleep schedules will make a massive difference. It’s also important to limit technology use before bed, and make sure that your room is not leaking in too much light.

Our Children Need Sleep!

Good quality sleep helps our children with their academic performance. This is due to sleep enhancing our ability to remember things and take on new information. In essence you need sleep to learn, and you need sleep to consolidate what you’ve learned. If your child is groggy, grumpy, and does not have the desire to participate in activities, it is likely that they have not had a good enough night’s rest. The first thing to do is to look at how long your child slept for, and the next is to assess whether your child gets quality sleep.

It’s Not Healthy To Catch Up On Sleep

Many people believe that they can just catch up on their lack of sleep come the weekend.. This is not advisable as good sleep relies on consistency. Our body isn’t aware that we will be catching up on sleep later, what we need to do is achieve a consistent night’s rest, and yes, this includes weekends!

End Caffeine Intake By 2pm

Our bodies take about 10–12 hours to metabolise caffeine. It is not recommended that we drink any kind of caffeine after 2pm in order to ensure our body can rest. Caffeine intake after 2pm can affect our sleep, delay our bedtime, as well as reduce the total duration of our sleep.

When we wake up feeling rested, we are more equipped to face the day’s challenges, and for our kids, that means being ready to learn and participate during class!